Posts Tagged ‘Soviet Union’

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Tragic Stories of Stalin’s Other Victims

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

A review of  The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia by Orlando Figes

Most memoirs or biographies of the survivors of Stalin’s Great Terror concentrate on those who were imprisoned or killed. The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia gives us an intimate look at the devastation experienced by the family members left behind.

The spouses, parents and children of Stalin’s victims also suffered. Many were harassed and persecuted for being related to “an enemy of the people.” Others lost jobs or places to live. Routinely, if relatives of those who disappeared into the Gulag wanted to attend a university or hold a job, they were required to publicly renounce their relative and confirm their guilt:

“I do not know what my father and his brother are accused of…I feel ashamed and do not want to know.  … [I]f they have been sentenced, then it means they deserve it. I have no feelings of a daughter towards my father, only the higher feeling of duty as a Soviet citizen to the Fatherland, the Komsomol, which educated me, and the Communist party. “(Page 301).

Chilling and sometimes painful to read, The Whisperers shows how the Terror impacted all of Soviet society and left a tragic legacy of broken families. The hope and healing the survivors now experience bears tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. The Whisperers is an engrossing story that also bears a warning of what can happen when a government attempts to rule every aspect of life.

Most painful to read were the sections that seemed like they should have been the happy endings: when survivors returned home from the Gulag, reunited with their families.

But the children they left behind had become adults during the intervening years, and the prison survivors were not the same people they were when they were arrested. The inability of the reunited families to connect was some of the most difficult to read.

Many of those taken away were targeted for their faith. Enormous pressure was put on those left behind to abandon their beliefs and embrace the communist worldview.

All of this gave me a greater appreciation for the Brynza family and all they endured.

When Gavril returned from six years in a concentration camp, he was welcomed back by his wife and children. Gavril’s family had endured much as relatives of “an enemy of the people” yet they did not succumb to the pressure.

Their example showed what the power of God in someone’s life can do, when compared to example after example in The Whisperers of how the people how had no faith despaired and caved in to the pressure.

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Refining Like Silver

Friday, May 20th, 2011

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Psalm 94:19

Yakov, a factory worker in the Soviet Union, had only been on the job a few days when the trouble started. A man who introduced himself as Ivan struck up a conversation with him.

“So, what’s your name, comrade?” he asked.

“Brynza. Yakov Brynza.”

Suddenly the heat of the factory turned to ice. “Brynza? You’re from that Baptist family. I heard a Baptist was coming to work here.”

Suddenly Yakov knew who Ivan was: the political officer. Every factory and organization employed one, to ensure the workers had the proper socialist spirit.

“I intend to do my job well,” Yakov told him.

“And what does that mean?” he snarled. “I know what job you mean to do, you Christian! Sabotage the labor effort and undermine communist ideals. I’ll be watching you.”

From then on, Ivan made a point of watching Yakov work, all the while spewing comments about believers. “We have liberated mankind from exploitation, but you believers would rather cling to lies and fairy tales.”

“I’m watching you, enemy of Marxist philosophy.”

He would slither up behind Yakov, hoping to catch him in some act of sabotage. Every tiny deviation from perfection gave him a chance to criticize. Or else he’d join in conversations Yakov was having with coworkers.

“Did you fellows know that Brynza is a Baptist?” he’d say. “Tell us, Brynza, is it true? Do you really drink blood in your services?”

“It’s not real blood….”

“That’s enough, Brynza. You know you could be fired for proselytizing.”

Anger consumed Yakov like acid, and he took his struggle to his father, Alexei. As a Baptist pastor, Alexei had dealt with more than his share of persecution.

Alexei read to Yakov from the Bible and explained, “All of these trials are God’s way of purifying us, removing the sin from us. He is refining us like silver, so that we are more like Jesus. It’s not easy, nor is it quick.”

The harassment at work didn’t let up. But Yakov found hope and comfort in the Scripture, knowing God had a purpose. Years later Yakov could see how God used the persecution at work to make him more like Christ. I take encouragement from Yakov’s story, knowing that God will use everything—even unpleasant circumstances—for my good and His glory.

Lord, remind me to call on you when times get hard.

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Most Powerful of All

Friday, April 1st, 2011

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

Psalm 118:9

Every night Alexei’s mother set a small bag next to the front door, a bag that contained a change of clothes and some dried bread. Then she and her husband would stand by the window, watching. Alexei could see his parents silhouetted against the window as they listened for the sound of the police car.

It was the late 1930s, during the years of Stalin’s Great Terror, when the police cars drove at night, taking people away, some never to be seen again. When the police car drove past Alexei’s house, his parents would get on their knees and thank God that they had been given one more day.

Thousands and thousands of others living the Soviet Union were not passed by. Many who were taken were shot immediately, others did hard time in prison camps. Stalin used terror to destroy any opposition to his regime and to himself. Rounding up anyone who was a leader in a church was his strategy for ending the worship of God.

Ten, fifteen years went by. Men were returning from Siberia, having finished their prison sentences. Alexei drank in their stories of life in the camps like a thirsty man guzzles water.

What fascinated Alexei was that these men were rejoicing. “When the war started, we were grateful we didn’t have to go to the front, because we wouldn’t have to kill anyone. But then we started to see more of God’s work.”

Many believers shared their faith in the camps, and many people came to know the Lord. Then many of these believers settled in villages surrounding the camps, once they were released. As a result of their witness, churches were planted all over Siberia.

“Stalin thought he was going to eliminate the church,” one said. “Instead, all he was doing was sending out a missionary force to expand the Kingdom of God.”

Stalin’s power seemed to be absolute. But he could not prevail over the King of the Universe, the All-Mighty God. This is a great reminder to me, when I wonder about the governments that are rising and falling in our troubled world.

Lord, help me to remember that you are more powerful than any king or government.

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No Limit to What God can Use

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.

Luke 19:10

Yakov was stuck between two worlds. In one were his family and the church, in the other, his ambition to be a doctor. He knew that as a believer in the Soviet Union he had no chance of getting into a university. His teachers told him all he had to do was join the Young Communist League, take the pledge of atheism, and he’d have his choice of universities to attend.

Yakov struggled for months, and finally told his parents he was not going to church any more.

“How can we change your mind?” his mother asked.

“I want blue jeans,” Yakov said. “Give me a pair of jeans, and I’ll go back to church.” Jeans cost about 150 rubles, more than Yakov’s father’s salary for a month. Even if you had the money to pay for them, jeans were almost impossible to find.

Yakov’s parents stayed up late many nights praying about his demand for blue jeans, asking God to give them wisdom about what to do.

About a month later, Yakov’s father announced that he received a notice from the post office that a package addressed to him had arrived from America. Occasionally people from the West sent books or religious literature, but the family couldn’t imagine what a package could possibly contain.

“I’m not sure if I should pick it up,” Yakov’s father said. “According to the notice we owe thirty rubles in customs duty and whatever’s inside may not be worth that much.” In the end, since all the children were so curious about what was in the package, he decided to pick it up.

The package was about the size of a large loaf of bread, and was wrapped in brown paper. There was no return address.

Yakov and his brothers and sister watched eagerly as his father took a pair of scissors and cut open the box, each of them wishing it contained their deepest desires.

Inside the box lay a brand new pair of Lee blue jeans.

Yakov went back to church, realizing God was seeking Him, and would even use a pair of blue jeans to draw him back.

Lord, help me keep my eyes open for creative ways to bring people to you.

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Source of Wisdom

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

How great are your works, O Lord, how profound are your thoughts.

Psalm 92:5

Igor and Misha, students in the Soviet Union, began to question what they had been taught from the time that they were small children; namely, that the entire world is the result of some random accident. One frosty day Misha and Igor were walking in the forest, discussing the mysteries of creation. “Now we know that no one in science argues with the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, right?” Igor asked.

“That’s right,” Misha answered. “We all know that the amount of energy in the universe is constant; it can neither be created nor destroyed.”

“And we know that every system in nature moves from the complex to the simple, wearing down, becoming more random. The only exception is when there is an introduction of energy into the system.”

“So our friends the atheists would have us believe that life starts very simply out of nothing, and all by itself gets more and more complex!”

“Which is completely opposite to all the laws of nature! Laws that have been verified in the lab over and over by many scientists!”

“So they take their theory of evolution, don’t bother to explain how it can be in violation of the laws of thermodynamics, and tell us to believe it on the strength of a tooth or a bone they dig up somewhere.”

“People used to think that the cells in our bodies were just bits of matter. Now they know they are not so simple. There is nothing they can compare with them; they are just too complicated, more like a miniature universe. And we are to accept the idea that the first one-celled living things just mutated out of some chemicals in the sea that were struck by lightning?”

“I read in a probability textbook that the chances of a live cell appearing from nothing are less than for a monkey to accidentally type a word-perfect copy of Hamlet.”

Walking past a fence, they came upon a tiny six-inch snowman perched on one of the posts. Igor asked Misha “Where did this come from?”

He grinned before replying, “Of course, it evolved.”

“Yes, some storm winds must have accidentally created it!” Their laughter echoed through the snowy forest. Even though all of their teachers had pounded into their heads that there is not creator, the evidence that God left in His world proved otherwise. By this time Igor and Misha had concluded that creation must have a creator even though they still had no idea of His identity. How blessed we are that God has not left us to decipher the universe on our own, but has shared His wisdom with us!

Help me, Lord, to learn from You, the source of true wisdom.

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The Rewards of Faithful Service

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Colossians 3:23

Like many other believers in the Soviet Union, Alexei had difficulty finding a job because of his faith. Finally, through a cousin, he was hired as a lead technician. When another worker, the secretary of the Communist Youth League, found out that a Baptist had been given such a responsible job, he complained and forged letters full of accusations against Alexei. He charged Alexei with crimes like trying to sabotage the factory, or worse, proselytizing the other workers. Knowing the accusations were completely false, Alexei tried to stay out of the conflict. Then another person in the department spoke up, saying that as a member of the Communist Party, he could not possibly work under a Baptist.

After only six months on the job, Alexei was let go. From that time on, Alexei would find a job only to get fired a short while later for being a Baptist. He would start somewhere else, and again lose his job. In one year he was fired five times for his faith.

Finally Alexei approached a transformer factory where the boss was a secret church member. He gave this man a signed statement saying he wouldn’t ask for any kind of technical responsibilities, even though he was well-qualified. Under these terms he was hired to be a low paid metal worker.

For nearly 20 years Alexei worked faithfully, giving his best to that job, even though he was capable of much more responsibility and that the communists would never recognize the quality of his work. Even though much of his work was only semi-skilled labor, Alexei knew that his service was really for God and that in all things, he should strive to please Him. Rewards and recognition weren’t important.

In the end, however, Alexei did receive a reward for his faithful service. When he left that job, the communist boss commented that he wished all the workers were like Alexei. Years of faithful service left a strong testimony for God in the hearts of many who were resistant to Him.

Lord, help me to serve You faithfully, knowing You will use my labor for Your purposes.

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The Cost and Reward of Seeking God First

Friday, March 4th, 2011

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Yakov’s father told him that it was impossible for him to go to a university.

“Papa, you always say that education is a good thing,” Yakov answered.

“That is true. But you know that to get into the university, you must first join the Komsomol. And that is impossible, because they demand pledges of atheism. They will never allow believers into their universities.”

“If God gave me these abilities and talents, shouldn’t I use them?”

“If we lived in a just society you would be right. But we live in a sinful world. I don’t want you to be disappointed, that you would work so hard to get into a university, and then never get accepted. Wouldn’t it be better to accept the situation and avoid all that pain? Why try to jump higher than your own head?”

Yakov knew his father was trying to protect him, but he was determined to try to succeed against all odds by working hard and proving himself. He knew that his teachers routinely gave him lower grades than he deserved because of his faith. As it turned out, it wasn’t the long hours he spent memorizing the exploits of key figures in the struggle to create a classless society or calculating square roots that changed this. Instead, it was the endless drills on the sports field. By the ninth grade Yakov became a champion shot putter, the best athlete in the school.

Suddenly, his grades improved and his coaches and teachers were concerned for his future. “Yakov, you know you could have a bright future ahead of you,” they told him. “Star athlete. Top student. All you have to do is join the Komsomol.”

What was Yakov to do? Education, after all, is not something that is generally considered to be a sin. Loving something more than God is. Yakov drifted from the church, struggled, and eventually repented. He tried to serve God and to trust Him for his future, even though he couldn’t see much more than a long life of dull factory jobs.

In the end, though, God honored Yakov’s faithfulness and miraculously opened the door for him to attend a university, something which rarely happened for believers in the Soviet Union. Yakov learned that if he put God first in his life, God would give him more than he thought that he lost.

Lord, help me to trust You for my future.

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The Difference One Person Can Make

Friday, February 18th, 2011

And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap.

Ezekiel 22:30a

In the middle of the dreary Brezhnev years when Soviet society itself was stagnating, Vladimir Antonovich arrived to organize a youth orchestra in Lena’s church. His enthusiasm was contagious, and soon they had a woodwind/brass orchestra, a string orchestra of Ukrainian folk instruments, and a choir. All of this, of course, was strongly discouraged by the government. Youth meetings were forbidden, and the authorities knew that these musical groups were used as a cover for religious activities.

Lena and her older brothers were in the string orchestra: Yakov played bass mandolin, Viktor, tenor mandolin, and Lena, soprano mandolin. They assumed Vladimir’s enthusiasm because he poured himself out for them.

The youth orchestra performed on holidays, at weddings, funerals, and baptisms, and traveled all over Ukraine. In a way, the shared adventures made up for the taunting and teasing they endured at school, and helped them to stay strong in their faith. Even though the trips were forbidden by the Soviet government, the pastor didn’t want to stop them. For him, being summoned for interrogation or having to pay fines were minor irritants, a small price to pay in exchange for watching a generation of new believers grow and mature.

It all ended when Vladimir had to leave the church and move to another city; the government was putting too much pressure on him and the church. But was it all in vain?

In later years the fruit of Vladimir’s work became obvious. The children who were the same age as Viktor and Lena and had the benefit of several years in the youth orchestra, remained faithful and stayed in the church. Those who were older or younger tended to leave the church because of pressure at school. Such was the influence that one person was able to have, and it was enough to counteract all the pressure the government could muster.

When I am discouraged, thinking what I do has no impact, I remember Vladimir, and how he was willing to stand in the gap, faithfully serving despite the risks. If I serve where God has put me, I know my work will not be in vain.

Lord, help me to serve you faithfully and to trust you to bring the harvest.

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Eerie Echoes of the Past

Monday, February 7th, 2011

This weekend was the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth. With that event came a lot of talk about Reagan, his presidency, and his legacy. In thinking of the 1980s, I couldn’t help but remember how imposing communism worldwide was still a goal of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party.

In reading a book published in 1982, I found the following summary of communist efforts:

“The avowed purpose of communism is to impose its definition of Utopia upon the whole world. This is called “setting the masses free.” … [T]hey try to trigger economic depression and then pit class against class in the resulting chaos. Communists teach young people to blame society or their parents instead of themselves for the restrictions they experience. Freed of responsibility for the consequences of their own behavior, people begin to condemn the social structures around them.”

It’s all eerily similar to much I’m observing going on in our country today. Regardless of whoever is responsible for our current situation, prior generations of communists would be proud.

Quote from Paulson, Hank, Beyond the Wall: The People Communism Can’t Conquer, Regal Books, 1982, p. 76-7.

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Inheriting the Blessing

Friday, February 4th, 2011

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

I Peter 3:9

Living in the Soviet Union, Alexei Brynza paid a high price for his faith. His immediate supervisor at the factory treated him well, but those higher up continually tried to “re-educate” him.

Once some photos were taken of the best workers, and Alexei was among them. The factory boss hung all the photos of the other workers up in a large display, but not Alexei’s. “It would be inappropriate to publicly honor a believer,” they told him. “Take your picture home and hang it up there if you want to.”

Over and over Alexei was nominated for awards by his coworkers, only to be disqualified by the political officer of the factory. Once, another worker came to Alexei’s defense, protesting the injustice. “You know he is the best worker,” he told the political officer.

“We can’t possibly honor a Baptist,” was the reply. “How can we give a red medal, red for the color of the blood shed in the revolution, to someone opposed to Communist beliefs?”

In spite these and other insults, Alexei did his job faithfully for the fifteen years he worked in that factory. The bosses never understood that Alexei was not there to gain their approval. Rather, his goal was to please God.

This is what I know I should do when I am insulted by another person. Instead, what I usually want to do is make the other person hurt the way they have hurt me. God’s command to repay insults with blessings seems unfair and too hard.

But I can be encouraged by Alexei’s example of obedience in far worse circumstances than I have encountered. More than anything, he wanted his coworkers to see Jesus in him, that they might come to faith. Any sign that they recognized any value in following God’s laws would be a blessing to him, since he would know that his labor was not in vain.

Years later, the boss talked to Alexei about his long service in the factory, and the many attempts to re-educate him to accept Communist teaching. “It would have been better if you had re-educated all the others, Brynza, to make them as honest as you are.”

Lord, help me to obey you, even in repaying good for evil, that I may inherit your blessing.

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