Barbara Martin1; 1 University of Basel, Switzerland
Discussion
Founded in Russia on the eve of the First World War under the auspices of the American YMCA, the Russian Student Christian Movement resumed its activities in emigration in 1923. After the founding Congress in Přerov, Czechoslovakia, its seat was transferred to Paris, where it developed in close collaboration with the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. This paper examines the action of the RSCM to help Soviet believers during the Cold War. This action had three dimensions, which complemented each other: 1) the publication of Soviet and Russian émigré authors by the publishing house YMCA-Press; 2) the publication of the journal "Vestnik RSKhD," which also featured articles by Soviet believers; 3) and the action of the RSCM’s department of assistance to Soviet believers ("Aide aux croyants de l'URSS"), which consisted in secretly smuggling YMCA-Press books and copies of the "Vestnik" through a vast network of “correspondents” and raising awareness about the fate of prisoners of conscience in the Soviet Union for fundraising purposes. Based on oral history interviews and publications of the RSCM, ,such as the periodicals "ACER Tribune" and "Bulletin de l’Aide aux Croyants de l’URSS," this paper offers the first overview of the RSCM’s activity to help Soviet believers in the postwar period. It demonstrates the role that Russian émigrés played in support of the religious revival in Russia during the Cold War.
