Authors

Discussion

Based on visual sources, samizdat, oral history and memoirs, this presentation examines new tendencies in the formation of female activism in Baptist religious communities during the long 1970s. The main focus is on the unregistered, illegal wing of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (Council of Churches,) which developed unique forms of protest activism and thus became world famous. Baptist Women organized the oldest ‘human rights’ organization - the Council of Prisoners' Relatives (1964). They wrote protest letters, taught in Sunday schools and became typists (while men were offered the role of ‘martyr for the faith’, which entailed a different behavior strategy). Women of the Council of Prisoners’ Relatives acted as fully-fledged agents of the political and social spheres in Soviet Union. Their texts are very interesting in terms of their legal representation. They explain international norms and criticize the domestic; they record discriminatory measures, they act in a secular space as demonstrators of their rights, talk about infringement and discrimination not only of their rights, but also of the rights of their families. At the same time, within their religious environment, these same women had fewer rights and opportunities in divine service than their co-religionists in the registered communities. The presentation examines ‘traditional roles’ in late Soviet religious communities set against the Soviet gender project.