Eastern European Baptist History: New Perspectives, 2007

1920-1941 gg.: dokumenty i materialy (Novosibirsk: Posokh, 2004). 234 further trip to Omsk. Before that I had contacted a Russian relative whose name and address I had retained from a decade ago. I asked Aleksandra’s niece if I might come and visit. This was the first time the two branches of the family had physically met since 1921 when Aleksandra left Omsk. I learned a lot about numerous family members, but as she has no Baptist afhliation, she could not supply me with further information in this regard. Conclusions In the course of my ongoing search for roots I have made several practical observations. First, oral history is still extremely important for Baptist history in Central and Eastern Europe. It is critical to continue to tap existing resources by conducting interviews with older people who still can remember events and people from the distant past and make appropriate historical records. Second, oral tradition has its limitations and is often of precarious value. Because of that it must be checked against other sources. Third, written sources are not numerous and are often inaccessible or barely accessible. Some Christian sources are kept by individuals, and their existence is not widely known. Some sources, such as tapes, photographs, even local Baptist church minutes, are rare and difficult to access. Other documents are kept in secular archives - local, regional or national - and may be difficult to consult for other reasons. Fourth, research in Baptist history in some countries in the region is still underdeveloped. Priority must thus be given to the basic collection of primary sources, which in due course will be followed by their investiga- tion and supplemented by further inductive research and result in analyt- ical studies. Fifth, it would be greatly beneficial for church historians and researchers in related areas to improve their cooperation. On a very basic level, adher- ence to elementary conventions of academic courtesy would provide a good start. At a higher level, however, what is needed is better communica- tion - more efficient exchange of information and research results - among researchers working in a field as specific and specialised as Baptist histories in Central/Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Davorin Peterlin is Head of the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research, Milltown Institute, a Recognized College of the National University of Ireland. He is former Director of Keston Institute, Oxford, UK. 235 236 Index PE Te aoe ae Adamow, in Poland - 166 Administrirovanie — 129 Adventists — 137, 180, 192, 207 Agricultural communes - 93, 94, 95, 104, 105 AIDS - 222 Akmenting, Osvalds — 113, 116, 117 Akmolinsk, in Kazakhstan - 98 Aleksii I, Patriarch - 194 Alexander II, Tsar - 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 53, 78 Alexander III, Tsar - 27, 31, 133 Alf, Gottfried Friedrich (Gotfyd Fryderic) — 20, 166 All-Russian Baptist