Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

tire propaganda and agitation apparatus attended. Il’ichev delivered the major report in which he called for intensification of sad propa ganda, Although Il ichev’s pep talk seemed to emphasize more noeptiarite over against administrirovanie, local officials appeared to get the message that believers must be treated more roughly. For example, four members from the Kalunda community in Western Siberia were arrested for illegal activities in an unregistered congregation and given prison sentences.“° One of the men, Nikolai K. Khmara, had been converted only a few years. before’ after leading a life of drunkenness. His conversion: had transformed him into a model husband, father, and active church worker. Two weeks after the trial, his family received word that he had died due te illness: Contrary to instructions, the Kalunda believers insisted on opening the coffin and found a brutally mutilated body. There were chain marks on his arms, scorch marks on his hands and feet, his finger- and toenails had beer torn off, and there were gaping. wounds in his abdomen made by a hot object. The most revolting part occurred when someone pulled the cotton stuffing out of his mouth and discovered that Khmara’s tongue was missing. Other prisoners later informed them that Khmara had talked about Christ till the end and therefore his captors had torn out his tongue. Khmara had also suffered psychological torture, receiving. injections to create’ a per sonality change. This brought to five the number of persons who had died in’ prison and exile.4” Only six weeks later, relatives of ECB prisoners’ met in’ a secret All- Union conference and announced the formation of a temporary Couricil of Prisoners’ Relatives. At the conference they produced a list of 102 prisoners. At their second meeting in July 1964 the list already totaled 197 persons.‘ If the state was going to be tougher, Baptist resistance would be stiffer. Phase IV: Both Reformers and the State Reewaluate, 1964 The year 1964 opened’ with ar article in the party's journal Kom- munist written by L. F. Wichev, which spelled out a twelve-point program for major atheist education. I’ ichev noted that “we have dealt frequent blows to those who propagate the ideas of religion, but the ideas: themselves miselvés;, he: ari nounced. the creation of a’ new Institute of Scientific Atheism: at the 144 Soviet Evangelicals Since World. War Il Academy of Sciences which would have powers to supervise and:coordinate all indoctrinational activities. A course in fundamentals of scientific atheism became compulsory at all universities, medical schools, agricultural colleges and teachers’ colleges starting’ in the 1964 school year. All party officials, teachers, and doctors were required to attend seminars on atheism. All teachers, professors in higher education, writers, journalists, and advanced students were required to participate actively in the antire