Human Rights Advocacy of Baptist Initiators

  • Tatyana Nikolskaya Saint Petersburg Christian University, Russia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2017.1.4.022

Abstract

Among Soviet believers who spoke in defence of their rights, the Baptist Initiators stand out. They collected information about persecutions, provided prayer, moral, material support, human rights assistance to convicted co-religionists and their families and opposed state interference in the affairs of the church. In defending the rights of believers, they also appealed to international public opinion. Women were extensively involved in this activity. In 1964, the Council of Relatives of Prisoners was created, which issued a special “Bulletin”. Although activists within the movement were regularly subjected to repression, their activities objectively influenced the adjustment of Soviet religious policy towards Evangelical Christian Baptists.

Author Biography

Tatyana Nikolskaya, Saint Petersburg Christian University, Russia

Tatyana Kirillovna Nikolskaya — Candidate of History, Member of the Writers' Union of Russia, Senior Lecturer at St. Petersburg Christian University, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Short biography: Tatyana Nikolskaya was born in 1962 in Leningrad. She graduated from the historical faculties of the Leningrad State University and European University in St. Petersburg. In 2003, she defended her thesis on Russian Protestantism and State Power in 1905-1991 at the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 2004, working as a lecturer at the St. Petersburg Christian University, she has published more than 60 works on the history of Russian Protestantism and the Messianic movement.

Her main publications include:

  • Russian Protestantism and State Power 1905-1991. – St. Petersburg: Publishing House of the European University in St. Petersburg. 2009. - 356 p.
  • Leadership and the Social Conception of Russian Protestantism in the Context of History // Moral and Spiritual Aspects of Leadership. Collective Monograph of the Chair of Leadership of SPBKU. - St. Petersburg: SPBKhU, 2014. pp. 267-295.
  • Russian Protestants in the 20th Century // Protestantism: Pro et Contra. Anthology: - St. Petersburg: RHGA, 2012. pp. 586-601.

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Changing Societies & Personalities, Volume 1, No. 4
Published
2017-12-27
How to Cite
Nikolskaya, T. (2017). Human Rights Advocacy of Baptist Initiators. Changing Societies & Personalities, 1(4), 333-352. doi:10.15826/csp.2017.1.4.022
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 1, No. 4 (2017): Special Issue: “Freedom of Conscience in Post-Secular World”
Section
Articles