Soviet Union: Treatment of Christians in the Soviet Union

A file containing documents concerning the treatment of Christians in the Soviet Union. Subjects covered in the file include repeated Soviet violations of the Helsinki Final Act from many human rights abuses; the promotion of atheism in Soviet propaganda; the trial of a Pentecostal Christian, Pavel Akhterov, in Ukraine; and an appeal by an imprisoned Ukrainian Orthodox priest, Vasyl' Romanyuk, to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Other subjects discussed in the file include the case of Galina Vilchinskaya, who had been imprisoned and beaten for teaching children in Sunday school; the Balak family of Pentecostal Christians, who were arrested by Soviet officials immediately after visiting the British embassy in Moscow; and a protest against the repression of Christians in Lithuania. Documents in the file include letters on the subject to British politicians from members of the public and from the exiled Baptist pastor Georgi Vins.