"Jehovah witnesses". Special report from Vesti

More than 10 million religious brochures were detained at the Svetogorsk checkpoint Leningrad region since the beginning of this year. The sender of the cargo is . Adherents are ready to donate books printed in Germany to like-minded Russians for free distribution. What kind of sect is this, with what mission does it penetrate into our country and why does it recruit children?

On the square of the Belorussky Station, adherents of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect keep a shift watch. Students from the Orthodox St. Tikhon's University became interested in the booklets, but they figured it out in time. “Our course included a lecture on sect studies, so we know who is what,” they explained.

Victor is no longer a sectarian, although about " Jehovah's Witnesses"knows more than anyone. He knows where women preachers come from on our landings in front of the apartment with an offer to talk about God.

“All Jehovah’s Witnesses are advised to sacrifice all their strength to do the most important work on Earth,” says former adherent of the sect Viktor Koretsky. “For them, this is preaching “from house to house,” just as they come to all of us in the morning. They equate this with the rescuers of the sinking Titanic. This is “business number one” for them. And young people, young women say, “I will only get married in the New World,” that is, in some kind of “paradise.”

Can you believe that the planet's population of six billion is wicked and will be destroyed? That only those who believe in the Kingdom of God, which is about to come, will remain? And can you save yourself only by joining the brotherhood of Jehovah's Witnesses? Many believe, joining a huge army that despises any government system, calling this world “the lascivious and deceitful Babylon the Great.” And with this thought they gather in stadiums, halls, and convention centers.

Meeting at the hippodrome in Barnaul. Other Jehovah's Witnesses filled an entire village in the Ivanovo region. Disdaining laws, they look for legal ways to recruit new members. "Our event falls under legal law“About worship,” says sect follower Alexey Tsarkov. “And this annual practice has been confirmed by various authorities.”

Jehovah's Witnesses are banned in Taganrog. Thousands of copies of the magazines were seized at North-West Customs. Their international website - it is unclear why, but it works, although the Ministry of Justice clearly defines: the Jehovah's Witnesses website is extremist.

At the Vologda rally, people spoke out against the sectarians who had filled the city. On the asphalt there are signs with the names of members of the sect or their children who died due to the fact that the sect across the world has a ban on blood transfusions. And finally, the sect recruits children.

The giant international corporation Jehovah's Witnesses is growing. The myth of “cleansing the Earth” for the benefit of one sect works. This usually happens near the apartment. Brochures printed in Germany. But most of what Jehovah's Witnesses call "biblical educational activities" are published in the USA, in the homeland of the sect, in Brooklyn.

“There is a huge international corporation that acts as a publishing complex, which publishes all this waste paper in tens of millions of copies,” says Alexander Dvorkin, a professor at the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University and sectologist. “And all members are obliged to purchase this waste paper.”

The Seven Elders of America, the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses, have power that even the Pope does not have. Millions of adherents around the world are, in fact, fanatically ready for anything. But for now they just come up to you with a harmless question: “Have you read the Bible?”

In Oryol they confirmed the legality of recognizing the local branch as extremist. In Karelia, Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to a fine of 50,000 rubles. Literature and electronic media were seized in St. Petersburg.

They are ready to ask questions and ready to answer them themselves. But they are not ready to answer the questions he poses. Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg are an organization closed to the press. Only those who have left them forever tell about what happens behind these walls.

“An ordinary adherent must spend a decent number of hours preaching - that is, going from house to house; many of them cannot afford to work full time. There are also dubious practices in terms of refusing blood transfusions and involving minor children in preaching,” says Victor Koretsky, who was Jehovah's Witness for 19 years.

And yet there are people in the world to whom witnesses cannot close their doors. On Luzhskaya Street, operatives knocked on the door of the organization Investigative Committee. They found 50 people at the evening readings. Some were detained.

The operatives were looking for extremist materials. Simply put, prohibited literature. Russian courts for last years added 15 books by Jehovah's Witnesses and several issues of the magazines "Awake!" to the federal list of extremist materials. and "The Watchtower" and about three dozen brochures.

In Russian Orthodox Church Warning: Appearances can be deceiving. Jehovah's Witnesses are called there nothing more than sectarians. And they add: we need to look at the problem more broadly. They also warn against becoming interested in Scientology.

“The governing bodies of these organizations, like all totalitarian sects and destructive cults, they pursue certain goals. The goals are very simple: power and money,” says Archpriest Georgy Yoffe, chairman of the missionary department of the St. Petersburg Diocese.

The academic community also looks at the fight against sects in its own way. Moreover, Professor Stetskevich emphasizes that calling them that is wrong. In his interpretation, these are minority religious groups.

"Any, including world religions, like Christianity and Islam, they began, if we use this terminology, as sects. What, strictly speaking, is the community of I. Christ? It began as a small religious organization, we use this term as a sect within the framework of Judaism,” says Mikhail Stetskevich, associate professor at St. Petersburg State University.

“The secular state is very poorly equipped to regulate doctrinal religious life. In my opinion, there are fundamental documents in the form of the Criminal Code, the AK and the Constitution. And in my opinion, they are quite sufficient, if some organization goes beyond what is permitted, to present some kind of then sanctions,” the leading employee is sure International Center apologetic research Dmitry Roset.

Article 28 of the constitution, among other things, states: “everyone is guaranteed freedom of religion.” However, in practice, you need to choose a church that is registered with the Ministry of Justice. Although this may not be enough.

More than 10 million brochures with religious content have been detained at the Svetogorsk checkpoint in the Leningrad region since the beginning of this year. The sender of the cargo is the religious society of Jehovah's Witnesses, banned in Russia. Adherents are ready to donate books printed in Germany to like-minded Russians for free distribution. What kind of sect is this, with what mission does it penetrate into our country and why does it recruit children?

Adherents of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect are keeping watch in shifts on the square of the Belorussky Station. Students from the Orthodox St. Tikhon's University became interested in the booklets, but they figured it out in time. “Our course included a lecture on sect studies, so we know who is what,” they explained.

Victor is no longer a sectarian, although he knows more about Jehovah's Witnesses than anyone else. He knows where women preachers appear on our landings in front of the apartment with an offer to talk about God.

“All Jehovah’s Witnesses are advised to sacrifice all their strength to do the most important work on Earth,” says former sect follower Viktor Koretsky. “For them, this is preaching “from house to house,” just as they come to all of us in the morning. They equate this with the rescuers of the sinking Titanic. This is “business number one” for them. And young people, young women say, “I will only get married in the New World,” that is, in some kind of “paradise.”

Can you believe that the planet's population of six billion is wicked and will be destroyed? That only those who believe in the Kingdom of God, which is about to come, will remain? And can you save yourself only by joining the brotherhood of Jehovah's Witnesses? Many believe, joining a huge army that despises any government system, calling this world “the lascivious and deceitful Babylon the Great.” And with this thought they gather in stadiums, halls, and convention centers.

Meeting at the hippodrome in Barnaul. Other Jehovah's Witnesses filled an entire village in the Ivanovo region. Disdaining laws, they look for legal ways to recruit new members. “Our event falls under the legal law “On Divine Services,” says sect follower Alexey Tsarkov. “And this annual practice has been confirmed by various authorities.”

Jehovah's Witnesses are banned in Taganrog. Thousands of copies of the magazines were seized at North-West Customs. Their international website - it is unclear why, but it works, although the Ministry of Justice clearly defines: the website of Jehovah's Witnesses is extremist.

At the Vologda rally, people spoke out against the sectarians who had filled the city. On the asphalt there are signs with the names of members of the sect or their children who died due to the fact that the sect around the world has a ban on blood transfusions. And finally, the sect recruits children.

The giant international corporation Jehovah's Witnesses is growing. The myth of “cleansing the Earth” for the benefit of one sect works. This usually happens near the apartment. Brochures printed in Germany. But most of what Jehovah's Witnesses call “biblical educational activities” are published in the USA, in the homeland of the sect, in Brooklyn.

“There is a huge international corporation that acts as a publishing complex, which publishes all this waste paper in tens of millions of copies,” says Alexander Dvorkin, a professor at the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University and sectologist. “And all members are obliged to purchase this waste paper.”

The Seven Elders of America - the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses - have power that even the Pope does not have. Millions of adherents around the world are, in fact, fanatically ready for anything. But for now they just come up to you with a harmless question: “Have you read the Bible?”

I first heard about Jehovah's Witnesses when I was 5 years old.

I was on vacation visiting my grandmother and great-grandmother, who lived in the Kharkov region in Ukraine. My grandmother took me there to stay.

It was at this time that Jehovah’s Witnesses met my mother. The young pioneer Irina Lyonkina began to tell her about the “truth,” sitting next to her right in the subway car.

Soon the study began with my mother. Which my sister also began to attend regularly. Having managed to be fairly impressed and imbued with new knowledge, they went to pick me up. On the way home they began to tell me about their newly acquired faith.

Some of my initial ideas about religion had to be updated, and outdated ones had to be forgotten. After all, before this incident, I had already visited the Catholic Church with my father a couple of times!

However, I couldn’t even take communion there. The priest walked around everyone with some kind of gilded plate, and I thought that everyone was taking something from this plate. I unsuccessfully moved my mittened hand around the plate, but it was empty, and I didn’t get anything, and the priest passed by. As they explained to me later, it turns out that I had to open my mouth and wait patiently. Instead of rummaging around looking for goodies yourself.

Upon returning home, I began to regularly attend Bible studies based on the book You Can Live Forever in Heaven on Earth.

Of course, my sister and I were fascinated by the idea of ​​being in the New World, where there would be many good-natured animals that would not harm people or even each other. The heavenly future has become an integral part of our games and drawings.

We also started going to the meadow every Sunday. This expression meant a large weekly meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses, who first came to the Devyatkino metro station (Leningrad), from where they rode by train to Kuzmolovo. And there in the forest, in the clearing, meetings were held. I remember how a crowd of Witnesses, about 100 or even 150 people, walked from the station to the meeting place, in front of the amazed summer residents.

The style, regulations and content of meetings then differed greatly from the global Western standard. There were much more funny asides, for example, the flights of fancy of the then odious elder, the elderly Nikolai Petrov, than a couple of years later, when foreign special pioneers arrived from Finland and Poland. In general, he was a funny grandfather - when a crowd of Jehovah's Witnesses walked from the station to the meeting place, he often walked at a distance, through the bushes and ravines, and checked if there was any surveillance. He often wore a leather jacket or raincoat, and he himself looked a bit like a security officer.

Much less frequently, several times over the summer, larger meetings were held, lasting the whole day, and in another place - in the area of ​​​​the Kamenka River.

It was something like a one-day district congress. And as at all congresses, baptisms were held there.

And in the early summer of 1990, at one of these “congresses” my mother was baptized. On the same day, Georgy Polyakov, Valera Pomogaikin and his wife, and other legendary Jehovah's Witnesses of those years were baptized. The baptists were the elder and anointed one from Estonia, Evdokimov, and another elder, Stanislav Zhivel, from the same place.

A month later, my mother, sister and the Pomogaikins’ family and I went to an international congress in Poland. Due to the presence of small children (I am 5, my sister is 8, and the Pomogaikins’ daughter is 1.5 years old) we decided to fly by plane. We remember one episode from this flight. In the middle of the journey, Pomogaikin, burning with zeal, picked up the Bible and went to preach to the passengers sitting next to him. Something unimaginable began to happen here! Numerous Georgians sitting around jumped up from their seats and began to hug, kiss, and pinch us all on the cheeks with their fingers! It turns out that these were Georgian Witnesses flying to the same congress where they were flying from all over the Union.

I don’t remember much about that congress, I only remember a large crowd of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the singing of a stadium of thousands, and the receipt of new literature. I also remember that we all lived at school and slept on mattresses. As the adults said, the school was surrounded by young Catholic fanatics who were throwing stones at the windows, and the situation outside was turbulent. But I remembered one rather stressful moment clearly, not so much in terms of pictures, but in terms of sensations.

The fact is that I almost lost my life because of severe poisoning. The good sisters treated us to smoked sausage, which had traveled a long way to Warsaw from Leningrad by bus, and, apparently, had acquired a rather poisonous effect, something like botulism. Eyewitnesses later said that I was poisoned to the point of foaming, convulsions, and partial loss of consciousness. They didn’t want to call an ambulance, apparently for fear of publicity. The only thing that saved me was something brought by someone from Polish brothers some remedy from traditional medicine, which saved my life. The next day, echoes of this incident returned, when right at the stadium I was seized with a strong spasm and pain in my stomach, so that I could not walk on my own. There was already qualified medical care at the stadium, where they could give me the necessary medications. They took me to the first aid station tent, putting me in Polina Pomogaikina’s baby carriage.

After that, my adventures with health ended happily. At the stadium itself we met Polish Witnesses, who invited us to live at their home for the remaining days before leaving.

Probably because in March 1991 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia received official registration, secret meetings in nature stopped, and the time came for meetings in apartments and in the first rented halls. Foreign brothers and sisters began to come more and more often, black and white magazines gradually gave way to rare ones, and then to regularly arriving color ones. The book “You Can Live Forever in Heaven on Earth” has become more accessible to a wide circle of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but just six months ago it was only available to elders and pioneers.

At the same time, “missionary” trips to remote cities, which could only be reached by train or bus, became a frequent occurrence.

The term “undesignated territory” did not yet exist, although that was exactly what it was. The city of Vyborg became such a place of regular preaching forays for our congregation. Early in the morning, around 6-7 am, my mother, sister, and I took the metro to the Finlyandsky Station to then spend 3.5 hours in the company of young and cheerful pioneers, who were traveling with us to do the most important thing on earth - preaching to the residents of Vyborg. I still remember the spirit of romance and adventure that reigned on these trips. It was fun and not boring. Most often, I was sent third in a pair of two pioneers, because I was not yet a full-fledged combat unit. I remember, already in the evening, for some reason my mood had deteriorated, and sisters Olya Virgiles and Ira Gurenchik swung me by the arms and legs, and lowered me into a pile of autumn leaves to somehow cheer me up and switch to the positive. At that moment we were in the central park, where the moose monument was still erected.

Once on the way from Vyborg there was some kind of incident or accident on the tracks, because of which our train stood at the Kirillovskoye station for four whole hours! To brighten up the wait, we played and had fun as best we could. We returned to the city already very late, and the attendants at the Udelnaya metro station themselves let us onto the last train without pennies, so that we only had time to run down the escalator and leave.

That same year, when I turned 6 years old, I became an unbaptized publisher on my third try.

The brothers who interviewed me, although they made allowances for my age, and the pattern of their questions was simplified, still wanted to hear from me a more intelligible understanding of some teachings and specific answers, so the first couple of times they “cut down” my attempts.

At the end of the conversation, that uncle said to the adults: “Just don’t let him talk.” In the context of his words, this meant that “all this, of course, is very nice, and even if he says something on topic, proud and educated people who may be annoyed by my participation in the conversation.” What I heard, of course, hurt me somewhat. We soon returned home, and then my mother remembered that there were still a couple of return visits left. To which I readily told her: “Let’s go again!” And we returned to the site for another half hour.

Although participating in door-to-door preaching has always been stressful for me throughout my life, it was precisely the factor of overcoming fear and uncertainty that brought relief and joy immediately after the service. Even as an adult.

At that time there were difficult moments when the country experienced a shortage of everything, and especially food. I clearly remember how on the shelves of a nearby store there were only canned seaweed.

The organization then actively helped its fellow believers in St. Petersburg. There was a time when she came humanitarian aid from Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

It happened that once in our apartment they set up a temporary warehouse for such humanitarian aid for the entire congregation. At about 2 a.m., so as not to attract attention, the volunteer brothers carried 12-kilogram cardboard boxes to our floor and into the apartment. My sister and I woke up from the light and noise from their walking, and through the glass door in our room, we watched this process with 4 eyes. Each box contained powdered milk , muesli, very tasty cheese with large holes, canned stew and ham, and these cans were opened in a circle with a key attached to the bottom. Brothers and sisters, who, according to the lists, received a box per family from the responsible brothers, were urgently asked not to tear apart or throw away the boxes and the tape holding them together right here, near our house. Of course, many immediately completely forgot about this request, and soon these empty boxes and tape were lying in the trash near our house. And that’s why some of our neighbors are still long years

they thought that their parents were selling food “for the elite” at that difficult time.

I had to say something about my spiritual goals. In particular, the phrase: “I want to be baptized and wear a microphone in the Kingdom Hall.” But it so happened that at the final rehearsal, about 20 minutes before going on stage, I was involuntarily confused and frightened by one brother, who excitedly told other adult responsible brothers that he had just discovered a certain famous apostate in the basement of the cultural center, who was sitting there , “all entangled in wires,” and is clearly plotting some kind of intrigue. This story, along with the unconditional excitement before going on stage, did its dirty deed during the performance itself: I was caught in a complete stupor and could not utter a word. Only after long pauses and leading questions from the presenter, with great difficulty, was I able to utter a couple of rehearsed phrases. Many years later, I have repeatedly heard that many who saw my confusion at that time were very worried and rooted for me.

In the summer of 1991, our whole family attended the regional congress “Clean Language”, held in Tallinn. My father and my sister were baptized at that convention.

We were placed with a witness family. And just like a year earlier, in Poland, this trip was also not without incident. My sister, my owner’s daughter, and I went for a walk in the courtyard around the local five-story buildings, to the children’s playground. Some girl there was swinging on a heavy iron swing. And I was staring at something, and did not control the area where this swing could reach. As a result, the swing flew into my head, hit me with all its might, and cut my eyebrow a centimeter from my eye.

There was a lot of blood, and the other children took me back to where we lived. It’s funny that at that moment one of the adults was telling my mother about an accident that had just happened in the neighborhood, where a certain child “had half his head blown off.” And then they bring me in, bloodied. A coincidence, but a scary one. Of course, everything was not so dramatic for me. I remember how Sister Olga Kvashnina wiped off my blood with a cold rag and treated the wound. A couple of hours later, in order to somehow cheer me up, I was taken alone, without my mother, on an excursion in a Moskvich around Tallinn and the surrounding area. That day I tried the famous Tallinn ice cream, and on the shore Baltic Sea I saw jet skis for the first time in my life.

My First Sin as an Unbaptized Publisher

My mother studied with a family who had two daughters around my age. Mom, as expected, invited one of the adult brothers to conduct the lesson, focusing on the head of the family, and mom on his wife. More often than not, I was present in the same room and actively participating in the discussion. And sometimes, when the complex and confusing “blue book” was being analyzed (that’s what the book “United in the Worship of the One True God” was then called, which was mandatory for study after the “red book” - “Live forever”, and was necessary for baptism) . Sometimes the head of that family, a not stupid and slightly sarcastic man, had too many questions (by the way, he and their daughters never became Witnesses, unlike their mother). And at such moments I could be sent to play in their daughters’ room.

One of them, her name was Tanya, apparently heard that the adults were heatedly discussing the issue of blood transfusion. And she decided to conduct an experiment on me.

When we were sitting together in the room - I was 6 years old and she was 7 - she offered me a whole "Hematogen". I was firmly taught that this particular chocolate bar is not eaten by Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are blood components there! To which the cunning girl said: “Well, just a little, a small piece! I won’t tell anyone.” To which I wavered and ate the tiny piece of chocolate offered. Of course, she did not keep her promise, and at that very second she joyfully ran to report to the adults. “And he agreed! And he ate hematogen!” The brother who was taking the class didn’t scold me too much, he just gently reproached me. But my ears were burning from shame and a feeling of betrayal, and I was ready to fall through the ground.

Congresses and construction sites after 1992

In 1992, a huge international congress called “Bearers of Light” was held in St. Petersburg. Many people came there from all over the former Soviet Union, almost all Finnish Jehovah's Witnesses, for whom half of the stadium was reserved. Of course, it could not have happened without members of the Governing Council. They were provided with a visit to the Leningrad Public Library, where they were allowed to look at, and maybe even hold in their hands, fragments of the Leningrad Codex, a Hebrew scroll of part of the Bible, which is stored here.

At the same time, my father was approached by his friend, who never became an exemplary student of Jehovah’s Witnesses, for he was a very educated atheist. He informed him that in the Kurortny district, in holiday village Sunny, former plot for sale pioneer camp, and what exactly now good point for purchase (everything in the country was greatly devalued at that time). My father connected this man, the sellers of the plot, and the potential buyers - the brothers in charge. Coordinator Willi Pohl came from the German branch in Selters, Sam (aka Alex) York came from Brooklyn, and Pauli Sivonen was the representative of the Finnish branch. As a result of successful negotiations, this plot was purchased.

Thus, directly thanks to the participation and assistance of my father, Jehovah's Witnesses acquired this wonderful place, where they could successfully live and stay for 26 years.

Since my family was in close contact with many builders, management and various workers from among the inhabitants of Solnechny, throughout my childhood I constantly visited there, most often I went there with my father alone, and in the period from 1992 to 1995, sometimes several times a day. month.

I remember spending time with Mike Polanski, who was a year older than me, he was the son of the “eminence grise” from Brooklyn, Albert Polanski.

Bethel employees of Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to have children of their own, but the rarest exception are those valuable “freelance” employees who already have children, but whose parents are very much needed by the Organization. They were provided with housing, either in a separately rented house, a five-minute drive from the branch, or directly on the territory of the branch. Together with Mike, we were able to explore the entire construction site, warehouses, and communicate with cheerful and interesting Finns and Swedes. So this is

unusual place

I knew very well from the very moment of his appearance. I also remember 1992 for the fact that my parents and I regularly went to Slantsy and Kingisepp. The purpose of the trips was, of course, as always, to strengthen and implement theocracy in the small and newly formed witness groups. At that time, I was regularly invited to studies with children and youth precisely as an example of a “spiritual child” who early decided to set “spiritual goals” and behaved in an exemplary manner. During the period of 6-10 years, I involuntarily understood that this was because there were simply no other such children around who were unbaptized publishers or who had already been baptized. Therefore, due to the lack of other “especially spiritual” children, this role went to me., based on everything I knew from the witness literature, I understood that baptism was a very mature and responsible step. When asked if I wanted to be baptized, I answered that probably when I was 16 or 20...

In addition, I never heard from my parents a call or encouragement for baptism, in the spirit of “if you don’t get baptized, you won’t be saved” or “look at this guy, he was baptized, but you haven’t yet.” But despite this, the example of those around me could not help but influence me.

I thought, well, since I already know the basic teachings and many different details of behavior in the Organization, why not try it? Therefore, I expressed a desire to be baptized. Some mature Witnesses slightly dissuaded my parents from doing this, but they thought that why not.

As a result, they conducted full interviews with me on three parts of baptismal questions from the book “Organized to Conduct Our Ministry.”

Each part was led by one elder - two Polish special pioneers, Krzysztof Hapunik, Arthur Bauer, and local elder Kirill Vinogradov. As a result of the interview, no obstacles to my baptism arose. Therefore, having successfully completed it, I was baptized on July 27, 1993 at the “God’s Teaching” congress, at the Lokomotiv stadium in Moscow (in the photo I am going to the pool).

Especially for this congress, an abridged version of a collection of songs translated into Russian, in light green color, was published. (It published no more than 50 songs out of the 225 that were in use among the rest of the witness community abroad). This songbook became “famous” for a year and a half - a very strange and funny accompaniment to meetings. Of course, due to “difficulties in translation”.

“People honor their gods, the true God is dead to them”; “Jehovah’s servants do not live carelessly. And they don’t like to please the world and the rulers” - here are a few of the quotes from there. Well, by the way, then it was reissued, and the next one, a brown songbook in a hard cover, “like abroad,” was translated not much better. According to eyewitnesses, it was translated into Russian by immigrants from Ukraine in the German branch of Selters. Preliminary result

The years 1993-1995 became very eventful in terms of impressions for me and my loved ones, largely because during these years the very first Finnish, and then Polish, special pioneers began to come to St. Petersburg. The image of a “serious boy with a book”, unsmiling and absorbed, was then firmly created around me.

Of course I was in the family an ordinary child. But in the witness society I naturally entered into the image of correct external behavior to which he had been accustomed since the age of 5. And therefore, my sister and I were grateful and grateful to those few Poles who were able to discern simple children in us, and devoted a lot of personal free time to us, simply walking with us, inviting us to visit and in every possible way “liberating” our external witness pressure.

My baptism, I come out of the pool and somehow accidentally end up next to Jarac

We especially remember a young Polish special pioneer, Anna Smok, who spent several years as a Catholic nun before becoming a Jehovah's Witness. Most of the special pioneers studied Russian in St. Petersburg, and then single brothers or married couples went inland as district overseers, and less cool brothers and single sisters left simply as special pioneers. Anna Smok and her partner Talita went to serve in Ulyanovsk in 1996. From there she wrote us many letters. In particular, about the cultural shock they experienced from the local Witnesses, their traditions and everyday habits. To the point that the members of the congregations there ate almost nothing but potatoes and lived very poorly. And they didn’t have any special habits of cleanliness; for example, they could wash themselves once every two weeks. And they were shocked by foreign women who used to take a shower twice a day and considered them “princesses.”

They, in turn, reported about the “troubles” there to the district supervisor, a Pole. And on his next visit to the congregations of that area, he in his speech Special attention paid attention to cleanliness in everyday life, and categorically stated that “the genitals must be washed every day!”

In the period from 1991 to 1996, our family was constantly involved in the programs of many thousands of congresses. Either an interview, or participation in an educational skit or a biblical costume drama. In 1995, in the drama about the prophet Elijah and the worshipers of Baal, I sat on stage as an extra, in the crowd of “Israelites.” A year later, I took part in a voice-over recording for the drama about Judge Gideon, where I played the role of a 12-year-old boy trying to quit smoking and overcome peer pressure. The voices of my “parents” in this production were recorded by Anatoly Timura and Natalya Toporkova. Gideon’s father, who came to his son’s defense, was voiced by Yuri Toporkov, famous throughout St. Petersburg for his theatrical reports. And due to a lack of resources, he also voiced one of several villains from the crowd who wanted Gideon dead for destroying the altar of Baal and cutting down sacred tree, saying in a changed voice: “Yeah, let’s kill him!”

Since there were very few other “especially spiritual” baptized children, Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was also attracted to play on stage the same role for which I recorded the voice-over.

Well, then there was the school of pioneers, youthful reflections, “love in the time of plague” with my sister, who was many years older than me. But you will learn about all this next time from the 2019 Yearbook.

Site section: Films about sects.

We invite you to watch a video investigation by Channel 5, a film about the Jehovah's Witnesses sect.

Time: 13 minutes.

April 5, 2017 Supreme Court Russia will consider the claim of the Ministry of Justice to recognize the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist and complete elimination its activities throughout our country. Most likely, the case of Jehovah's Witnesses will be put to rest. It contains enough evidence to prove: the long-term work of hundreds of Jehovah's Witness cells has brought harm and misfortune to hundreds of thousands of Russian families.

For reference: Jehovah's Witnesses have already been named one of the most dangerous sects in the world and are banned in 30 countries. Even in the USA, where preachers of all stripes work freely, they are refused to call themselves “ religious organization" In Russia, they are still prohibited only in certain cities - the decision of the Supreme Court may become the final verdict.

Such cases are always difficult to prove in court because witnesses and victims are silent or afraid to speak. Because the extremism of such teachings is hidden in confusing discussions about Christianity and ministry. This is danger walking on soft paws. And a person cannot always understand that he was drawn here not with a sympathetic word, but with the help of special destructive techniques. Dangerous for psyche and health. But it’s not just adults who end up in prison – tens of thousands of children.

But the case reached the Supreme Court. And there were witnesses for the “witnesses”. But in order to warn against future mistakes, we want to tell you how these people worked, why they needed followers and why it was almost impossible to escape from such chains - details in our investigation. Word to Viktor CHERNOGUZ.

It almost always looks like this. Emphatically polite, with obligatory smiles on their faces, they will knock on your door, or maybe they’ll come up on the street and ask: would you like to know more about God? The answer “yes” has already destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens.

Igor Prutovoy:“When they first started coming, it was the early 2000s. Some couples came to us and brought some literature. Several times I forced her to throw it out, to give me her word of honor that we would never return to this topic.”

She is Igor's wife, Olga. 23 years of marriage, three children. Once upon a time indicative a happy family like something out of a commercial. These few photos on the smartphone are all that remains of past life. In the fall, after 10 years in Jehovah's Witnesses, my wife decided: the community is more important. Igor did not join his brothers and sisters. Which means he became a stranger.

Igor Prutovoy:“You reject the organization, if you reject the organization you become corrupt, if you become corrupt you must be hated righteous people, it means God hates you. The final point in this chain is that you are from Satan.”

This inhumane chain of logic is not the imagination of a grief-stricken husband and father, but a ruthless reality faced by families across Russia. Once someone - a husband, wife, sister or mother-in-law, it doesn’t matter - is baptized by Jehovah’s Witnesses, the rest of the family is faced with a choice: either join the ranks of brothers and sisters or lose loved one. Sometimes forever.

Eduard Kuznetsov:“Well, what should I do with you, I’m tired of fighting for you. The only thing left for me is a divorce, she says, go ahead and get a divorce.”

It's already Belgorod region, tiny village of Novoalekseevka. Eduard Sergeevich moved here in the hope of saving. Wife and family. But, as in the case of Igor Prutov, the marriage did not stand the test of Jehovah's Witnesses. Different regions, different generations, but the same ending. The former pilot was also not needed by his loved ones. Not only his wife, but even his granddaughters turned their backs on him. Jehovah's Witnesses call this “deprivation of fellowship.”

Eduard Kuznetsov:“They come to sit down, I ask my granddaughter: “Anya, are you in a sect?” "Yes". “Ksyusha, are you in a sect?” "Yes". “Anya, this is my daughter-in-law, are you in a sect?” "Yes". But it was in Belgorod that a movement arose, the work of which prompted the Ministry of Justice to decide to come up with an initiative to ban the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

“These are my subpoenas, how many times I was summoned, these are letters from the Internal Affairs Directorate, but more than the prosecutor, more than 700 applications were written against me to various structures!”

Anton Androsov is his crusade began against Jehovah's Witnesses several years ago. Organized protests, appealed to the prosecutor's office and the courts. In these seemingly harmless Jehovah's Witnesses, he saw a force that strives to build a state within a state. Living by its own laws.

Anton Androsov, coordinator of the “Emergency Youth Aid” movement:“This means abandoning the army, medicine, Jehovah’s Witnesses are potential suicide bombers, abandoning the state, because they do not serve, but are simply trying to attract more and more people into their ranks.”

If there are not hundreds of thousands of such citizens as now, but millions, the consequences could be catastrophic. In particular, we planned to talk about this with representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves. We agreed on an interview and arrived at an inconspicuous office on the outskirts of Moscow.

“We will not have an interview, but we invite you to a court hearing on the 5th.”

Victor Chernoguz, correspondent:“We agreed in advance, I came from St. Petersburg on purpose, maybe there is an opportunity to find out your point of view?”

Community representative Yaroslav Sivulsky was supposed to meet with us. But he canceled the interview at the last minute.

Yaroslav Sivulsky:“I planned in the morning, prepared everything, but an unexpected event happened that changed everything. So this is life.”

Indeed, Jehovah's Witnesses now have a lot of troubles. Over the past few years, the organization's activities have been banned in a number of regions of the country. Jehovah's Witnesses stubbornly resisted, and operational services recorded the movement of enormous amounts of money. Which were sent from abroad to support the Watchtower Society in Russia.

Law enforcement officer:“In 2015, we recorded that this amount was about 800 million rubles, even more. It can be assumed that the data cash are used by Jehovah’s Witnesses to support high-profile legal processes.”

A nationwide ban will hit where it hurts the most. If the Supreme Court decides to liquidate the organization, its property will go to the state. But Jehovah's Witnesses have something to lose. This is the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses. Officially, this huge complex of buildings is called the administrative center, but people call it Bethel, that is, the house of God. Getting here is the dream of every Russian adherent of the teaching, but outsiders, of course, are not welcome here. Only members of the community who have received special trust can enter Bethel territory, and then only after a thorough check. Therefore, the scope of the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses can only be assessed from a bird's eye view. Neat rows of three-story buildings, meeting rooms, administrative offices. There is its own sports ground, barbecue area, even a sauna. Outwardly, everything looks neat and European. Eyewitnesses describe the atmosphere inside as something between a pioneer camp and a prison. Wake-up call, meals according to schedule and, most importantly, mandatory work for the benefit of the community. Moreover, all adherents follow the so-called “vow of poverty”, in other words, they work for free. Ideal business. And this is just the tip of the iceberg: public activists from Belgorod have long ago received some internal documents of the Jehovah’s Witness community, one of them instructs to carefully monitor the timely receipt of donations from parishioners. Not forgetting about conspiracy, of course.

“It is important that the same account is not used for transfers from the same collection every month, so that systematic transfers do not attract the attention of the bank’s security service.”

Now these huge financial flows may be illegal. But most importantly, the most valuable thing is at risk: real estate. The 7 hectares themselves on St. Petersburg Rublyovka - in the Kurortny district - are a real treasure. In general, according to information from open sources, in St. Petersburg and the region alone, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses owns more than 50 real estate properties. They are located in almost every district of the metropolis. Plus buildings in the Leningrad region. Experts estimate the total value of these assets to be a fantastic amount.

Alexey Silantyev, real estate specialist:“It turns out to be more than a billion. 200 billion, 300 billion. This is practically a volume equal to a rather large construction campaign.”

And this property is located only in two regions, while Jehovah's Witnesses have woven a network throughout the country.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses are very concerned about their property, and they will never sell it cheap, as far as I know, they try to register the property in the name of foreign members in order to resell it in the future.”

Viktor Koretsky is thoroughly aware of the shadow side of business on faith. His father was once close to the leadership of the organization and worked at that same Bethel. So Koretsky became a Jehovah's Witness in infancy.

Victor Koretsky, director social movement in defense of victims of Jehovah's Witnesses:“It all seemed normal and organic to me. The world seemed something scary and incomprehensible. Although the youth of Jehovah’s Witnesses study in regular schools, they are cut off from worldly reality.”

The crippled fates of those who are still too young to make independent decisions. One of the most terrible possible consequences activities of the Watchtower Society. Viktor Koretsky himself was able to leave the community only after he turned 20. It took another 7 years to adapt to living in a world outside of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Viktor Koretsky, head of the public movement in defense of victims of Jehovah's Witnesses:“Learn again to communicate with people, understand that the outside world is not demonized, is not the world of Satan.”

Children of Jehovah's Witnesses very often face the fact that leaving the community means losing their parents. This means that children find themselves in full power adults. Moreover, the state cannot protect their rights: exposing the internal affairs of the community to the judgment of the uninitiated is considered a great sin by Jehovah's Witnesses.

“Jehovah's Witnesses, they have so-called legal committees, where they are tried for everything that is considered a sin against the authorities. And these court verdicts are in no way connected with the state naturally.”

Often this vow of silence ends in tragedy. In 2012, an Oakland County jury in California convicted Jonathan Kendrick of pedophilia. He raped his godbrothers' 9-year-old daughter for years. The community knew, but turned a blind eye. Another example: the case of American Angela Montgomery. She corrupted her own sons for 10 years. With the silent patronage of other members of the organization.

Stanislav Kovtun, former Witness Jehovah:“The leaders of the organization practice the following policy: if a victim of pedophilia does not have two witnesses to the crime, then the case is not considered and the offender is not punished. Well, if you just think about this: can a child who is being raped have two witnesses? It's incredibly simple."

And these are just those terrible secrets of society that have surfaced. It can be assumed that there were much more such facts in reality. Father of three children - youngest daughter only 6 - Igor Prutov, of course, knows about such features of the life of spiritual brotherhood, but it’s too scary to think about this topic. Now the main thing for him is to achieve at least the opportunity to influence the lives of his children.

Igor Prutovoy:“I think recognizing an organization as extremist will help stop its growth, the fact is that the effect of the doctrine, the psychological suppression of witnesses, is so strong. They see everything backwards.”

On April 3, he begins divorce proceedings. On the 5th, the Supreme Court will consider a lawsuit to ban Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The fate of Igor Prutov’s children also depends on the decision in this case. If the Watchtower society is deemed extremist, he, like all other parents, will have a real opportunity to prohibit the involvement of children in the life of the community. And the meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses themselves will be illegal. This can save hundreds of thousands of destinies, those who are already in the arms of brotherhood and those who just yesterday had a knock on the door. And they offered to learn a little more about God.

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