Just over 30 years ago, at the end of 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Gorbachev's attempts since 1985 to reform society through glasnost (openness) and perestroika (change) had failed.
Christians and other dissenters had been persecuted in the Soviet Union. Churches were closed and the buildings used for other purposes, such as swimming pools. Many were imprisoned, as described by the Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was himself a prisoner of conscience.
The Danish European Mission facilitated Danish Christians sending letters of encouragement to the prisoners, and the USSR was divided into areas that Danish churches prayed for. And in sometimes fierce domestic political headwinds, former employees made the Danish public aware of the violations of the rights of Christians and other dissidents.
But secretly, Danish European Mission donors also supported the translation of the Bible into a number of languages spoken in the Soviet republics: Armenian, Azerbaijani, Estonian, Georgian, Kyrgyz, Komi-Sarjan, Latvian, Lithuanian, Moldavian, Russian, Tajik, Tajik, Chuvash, Ukrainian, Georgian and Uzbek. The Bibles were translated by the Institute for Bible Translation in Stockholm (IfB), which the Danish European Mission financially supported the founding of in 1973 in collaboration with Ljus i Öster in Sweden and Misjon bak Jernteppet in Norway.
Some of these manuscripts were ready for publication when the Soviet Union collapsed - in communities where the Bible had previously been vilified by propaganda. Not only was the Bible published in the native languages of the people groups, but many Christian missionaries also poured in. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of communism, there was widespread religious freedom and revival meetings could be held in stadiums and auditoriums, attended by thousands. Several of the Danish European Mission's contacts in Central Asia came to faith in Jesus during this period.
For a number of Muslim ethnic groups in the former Soviet Union, the change of system led to the existence of indigenous Christian churches among them today. The inhabitants of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are predominantly Turkic peoples, while the inhabitants of Tajikistan are mainly Persian.
In the new churches, you can often sense a strong eagerness to share their faith in Jesus with their fellow citizens, despite examples of harassment and persecution. You can experience fervent prayer and worship, and their innovative approach to mission is incredibly inspiring. They are committed to their community and do a lot of social work, supported by donors from the Danish European Mission.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported the work for many years. Many thousands have come to faith in Jesus, have been saved from perdition and have gained eternal life by being able to read the Bible in their native language. Only eternity will show what a great impact your prayers and gifts have had.
