There are fresh instances of psychiatric abuse. After years of complaints, following a hunger strike, a Moscow Baptist, Mr. Volschuk was put into a psychiatric hospital in March 1977. He has been persecuted for many years and his wife (not a believer) and three children are homeless and with no means of support.
Misha was removed from his Seventh Day Adventist parents, Vasili and Fedora Kozak, in 1972. Because he has continually protested about this and ran away from his school, the child was at one time treated as «psychologically sick,» in hospital.
Fr. Anthony and Fr. Lev Konin both seemed to have been outspoken priests who easily got into trouble with the authorities. Fr. Anthony is a monk whose church career has been very unsettled, apparently because of his work among youth. He had the backing of his congregation. Eventually he had to take lay jobs but carried on teaching the faith to the young. In 1971 he spent a long time in hospital following an assault. After calling on the Patriarch to speak out against religious persecution, he was put into a Leningrad hospital for two years. His doctor said «The place for all believers is in psychiatric hospitals.» When he was released in September 1977, he was badly disabled, with paralyzed legs.
Fr. Konin spoke out against his technical college principal for depriving students of grants. The result was a short stay in a psychiatric clinic in 1964, diagnosis as a «paranoiac», and a year’s «holiday» from college. Unable to get a job, in desperation he applied to emigrate, and in 1965 was interned in hospital in his home town. Sverdlovsk. He was so overdosed with sulphazin and insulin — his conversations «upset other patients» — that he was discharged as a second class invalid. Subsequently he was baptized and studied German and atheist literature as well as prescribed texts before he eventually got into a seminary in 1968. He also married. His outspokenness at seminary almost caused him to be re-interned. Since ordination in 1973 he has been unable to find a settled parish job, thanks to directives from «above». He has been in trouble for allegedly receiving religious literature from a foreign ’Slavic’ mission and distributing it. He was classed as «socially dangerous» (i. e. — a violent criminal!) and confined to a Leningrad psychiatric hospital from April to June 1977. He sees no hope of pursuing his vocation. The Adventist President, Shelkov, as again under criminal investigation, though over 80, He has spent half his life in camps and exile. He is a prolific religious writer and outstanding Christian who signed the first Russian ecumenical appeal.
Mr. Khailo, a Baptist with 15 children wants to emigrate. One son is in prison on false charges; two in special institutions where they are maltreated. The younger children are tormented at school and cannot learn and are under threat of removal.
Letters from two small girls and their mother describe beatings by the father. They want to emigrate but the mother is a believer. Mr. V. Gorelkin, who was born in China, gives a horrifying catalogue of persecution. — He has been under continual KGB pressure to betray fellow Pentecostalists. He has had electric shock «treatment» and after applying to emigrate to Australia, where he has a relative, he was beaten up night after night and suffered kidney damage and a hernia. He has two spells of imprisonment. He has a family of 11 to support. He says he would rather die than betray fellow believers.
The Committee gives an opportunity for many isolated individuals and parishes to let the outside world know of their plight and the pleas deserve wide publicity.
