LUTHERANS. KRASNODAR. GENOCIDE.

LUTHERANS.  KRASNODAR.  GENOCIDE.

Press release 82 E

1. Aleshin Nikolay Evgenievich (Alyoshin Nicholas Eugene) – professor, Doctor of the Church Law – with the order of the chairperson Seiler (Fomaidis) has been introduced into the honourary status of the “Councilor (Kirchenrat) of the German Evangelish Lutheran congregation of the Krasnodar city”.

2. The named congregation was registered by the authorities of Ekaterinodar (today Krasnodar) in 1876. Lutherans built a kirche in the center of the city (today – 51, Oktyabrskaya street), which was the first totally stone temple of Ekaterinodar. The kirche was consecrated in 1894. During Stalin era the kirche was confiscated (today the local branch of the artists union is situated in it), the pastor was murdered in the prison camp of GULAG, parishioners were deported. It was the act of genocide on religious basis. This act of genocide is going on even now.

3. In the new Russia, having returned from the deportation, Lutherans re-established the congregation and re-registered it in 1994. The reborn congregation received the court ruling, declaring it to be the right-successor of the historical congregation of 1876. The kirche, however, has not been returned. Those, who have received the kirche as the result of the genocide act against the Lutherans, continue shamelessly to possess the building. And the chief of the Directorate for the cooperation with the public communities and religious organizations of the Administration of the Krasnodar Territory S. A. Rubashkina in her letter № 34.05-146/12-13 from 21.08.2012 recommends Lutherans “to appeal to the owners of the building in a private order”. In the other words, the victims of the genocide are suggested to redeem their property from the malefactors!

4. Today the Lutheran congregation has meetings in a small praying house (57/2, Aivazovskogo street), bought with the donations of the foreign coreligionists.

5. The Krasnodar congregation is famous with the spiritual exploits of the men of faith, having ministered unto it. Here I, in the first turn, must name pastor Gerhard Leiser, who with the full right has received nom de guerre “the Apostle of Caucasus” (isaurian.blogspot.com from 21.03.2012; English text follows the Russian one).

6. Pastor Oswald Wutzke also has become famous in Krasnodar. He tried to press on the territory Governor through the European Parliament. Wutzke was deported from Russia with the five-year prohibition to enter it. In 2012 he for the first time preached in Krasnodar after the mentioned interruption.

7. Pastor Gottfried Spieth was also deported from Russia. He blessed the emigration to Germany of the former USSR Peoples Deputy and the member of the Soviet Union Supreme Soviet, the creator of the Russian (and Soviet) rice industry academician E. P. Alyoshin. Today pastor Gottfried  Spieth is the parson of the parish in Switzerland.

8. When the parson of the Krasnodar congregation was Swyatoslaw Fechtel, the mentioned above praying house was stormed with the special force of the police. Fechtel was accused in kidnapping and keeping of the stolen people in the praying house. The house was searched. No kidnapped captive was founded there. Fechtel was deported from Russia. Now he is the parson of the Lutheran parish in Kharkov (Ukraine).

9. Through the missionary union “Light in the East” the famous missionary Leo Martensson (the Lutheran, Swede, married to the German citizen) was connected with the Krasnodar Lutheran congregation. Being the biggest scientist-philologist, Leo has translated the Bible into the Adyg language. After 10 years of work in Krasnodar he was arrested, put into prison and then – under the guard - deported from Russia. The union “Light in the East” Krasnodar branch was liquidated.

10. The parishioner of the German Evangelish Lutheran congregation of Krasnodar Andrew Novosyolov (Andrei Novoselov) was publishing the newspaper “Kuban Rightdefender” (“Kubanskiy Pravozashchitnik”). There he published my material about the ancient kirche and the demand to return it to the Lutherans. The newspaper was handed to the German Ambassador von Ploetz during his visit to Krasnodar in 2004. Novosyolov was thrown into prison. The European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg (France) acknowledged that Novosyolov had been tortured in prison. Russia paid a compensation to him. Now he lives in France.

11. The outstanding explorer of the German spiritual heritage professor Gerd Stricker published the material about the persecutions of the Lutherans of Krasnodar, based on the publications of Novosyolov in the “Kuban Rightdefender” newspaper. It was printed in the most respectable edition – in the Zurich journal “Faith in the 2^nd World” (G2W, “Glaube in der 2.Welt”, 2005, № 5, s. 6).

12. The genocide of the Lutherans in Krasnodar has been verified, certified and made public. The fight against the acts of that genocide and their consequences has become the factor of the international public diplomacy and of the international peacemaking activity.

The Lord is saying: “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Amen!

Professor   N. E.  Alyoshin

(isaurian@gmail.com

Blog: isaurian.blogspot.com)