Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia

The Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia is part of the large family of Evangelical Christian Baptists, a Protestant evangelical movement which began in the Russian Empire, in the midst of the Orthodox Christian establishment. It originally attracted Spiritual Christians, peasants, urban artisans, the lower military, and ethnic minorities. After initial favor in the Soviet era, followed by official disapproval, the church is now flourishing with about 76,000 adherents.

The movement had various sources. The presence of the Old Believers opened the space for different forms of Christianity in Russian society. A key moment came in 1867, when Nikita Isaevich Voronin was baptized in the Kura river in Tbilisi, Caucasus, in present-day Georgia. German Mennonites in Ukraine and Lutherans in the Baltic coast, started a revival, named "Stundist", which led to the formation of churches composed by adult-baptized believers. Vasily Pashkov, a retired army colonel in St Petersburg, introduced the evangelical message in the upper classes in the city, adhering to the principles of the Plymouth Brethren and later would emerge in the Union of the Evangelical Christians in All-Russia.

After the Soviet government came to power, they attempted to weaken the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church by encouraging Baptist and Methodist missionaries. However, when the missionaries began to help their members by administering welfare programs and building homes, the government clamped down. Laws passed in April 1929 declared that "the activity of all religious units be confined to the exercise of religion, and be not permitted any economic or cultural work which exceeds the limits of their ministry to the spiritual needs of Soviet citizens" and prevented churches being used by anyone outside the community served. In July 1929 Russian Baptists conducted a mass and total baptism in the Moscow River, a month after the Soviet Congress had passed a resolution limiting religious propaganda. The official press reported negatively on the event. In June 1942, at the height of the Second World War, a plea came from "4,000,000 Russian Baptists" for Christians in the U.S. and Great Britain to pray for Russia's victory. The number may have been exaggerated, but indicated that the Baptist church was strong.

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