Forty years had passed since Jehovah’s Witnesses had applied to Moscow for registration of their activities in 1949. At that time, the brothers could not conscientiously meet the demands of Stalin’s government. But on February 26, 1990, the chairman of the Committee of Religious Affairs in Moscow received a delegation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The meeting was also attended by two vice-chairmen and three other colleagues. The delegation of Jehovah’s Witnesses included 15 people: 11 brothers from Russia and other republics of the Soviet Union, Milton Henschel and Theodore Jaracz from Brooklyn, as well as Willi Pohl and Nikita Karlstroem from the Germany branch.

The meeting was opened by the chairman with these words: “We are very happy to meet with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had heard much about you before, but this is the first time to meet you. We are open to discussion in the spirit of glasnost (openness).” The brothers told of their desire to apply for the registration of the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Soviet Union. The chairman continued: “It is pleasant to hear this, and the time is appropriate. Soon it will be spring, a time for sowing crops. So we can expect good results and good fruits.”

When the chairman asked the brothers to introduce themselves, it was obvious that Jehovah’s Witnesses could be found in every corner of the country from Kaliningrad to the Far East. One circuit overseer said: “I represent four congregations in the Irkutsk Oblast. But I also care for the Far East, the Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk krays,b and the Novosibirsk and Omsk oblasts.” The chairman exclaimed, “You have an enormous territory; it exceeds that of many nations!”

A vice-chairman said: “We need to become better acquainted with your beliefs, since we do not understand some of them. For example, in one of your books, it says that God will cleanse the earth and remove all present-day governments. We cannot understand this.” Brother Pohl replied: “Jehovah’s Witnesses do not participate in any kind of violence. If a book states this, it is referring to specific Bible prophecies. Jehovah’s Witnesses preach about God’s Kingdom and everlasting life in a paradise on earth.”

“There is nothing wrong with that,” said the vice-chairman.

At the end of the discussion, the chairman said: “We are very glad to have met with you. You should be registered as soon as possible.”

In March 1991, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia received official recognition. At that time, Russia had a population of over 150 million and reported 15,987 Kingdom proclaimers. Now, more instruction from Jehovah was needed for the brothers and sisters in Russia.​—Matt. 24:45; 28:19, 20.

[Picture on page 202]

After receiving the official registration, from left to right: Theodore Jaracz, Michael Dasevich, Dmitry Livy, Milton Henschel, a ministry of justice worker, Anany Grogul, Aleksey Verzhbitsky, and Willi Pohl