During the second half of the 1980’s, there was some easing of the opposition to pure worship. Local congregations saw increases in publishers, and more literature was available for the brothers. After visiting relatives abroad, some Witnesses brought back magazines and books. For the brothers, especially those who had been in Soviet prison camps, it was their first time to hold an original Bible publication in their hands. Yet, some could not believe that they would live to see the day when an original copy of The Watchtower would pass through the Iron Curtain.

After many years of contending with Jehovah’s Witnesses, the authorities finally began to soften. The brothers were now invited to meet with civil representatives of the local religious affairs offices. Some of these authorities were willing to meet with Jehovah’s Witnesses from world headquarters in Brooklyn. Understandably, at first the brothers suspected a trap. But times were certainly changing for Jehovah’s people.

In 1989, brothers from Brooklyn recommended that the country committee start negotiations with authorities to register our public ministry.

Religious Freedom at Last!

At the end of 1990, judicial institutions started to exonerate some of Jehovah’s Witnesses, restoring to them their rights and privileges. At the same time, the country committee formed a group that represented Jehovah’s Witnesses in their meetings with government authorities. Willi Pohl from the Germany branch had oversight of this group.

Prolonged meetings with State authorities in Moscow and Kiev brought the Witnesses their long-awaited freedom. The religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses was officially registered in Ukraine on February 28, 1991, the first such registration in the territory of the U.S.S.R. One month later, on March 27, 1991, this organization was also registered in the Russian Federation. Thus, after more than 50 years of bans and persecution, Jehovah’s Witnesses finally gained religious freedom. Soon thereafter, in late 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and Ukraine announced its independence.

[Picture on page 233]

The registration of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ukraine, on February 28, 1991, was the first such registration in the territory of the U.S.S.R.