In the middle of 1961, Brother Pashkovskyi met with responsible brothers from Poland and explained that there were divisions among the brothers in the U.S.S.R. He asked if Nathan H. Knorr from headquarters in Brooklyn would write a letter showing that there was support for Brother Ziatek. Later, in 1962, Brother Pashkovskyi received a copy of the letter to Jehovah’s Witnesses in the U.S.S.R., dated May 18, 1962. It stated: “Communications reaching me from time to time have indicated that you brothers in the U.S.S.R. continue to maintain your strong desire to be faithful servants of Jehovah God. But some of you have had problems in trying to maintain unity with your brothers. I believe this is because of poor communication facilities and the deliberate circulation of false stories by some who are opposed to Jehovah God. Therefore I write to let you know that the Society recognizes Brother Pavlo Ziatek and the brothers working with him as the responsible Christian overseers in the U.S.S.R. Both compromises and extreme views should be rejected. We must be of a sound mind, reasonable, adaptable and also firm on God’s principles.”

[Picture on page 196]

Letter dated May 18, 1962, from Nathan H. Knorr to the brothers in the U.S.S.R.