Boris Kryltsov was one of the early few who zealously preached in the country’s capital. He recounts: “I worked in construction management. Along with a group of brothers and sisters, I tried to preach informally. On learning what I was doing, the KGB searched my apartment in April 1957 and found Bible literature, whereupon I was immediately arrested. During interrogation, the inspector told me that Jehovah’s Witnesses were the most dangerous people in the State. He said: ‘If we let you go free, many Soviet citizens will join you. That is why we see you as a grave threat to our State.’

“‘The Bible teaches us to be law-abiding citizens,’ I said. ‘Also, it says that we must keep on seeking first the Kingdom and God’s righteousness. True Christians have never attempted to seize power in any country.’

“‘Where did you get the literature that we found during the search?’ asked the investigator.

“‘What is wrong with the literature?’ I asked. ‘It discusses Bible prophecies and doesn’t cover any political issues.’

“‘Yes, but it is published abroad,’ he answered.

“I ended up in a maximum-security prison in the city of Vladimir. I was searched thoroughly, but to my surprise I was able to take into the camp four issues of The Watchtower, hand-copied on thin paper. It was clear that Jehovah had helped me. In my cell, I recopied all four issues. I knew that besides me, other Witnesses were there, and they had been without any spiritual food for seven years. I passed these magazines along through a sister who was in charge of mopping the stairwell.

“As it turned out, associating with the brothers was a tattler, who told the prison wardens that someone was passing along Bible literature. They immediately began to search everyone and take all the literature away. Soon they came to me and found literature in my mattress. I received 85 days in solitary confinement. Nevertheless, Jehovah continued to care for us as before.”

[Picture on page 126]

Boris Kryltsov