The first two days of my visit to Moscow in January 2001 were some of the most discouraging in my ten years of work in the Russian Federation. As usual, I was excited to return to Moscow and my adrenalin was really flowing as I anticipated meeting with staff, faculty and students at the Russian-American Christian University’s campus.

When an American first arrives in Moscow, the road system in the capital makes a positive impression. The highway from the international airport (Sheremetyevo) to the central part of the city near the Kremlin is a broad, tree-lined boulevard. While it is not equivalent to the airport-bound interstate highways in Los Angeles or Chicago, it is still an impressive transportation artery.

Nizhni Novgorod is a very liveable university city. Located 380 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow on the junction of the Volga and Oka Rivers, this city of two million people hosts 13 post-secondary educational institutions. Formerly named Gorky, the city was declared “closed” in 1932 and foreigners were denied access to the area, which houses a large defense-related industrial complex which produces MiG aircraft, nuclear submarines and other defense systems. The city also has a large automotive factory that was built in the 1930s with the help of Henry Ford and his advisors. In the fall of 1991, the city was “opened” to the West.

When the initial invitation was sent to the 19 American Christian leaders to visit Moscow at the invitation of the Soviet government in early October 1991, most of the delegates were very excited about the opportunity to meet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He had survived the August 1991 coup attempt and was energetically trying to hold the U.S.S.R. together, despite growing nationalist movements in various Soviet Republics.

On the evening of October 30, the “Day for Remembering Victims of Repression,” our delegation of 19 American Christian leaders was driven to the front door of Lubyanka, the feared headquarters of the KGB. I will never forget the feeling I had when we entered this infamous building. I had read a great deal about the KGB during my graduate school days and knew of its role in the repression of Christianity for 70 years. But my knowledge was “head knowledge” and I had little personal exposure to this dreaded secret police force.

In October 1991, I received a letter from Mikhail Morgulis, Director of Project Christian Bridge, informing me that I had been invited by the President of the U.S.S.R. (Mikhail Gorbachev), the President of the Republic of Russia (Brois Yeltsin), and leaders of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. (national parliament) to be a part of a 19-member delegation of American Christian leaders to visit Moscow. Needless to say, I was thrilled and overwhelmed by this extraordinary opportunity.