Siberian Seven Collection

SC-52
Hill, Kent Richmond
10 boxes (4 linear feet)
1978-1989 (bulk: 1978-1983)

Introduction
The collection documents the struggle of seven Pentecostals who sought refuge in the United States Embassy in Moscow in 1978 and spent five years awaiting an opportunity to emigrate.

Provenance: The Siberian Seven Collection was donated by Mr. Hill and was received in the Spring of 1993.

Restrictions: There are no specific restrictions on this collection.
Duplication may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items.

Collection Description
The Siberian Seven Collection dates primarily between 1978-1983, with some material dating to 1989. The collection documents the struggle of seven Pentecostals who sought refuge in the United States Embassy in Moscow in 1978. The collection measures about 5 linear feet.

The Siberian Seven's personal material consists of half the collection and consists mainly of their personal autobiographies and correspondence. Their correspondence is chiefly with Kent Hill and his wife, with some correspondence consisting of appeals to the governments of the US and the USSR. The photographs taken of the Siberian Seven are taken mainly in the American Embassy in Moscow. Other photographs are of the Seven after their 1983 release in Israel. Also included are maps, news clippings, articles, and expenses—all information pertaining to the Seven and their hopeful release.

Kent Hill's personal material consists mainly of biographical information, his correspondence to Marianne Ridge of Christian Solidarity International, and correspondence to Paul and Annette Rousch, who also spent time visiting with the Seven when Hill was working in the Embassy. Kent Hill wrote about the Siberian Seven in a number of publications concerning their stay in the Embassy that he submitted to Christianity Today and are a part of this collection.

Remaining material is correspondence with support organizations who were working for the Siberian Seven's release. Also included are photocopies of the manuscript, Siberian Seven by John Charles Pollock.

Biographical/Historical Sketch
In 1978 seven Siberian Pentecostals crashed past Soviet guards and into the United States embassy seeking help in emigrating from the Soviet Union because of religious persecution. Pyotr Vashchenko, Augustina, and their three daughters, Lidiya, Lyubov and Liliya along with fellow believers Mariya Chmykhalov and her son Timofei had traveled 2,000 miles by rail from the Siberian town of Cherno-gorsk.

Starting in 1961, Siberian officials began harsh anti-Christian campaigns and routinely disrupted Christian worship services and jailed many Pentecostal leaders. The Vashchenko children faced harassment at school—ridicule, ostracism and beatings. The following year the Vashchenkos decided to educate them at home, but the state ruled them unfit and removed their daughters from the home and placed them in state homes until they turned 16. In January 1963, while Pyotr was in prison, Augustina and fellow Pentecostals made international headlines for forcing their way into the U.S. embassy seeking asylum. When they were promised better treatment they left. However, the Vashchenko’s home was confiscated, their jobs were lost and they were imprisoned.

Known to the outside world as “the Siberian Seven,” they have lived as uninvited guests in a grubby 12-ft. by 20-ft. room in the basement of the U.S. embassy on Moscow's bustling Tchaikovsky Street. They shared two beds and earned small change around the embassy washing cars, knitting garments, cleaning rooms.

Inspired by Soviet Dissident Andrei Sakharov, after three and a half years in the embassy basement Augustina and Lidiya Vashchenko began a hunger strike—stopping their eating in a desperate bid to win world attention and shame the Soviets into relenting. Their health failed quickly. Their plan worked as the severity of their situation gained international attention and the hunger strike became life-threatening. Pyotr Vashchenko was opposed to their tactics because of his understanding of the Christian teaching against suicide.

While in the embassy, the group completed a 225,000-word account of their heart-rending saga, reworked by John Pollock as The Siberian Seven. Their experiences reveal the sufferings that Christians behind the Iron Curtain had been compelled to bear. It has been noted that the case of the Siberian Seven is a good example of the gravity of the human rights situation inside the Soviet Union.

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