Anatoli recalled for me the first of many tense interviews with the KGB. He was slotted for a prime assignment because he was qualified in four different specialties. As the interview progressed, their opinion of him plummeted when he would not deny his faith. He said, “I will not sign any paper that says I do not believe in my Lord Jesus Christ.” It was not just the resident KGB agents who seemed to have it out for him; the base commander also had a particular interest in making Anatoli suffer for his faith. In fact the base commander promised Anatoli that he would not leave the base alive.

During another round of KGB interrogation, one of the officers lost his temper with Antatoli’s steadfast refusal to deny Christ. The officer stood up and punched Anatoli so hard that Anatoli flew through a door. The enraged officer was intent on finishing the job he started when God used another KGB agent who intervened and saved Anatoli’s life. This situation led to Anatoli being given a pass to go home.

A pass was unheard of for any solider in their first year in the Red Army but for a Christian it is nearly inconceivable. The base commander, who promised Anatoli that he would not leave the base alive, was required to sign his pass. Of course the commander was not at all pleased with this arrangement and soon he was arguing with the KGB agent. The KGB won the brief shouting match, and Anatoli was sent on leave.

Later, Anatoli was back at the base and hard at work when an officer dropped a folder near where he was working. Anatoli picked it up and opened it to see what it was and who it belonged to. Unfortunately for Anatoli, the file contained top secret details for a nuclear missile. Already the KGB accused him of being a spy, and as Anatoli opened the file, a military policeman came by and he was arrested.

This led to another go around with the KGB, where a desperate Anatoli told the KGB that if they killed him, the whole world would hear about it on Voice of America, a broadcast beamed into the Soviet Union, which the government made many attempts to jam. This apparently had some affect on the two KGB officers and they sent him away on another home leave. Again, a shouting match between the base commander and the KGB but Anatoli dared not smile as the base commander reluctantly signed his second pass.

On this home leave, Anatoli found out that the base commander’s parents lived only eighty miles from his home town and he decided to visit them. They spent a lovely afternoon together and when Antaoli came back to the base, he marched right up to the commander delivering the care package. The base commander was completely dumbfounded.

“You went to visit my parents?”
“Yes” answered Anatoli.
“What did you tell them?” asked the base commander.
“I told them you were a nice man.”
“So you lied!” remarked the base commander.
“I answered from God’s perspective, I told your parents who you were through the eyes of grace. God loves you.”

The base commander hung his head and sobbed. He vowed to protect Anatoli, and looking keenly into Anatoli’s eyes, he said, “Today I understand what Christianity is all about. Up until now I did not understand you ‘Baptists’, but today I do.”

Anatoli had many other adventures during his remaining time in the Red Army. He told about interviews with other officers who wanted to talk with a “real believer” under cover of night. When Anatoli finished his remembrances I looked and realized that nearly two hours had raced by. My heart was full of joy and praise.

Praise God that He raised up these kinds of men like Anatoli to stand in the gap. They continue to say in many ways and at many different times, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”