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KGB, Rome and the SDA Church
Tuesday, 18-May-1999 14:12:07
www.nitecop.com
Armed KGB Agents Storm Homes

In the Soviet Union, which Lenin patterned after the Jesuit order, we have had a precursor of what is developing now in America.

"On 14 March 1978, a few days after the Belgrade Conference came to its inconclusive end, Vladimir
Shelkov [head of the True and Free Seventh-day Adventists in the Soviet Union] was visiting his daughter Dina and her family. His wife Vera had recently been taken to hospital with heart trouble and pneumonia. Ilya Lepshin, his son-in-law, was also far from well, suffering constant attacks of migraine, but a small family gathering was in progress - various of Shelkov's female relatives, as well as his grandchildren were present. Suddenly, about 20 armed KGB men broke into the house. The scene was later described by Shelkov's daughter Dina:

The Search

"With insults and threats, they pushed us all into one room...We were forbidden to make the least move into
the rest of the house and, after an armed guard had been set over us, they proceeded to carry out a search.

"The shame and horror of it! The things that went on then!

KGB Refused to Give Their Names as They Plundered

"They brought in crow-bars, spades, tongs, axes, pincers, saws, mine-detectors, metal hoists, probes, powerful lights, cameras, firearms, walkie-talkie radios, motors and so on. They broke through the ceilings, demolished the chimneys, breached and took up the floors, hollowed out and pulled down walls, tearing down the plaster; they dug huge, deep holes under the floors (up to two metres in depth), broke up the asphalt paving, dug up the whole courtyard and breached ceilings, walls and floors in neighboring buildings. They investigated all cesspools and toilet bowls. In a word, it was as if a bomb had gone off. This act of plunder was presided over by Herman Vasilevich Ponomaryov, criminal procurator and junior counselor of justice at the Tashkent Procurator's Office. All the others taking part in the pogrom categorically refused to give their names or official positions, though we asked them more than once to show us their identity cards. G.V. Ponomaryov, as the person in charge of the search, also refused to name the others, saying 'What do you need their names for? So that you can write about us afterwards'?' My father said 'Yes, we shall write about you, as all your actions are unjust and illegal....

"During the three-day search, Procurator Ponomaryov constantly threatened Shelkov with special punishments, tortures and new experimental methods of interrogation....

KGB Discover 17 Spirit of Prophecy Books in Hiding Places

"As a result of the ruthless demolition of the walls and floors, various hiding places were now revealed,
Including a secret room and some cupboards containing books - largely religious. Among them were 17 Russian translations of books by Ellen White. Some were in the form of typed manuscripts; others were pre-war editions from Latvia, while a few had even been printed before the Revolution.

"The search warrant stated that 'The residence of V.F.Shelkova may contain stores of manuscripts, libelous
Literature, machinery designed to print or reproduce such literature and objects and documents, which may
be relevant to the case.' [Madrid Conference Document, p. 87.]

"As a result of the search, all religious literature was confiscated: Bibles, psalms, books dealing with the moral and spiritual subjects, religious poetry and tape-recordings, tape-recordings of sermons and psalms, as well as all the family’s savings down to the last penny…

"During the search, a fellow believer rang at the front gate. Five KGB men went out and fired at him as he started to run away.

KGB Descends Upon Adventist Homes All Over Tashkent

"As the search was proceeding at the Shelkov’s home in Soyuznaya Street, other KGB detachments descended on Adventist households all over Tashkent.” – Marite Sapiets, True Witness: The Story of Seventh-Day Adventists in the Soviet Union. Keston, Kent, England: Keston College, 1990, pp. 85-87.

Like Jesus, Like Luther, the Message Deemed a Threat to State Security