Establishing the Union of Evangelical Christians- Baptists and its Activities in Smolensk Province in 1922–1925 (Based on Materials of Smolensk Archives)

The article is devoted to the study of formation and activities of the Baptist Union in Smolensk, which was established in 1922 with the active participation of the All- Russian Union of Evangelical Christians- Baptists. Analysis of archival data made it possible to reveal not only positive dynamics of the union’s activities related to purchase of educational literature distributed throughout the province, active assistance to needy brothers in the faith, mediation between local Baptists and various Baptist organizations, but also negative dynamics expressed in the inability to solve a number of problems facing the union: the lack of qualified preachers and singers, financial difficulties, and since 1923 — opposition to the provincial government. This is where the peak of the union’s activity comes from — the first half of 1923; and then its decline — the second half of 1923 — the end of 1924. Their inability to solve the pressing problems, the split in the union with the “shaking Pentecostals” along with increased pressure from the provincial government eventually resulted in the closure of not only the Baptist Union in Smolensk in 1924, but many large Baptist communities of the Smolensk region as well.