Zoya Krakhmalnikova
Encyclopedia
Zoya Alexandrovna Krakhmalnikova (January 14, 1929 - April 17, 2008) was a Russia
n Christian
writer
, of Ukrainian origin. She was an activist and former Soviet dissident who was repeatedly arrested by the authorities of the former Soviet Union
for her publications.
on January 14, 1929. Her father was arrested in 1936 during one of Joseph Stalin
's many purges. She graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute in 1954 in Moscow
and completed her postgraduate work at the Gorky Institute of World Literature
despite her family's background. An avid scholarly writer, Krakhmanlnikova was publishing articles in Soviet literary journals by the 1960s. She became a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences' Institute of Sociology
in 1967.
Her husband was fellow author, Feliks Svetov.
in 1971, which led to her being fired from her job. Her baptism also led to her dismissal from the Union of Writers
, which meant that she could no longer publish any of her work in the Soviet Union. Instead, Krakhmalnikova turned her attention to writing articles concerning Christianity in the Soviet Union
, many of which she sent outside of the country to be published.
In 1976, she began publishing Nadezhda
(Hope), which was a revival of a pre-revolutionary Christian journal
. She focused her publication on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church
, not to attack Soviet authorities for their policies or human rights
abuses. However, the journal also explored the subject of what it called "new martyrs", who were victims of the Communist rule.
Posev, which was an anti-Soviet publishing house based in West Germany
, began printing copies of Nadezhda once it received the typescripts. Copies of Nadezhda were then smuggled back into the Soviet Union.
Krakhmalnikova was arrested at 4:00 a.m. on August 4, 1982, at her dacha
. A total of ten issues, with several others published anonymously, had been published by the time she was arrested. She spent almost a year at the Lefortovo prison
awaiting trial
. Soviet authorities charged Krakhmalnikova with deliberately sending articles by a Russian Orthodox priest
, Fr. Dmitri Dudko, out of the U.S.S.R. to be published abroad. She pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 1, 1983.
She was ultimately convicted. Her sentence was called lenient by the state run Soviet news agency, Tass
. However, the Soviet press omitted the fact that her official prison sentence at Lefortovo was to be followed by a five year internal exile
at the remote settlement of Ust-Kan
, which is located in Russia's Altai Republic
, much closer to Mongolia
than Moscow. She was allowed visits once a month from her husband and daughter, but was not allowed to visit a church. She did put up a few traditional Orthodox icons and a Bible
in small corner of her room. She had no access to a priest while living in Ust-Kan.
Her husband, Feliks Svetov, an author and Russian Orthodox activist, was later arrested and also sent into internal exile in Siberia
. Svetov was one of the Soviet Union's last dissidents of the Soviet Union who were arrested for religious oppression. He was sentenced in January, 1986, just ten months after Mikhail Gorbachev
became General Secretary
. The couple refused to "repent" for their so-called crimes, but were still granted a pardon
in July, 1987. Following her release, Krakhmalnikova became a pro-democracy activist and publicly called on the Russian Orthodox Church to apologize for its collaboration with Soviet authorities, which, as of 2008, it still has not done.
Krakhmalnikova later wrote her autobiography
, which was published in the United States
, but not the United Kingdom
. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, Krakhmalnikova never became a high profile Russian figure and was little known in Western Europe
or the United States. However, she remained influential within her group of friends, activists and supporters.
Zoya Krakhmalnikova died on April 17, 2008, at the age of 79.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, of Ukrainian origin. She was an activist and former Soviet dissident who was repeatedly arrested by the authorities of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for her publications.
Early life and career
Krakhmalnikova was born in the city of Kharkov, UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
on January 14, 1929. Her father was arrested in 1936 during one of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's many purges. She graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute in 1954 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and completed her postgraduate work at the Gorky Institute of World Literature
Gorky Institute of World Literature
The Gorky Institute of World Literature is a research institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.It was founded on 17 September 1932 for the 40th anniversary of M. Gorky`s literary activity.Web-site: http://www.imli.ru/...
despite her family's background. An avid scholarly writer, Krakhmanlnikova was publishing articles in Soviet literary journals by the 1960s. She became a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences' Institute of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
in 1967.
Her husband was fellow author, Feliks Svetov.
Dissident
Zoya Krakhmalnikova was baptized into the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
in 1971, which led to her being fired from her job. Her baptism also led to her dismissal from the Union of Writers
Union of Writers
can refer to:* USSR Union of Writers formed in 1932* L'Union des Ecrivains formed in 1968** Members included:*** Françoise Mallet-Joris*** Alain Jouffroy*** Jean-Paul Sartre*** Eugène Guillevic*** Michel Butor...
, which meant that she could no longer publish any of her work in the Soviet Union. Instead, Krakhmalnikova turned her attention to writing articles concerning Christianity in the Soviet Union
Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union
The history of Christianity in the Soviet Union was not limited to repression and secularization. Soviet policy toward religion was based on the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which made atheism the official doctrine of the Soviet Union...
, many of which she sent outside of the country to be published.
In 1976, she began publishing Nadezhda
Nadezhda
Nadezhda may refer to:*Nadezhda , people with the given name NadezhdaPlaces*Nadezhda, Sofia, a municipality, part of Sofia, Bulgaria*Nadezhda Strait, Okhotsk Sea*Nadezhda Island, Sitka County, AlaskaShips...
(Hope), which was a revival of a pre-revolutionary Christian journal
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. She focused her publication on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church
History of the Russian Orthodox Church
-Foundation by St. Andrew:The Russian Orthodox Church is traditionally said to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, who is thought to have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. According to one of the legends, St. Andrew reached the future location of...
, not to attack Soviet authorities for their policies or human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses. However, the journal also explored the subject of what it called "new martyrs", who were victims of the Communist rule.
Posev, which was an anti-Soviet publishing house based in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, began printing copies of Nadezhda once it received the typescripts. Copies of Nadezhda were then smuggled back into the Soviet Union.
Krakhmalnikova was arrested at 4:00 a.m. on August 4, 1982, at her dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
. A total of ten issues, with several others published anonymously, had been published by the time she was arrested. She spent almost a year at the Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison is a prison in Moscow, Russia, which, since 2005, has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It was built in 1881...
awaiting trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
. Soviet authorities charged Krakhmalnikova with deliberately sending articles by a Russian Orthodox priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, Fr. Dmitri Dudko, out of the U.S.S.R. to be published abroad. She pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 1, 1983.
She was ultimately convicted. Her sentence was called lenient by the state run Soviet news agency, Tass
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations...
. However, the Soviet press omitted the fact that her official prison sentence at Lefortovo was to be followed by a five year internal exile
Internal Exile
Internal Exile was Fish's second solo album after leaving Marillion in 1988. The album, released 28 October 1991, was inspired by the singer's past, his own personal problems and his troubled experiences with his previous record label EMI.The album's music reflects Fish's indulgence in the vast...
at the remote settlement of Ust-Kan
Ust-Kan
Ust-Kan is the name of several rural localities in Russia:*Ust-Kan, Altai Republic, a selo in Ust-Kanskoye Rural Settlement of Ust-Kansky District of the Altai Republic...
, which is located in Russia's Altai Republic
Altai Republic
Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
, much closer to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
than Moscow. She was allowed visits once a month from her husband and daughter, but was not allowed to visit a church. She did put up a few traditional Orthodox icons and a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in small corner of her room. She had no access to a priest while living in Ust-Kan.
Her husband, Feliks Svetov, an author and Russian Orthodox activist, was later arrested and also sent into internal exile in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Svetov was one of the Soviet Union's last dissidents of the Soviet Union who were arrested for religious oppression. He was sentenced in January, 1986, just ten months after Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
became General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
. The couple refused to "repent" for their so-called crimes, but were still granted a pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
in July, 1987. Following her release, Krakhmalnikova became a pro-democracy activist and publicly called on the Russian Orthodox Church to apologize for its collaboration with Soviet authorities, which, as of 2008, it still has not done.
Krakhmalnikova later wrote her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, which was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but not the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, Krakhmalnikova never became a high profile Russian figure and was little known in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
or the United States. However, she remained influential within her group of friends, activists and supporters.
Zoya Krakhmalnikova died on April 17, 2008, at the age of 79.