# The Persecutor

The Persecutor, also known as Forgive Me Natasha and less commonly as Sergei, is the autobiography of Sergei Kourdakov, a former KGB agent who persecuted Christians in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, but defected to Canada in 1971 and converted to Evangelical Christianity. The book was finished shortly before his death in January 1973 and published posthumously.
It was published in English, then translated to at least fourteen languages including German, Spanish, French, Russian, and Dutch. Although the English versions have since ceased publication, various foreign-language versions are still in print.

## Background

The Persecutor details Sergei Kourdakov's early life in Novosibirsk Oblast, his life as an orphan, the raids he led on private Christian assemblies while a Naval academy student in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, his defection to Canada, and his new life in Canada and the United States. The book opens with Kourdakov's escape to Canada. Beginning with the second chapter, the book flashes back to Kourdakov's childhood.

## Plot Account

The story begins with a violent storm shaking the ship Sergei, the protagonist is on. Sergei, a second lieutenant cadet and a fervent communist supporter plans to leave the ship, Elagin. He jumped into the sea and deserted the ship but surviving as planned became a Hercules’ task as he begins struggle against the current. He became exhausted and just as he was about giving up, he prayed to God for the first time in his life to save his soul, miraculously, his strength was renewed and got a sense of directions. He found a rock and just as he thought that his ordeal is over only to discover that his struggle has not ended because he is two miles away from the village. He sums up the courage to proceed but got injured severely but he did not let that to discourage him, he was determined to get his freedom or die trying. He eventually passed out due to exhaustion and pain. The protagonist flashbacked and talk about his family; he has a military background. Sergi’s grandfather was a soldier who fought few wars for USSR and against communism in his country but lost and everything was taken away from him and sent to prison in Siberia where he eventually died in 1928. Kourdakov, the author’s father, was taken to Siberia too but was enrolled in the State’s school where he was brainwashed and made to believe in communism, an ideology his father hates so much, and in order to prove himself and his loyalty to the State, he had to abandon his father and cleanse himself of his lineage. Kourdakov, like his father, became a soldier but an ardent communist but was betrayed by the State when Nikita Khrushchev came into power. He was shot and Sergi’s mother died shortly after that, he became an orphan. He was adopted by the Kolmakovs, a well-to-do family, out of their generous heart. They took care of him as their own, however, one of their sons, Andrei is mentally unstable and tries to kill him which made him to run for his dear life and stay away from the Kolmakovs at the age of six. He lived on the street for ten days scavenging for foods including stealing to survive before he was rescued by a police officer who took him to his station and refused to tell them who he is, they took him to Number One – children orphanage’s home. When he became nine-year-old, the director of Number One came to him and informed him that he will be moved to another children’s home. There, he discovers that the children there are older from 9-15 years compared to the previous home and they are more children in Verkh-Irmen – like an upgrade. However, life in Verkh-Irmen is the opposite of Number One. It was hell. Those in charge: “aunts” and “uncles” where mean to the kids because it was a dead-end job for the unfortunates or with dead career, so they unleashed hell on the kids – it was a hostile environment which later developed tensions between the children, especially the older ones and the aunts and the uncles. Police closed down the orphanage home and all the children were separated and taken to different orphanage homes but Sergei went back to the street where he was caught by the police and sent to Barysevo. The orphanage home is supervised by Big Irene, the director of the orphanage home and Uncle Nichy whom Ivan Chernega, Sergei’s new friend warned him about – Uncle Nichy and Big Irene are not to be messed with because they are merciless but it did not take much time for Sergei to find out the hard way as he was caught reading by Uncle Nichy which violates their rules. He was given Vitamin P – the worst beaten of his life. Sergei was also taught a valuable lesson by his friend or colleague when he was given the “bulb treatment” (quote) – on trust and naiveness; he saw his life flashed before his eyes but luckily, he did not break his neck in the process. Like every other orphanage homes, they are brainwashed into believing that the United States is evil. The propaganda in the USSR successfully brainwashed Sergei and all he could think of is communism and his hate for America. The environment is so hostile that only the school offers a temporary relief. His most important lesson in the orphanage home came when his friend, Sasha died of hunger. There was famine in the land due to the error done by Khrushchev, he dug up lands used for wheat and other foods and substituted it with corn causing famine in the land and resulted to many deaths including Sasha others committed suicides while Big Irene glows. It was a wakeup call for him that life in USSR is a battle of survival and only the strong will survive. Due to the pathetic situation in the home, they were no longer supervised or cared about them as long as they did not destroy the State’s properties. In the orphanage home, there are three groups: the slaves – youngest or weak children, lieutenants, and the king, and Sergi became a king after his friend, Nikolai left. He discovered that most of the children in the orphanage home are there because of their parents who is either a prostitute, drinker or believer so the parents are declared unfit and strip off from parenthood. He met a boy called Deacon, a believer who talks about God – he is one of those that were forcefully taken away from their parents because of their religion, Sergi, out of curiosity asked the boy if God answers prayers and Deacon reassured him. Sergi decides to test his faith by skiing down the steepest slope and miraculously he survives. However, he did not know where Deacon ended up. Sergei is introduced to the Communist Youth League group by Comrade Skripko (the director of the school). He became indoctrinated into the world of communism and he believed in nothing else. However, he realized that what Big Irene and Uncle Nichy have been teaching them is not communism but brutality – survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, this took a negative effect on the kids as some ran away from the children and became a criminal or prostitute. Sergi choose the world of crime that almost ended his life in summer of 1965, when he obtained a large amount of hashish with two of his close friends from Turkestan. The business went well but a group of gang lured him to an alley and stabbed him at the back almost killing him. This became a wake-up call for him after he survived as to what he wants to do with his life. He decides to join the Communist Party and move with those that controls the affairs of the State. Sergei tries to make a name for himself out of nothing. He became one of the best students and his district was the overall best which sets his career in motion. He believes he has what it takes due to what he has gone through compare to other kids who had everything at their finger’s tips. He decides to join navy, and on his way to resume his training, he stopped at Lennin’s grave to pay his respect. At the navy academy in Alexanderpopov, he became a radio operator. On his vacation to Novosibirsk, he witnessed the restriction of worshippers for the first time. After completing his one-year training at Leningrad, he was assigned to another navy school to continue his study at the Alexander Petropavlovsk Naval Academy in Kamchatka Province far east, north of Japan. Alexander Petropavlovsk Navy base is a base where the next generation of Soviet’s leaders or officers are trained. Sergei had his first combat experience against the Chinese troops on the Amur River in 1969. The commander of the base appoints him as the Communist Youth League leader at the of 18 years due to his excellent records. The Communist Youth League was the party’s watchdog and it is his duty to oversee the political beliefs and dedication to communism of every one of the 1,200 officer cadets under him. The Communist Youth League often challenge the purely military officers in deciding the merits of a case because political purity was more important than the technical skill. However, the pressure at Petropavlovsk base is much to the point that three cadets killed themselves within the first year Sergei was there. As a Communist Youth League leader, it is his duty to intercedes on behalf of his colleague. He reports directly to the local communist party leaders in Moscow and soon become a popular public speaker talking about American imperialism and their involvement in Vietnam, importance of Soviet military might, Marxism-Leninism ideology. At the age of 18, Sergei is introduced to the KGB by Azrov because Moscow is pleased with his excellent records and they want him to become the head of the newly created branch in his district. The State is afraid of the believer’s more than murderers, prostitutes and drunkards, so he was tasked to persecute the believers by the KGB, and convinced himself that there is no God, so, he became the State’s Saul – the prosecutor. Sergei is happy with his new position and assignment. In 1970, Sergei was given an instruction to disrupt the Christian service which will begin at 11pm but not to be seen because of public opinions. He carried out the order amicably and arrested the two suspects he was instructed to arrest even though they committed no crime. In the constitution, Lenin also supports or gives room for religion, however due to the trajectory of the current leadership in the State, it has no room for religious ideologies. On getting to the station with the suspects, Sergei and his men were chastised by Captain Nikiforov, their supervisor for letting the other believers go free without bruises even though they cooperated. Nikiforov prefers to let loose of murderers than the believers. Nikiforov’s language is brutalization, so they become brute and enjoyed it. In his next raid, Sergei was given an instruction to go and harassed the believers believed to be conducting a baptismal service at the river which he did and he brought them back to the station although Nikiforov was angry at them especially Sergei because he brought them openly for the public to see which is not good for the image of the police and the State. However, they unintentionally killed Vasily Litovehenko who conducted the baptismal service. They continued to persecute the Christians, retrieve bibles and other Christian books. As the face of the Youth League Communist leader, he met Comrade Orlov, the party leader for the entire province who is impressed with him. However, Sergei became disgusted at him and the rest of the leaders in the banqueting hall because he found them drunk and they have been warning the youths to stay away from alcohol. He could not believe that the country is being run by drunkards. It looks like they have been fooled, and to make the matter worst, Orlov, in his state of drunkenness curses Stalin which indicates that all their public appearances is just a charade. Orlov further states that “communism is the worst curse that has ever come to man”, (quote) “an ideology that is too bad to print” (quote), Sergei could not believe his ears. He could not believe that he has been fooled all these years. Though he has seen many contradictions in the system but refuses to see the flaws because he believes so much in it but this new discovery reveals the hypocrisy within the system. Sergei decides to play the game too in order to get to the top. In one of their raids on Christians, they came across Natasha Zhdanova at 66, Okeanskaya Street and she was brutalized by Victor, but they found her again in another meeting in Nagornaya Street barely days they met her at Okeanskaya Street, Sergei decides to deal with her thoroughly, he lifts her and flings her. He strips her and beats her up. However, after the raid, he became curious to know more about her and looked at her file and he realized that she came from a poor background and she was once a Youth Communist member with good records only to be snatched by the believers after graduating from school and Sergei is convinced that what Nikiforov said about believers is true – they are disease and must be completely eradicated from the State. They found her again in another of their raid on Pograshny Street and Alex tries to hit her with the club but Victor, who had assaulted her the first time they met her on Okeanskaya Street stood between her and Alex and defends her, Sergei distracted Alex in pursuing another believer who ran away and they let Natasha go unharmed. Sergei reveals that believers are made poor because of their beliefs. They are treated as lepers or outcasts and will only get the worst jobs that paid almost nothing. Believers’ homes were ransacked and destroyed the little things they have left, whether they found Christian literatures or not. They were left to deal with the damages out of the nothing they earned. Often times, believers died or become incapacitated from their raids and the bloodier the raid, the more the praises they get from Nikiforov. He admits that “they are sinking, degree by degree into amorality.” (quote) Despite their raids, the believers keep increasing which alarmed Moscow. However, the communist youth are beginning to see life as it really is and note the contradictions between the promises and reality. They became cynical and often turned to alcohol as a form of escape. Sergei began to doubt the whole system. Nikiforov told Sergei to burn the Christian books in the basement and he went to the basement to carry out the order, but before he did, he had come across some verses in Luke, tore it out and took it to his bulk and read it over and over, and something about him changed. He saw nothing wrong with the book and his belief on communism, his first religion fades away and vows not to continue his way of life. He decides to leave Russia because he felt compelled. He was sent to Novosibirsk on military duty in case of military emergence but took a plane to Moscow without authority and visits Lenin’s grave and reminisce on his promises when he started his career at 17 years, but now he is filled with question and wonders where the States got it wrong. He received no answers to his questions which add to his confusions and lost mind. The book of Luke has opened his eyes and made him to question his beliefs. His first two attempts to leave Russia via Hungry-Austria and Armenia-Turkey failed due to the presences of Russian Soldiers at the borders, so he had no choice but to return to base with a turmoil mind. He became aggressive to anybody who crossed him including his men. In one of the raids which happens to be his last raid, he attempts to hit an old woman who prayed that God should forgive him, he felt someone holding him tightly but no one was there and he ran out and kept walking till it was dark and returned to the station after he came to his senses and quits the job. On December 1st, Nikiforov and Azrov (KGB, Major) try to entice him with scholarships and positions and he told them to give him time to think about it. Azrov made it clear that he belongs to the State – he is State’s property. He turned down the job but he realizes that KGB won’t leave him alone after his graduation in January. So, he made up his mind to leave Russia. He was assigned to a Soviet destroyer but he could not escape for the next one month and half he spent on the sea before they returned to base for two weeks break and he lobbied his way to a submarine off the coast of US. He boarded the submarine on the 4th of March and looked at his homeland for the last time and vowed that he would rather die or be free than to return alive. Weeks turns to months but he could not escape and continues to perform his duties diligently until mid-June when a Soviet’s trawler, Ivan Serenda came calling that they need a radio officer. His submarine surfaced on the 25th of June and transferred him to the trawler which then took him as far as Los Angeles 12 miles of territorial limit. As he was planning his escape, a message came from Moscow through the radio informing him about a Lithuanian man who escaped to the US via the Soviet’s fish vessel but has been extradited back to Russia due to the cooperation of the US and has been sentenced to 10 years. This makes him to have a rethink about his escape to the US and change his escape route to Canada. They sailed towards Vandenberg Airforce Base on the California Coast and shortly, he received words that he will be transferred to another trawler, Kolivan, a large Soviet’s fleet. July slipped to August; he had no chance to escape. As they crossed into water off the coast of Canada close to Vancouver, they transferred him to another trawler, Elagin and the trawler moved closer to Amchika Island off the coast of Alaska. Towards the end of August, Elagin sailed towards Canadian coast then he received news from Russia that he is to be transferred to Maria Ulyanova, a soviet supply ship, the ship will take him back to Russia in five days’ time, he also received the news that he has been promoted but that is the least of his worries. Elagin encounters a fierce storm which tests the ship’s limit to the point of forcing the captain to order Sergei to inform the Canadian authority to grant them permission to enter their territory, Sergei is happy to hear this because his chances of surviving the icy water have increased. Around 10pm on September 30, he jumped into the water but he has spent five hours in the freezing sea, climbed 200 – foot cliff, exposed to cold and bleeding from his injuries – he lost consciousness and he was rescued by the people from Tasu village and taken to a hospital where he was revived. After he recovered, he realised that he made it and was told that he suffered cardiac irregularity from exertion. After several hours, he was asked questions and he made it clear that he does not want to go back to Russia and the hospital contacted the Canadian authority in Prince Rupert, he was flown out of the province to Prince Rupert in British Columbia and put in a prison section of the hospital but treated well. Just has he was getting his hope high, he received a shocking news that he might be handed over to Russian authority and he was sent to Vancouver jail. His dream of freedom is on the verge of being shattered into a million pieces. He turned to God once more and prayed though he does not know how. His case becomes a public outcry which stopped his extradition to Russia and stayed in jails for several weeks while his papers are being processed. Meanwhile, Russia has not given up on him and tries to lure him back to Russia through the second secretary of the Russian embassy. He was released shortly after his immigration papers were processed and became a free man. He was offered numerous jobs but among these job offers, he accepted one but on getting there he discovered that it was not a job offer but a terror group (F. L. Q.) who has ties with communists and realized that it was a trap but his two Bulgarian interpreters came as described in the note he left for them and saved him. He realized that Russia will never let him go – he is being monitored and there is the strong presence F. L. Q. in Quebec means he is not safe, he left Quebec to Toronto where he stayed with a Russian family and kept trying to fill the void in him – to know God. In his search for God, he came across a Russian girl who invited him to a Ukrainian church and met a pastor who helped him with his struggle and became born again. He started talking about the persecution of Christians in USSR and three Russian agents came to warn him to keep his mouth shut or he will have a ‘final accident.’ (quote) but he refused – he wants to be the voice of the persecuted and as an act of redemption for him. Shortly after the warning, he died. He was found dead in a ski resort motel in Los Angles with a gunshot wound from the gun he borrowed from the father of the family he was staying with. He was 21 when he died. His death was ruled as suicide though he had said that his life feels threatens and if he is going to die, it will look like accident.

## Criticism

The Persecutor has been met with varied criticism regarding its authorship and accuracy. Some, such as Albert W. Wardin, believe that the biography was at least partially written by members of Underground Evangelism, the Christian organization which Kourdakov was a member of that helped smuggle Bibles into communist countries. Wardin also claims that the book gives a distorted view of evangelical life in the Soviet Union, stating that "the allegation that for years before the late 1960s there was not even one Protestant church in Novosibirsk is untrue" and that "the figure of 30,000 Initiative Baptists in Kamthatka [...] and that of over 150 attacks in two years seems unbelievably high."
In 2004, United States Christian journalist Caroline Walker released a drama documentary about The Persecutor. Claiming to have been given a vision from God, she traveled to Siberia to investigate various parts of book. Through the film, she claims that contrary to her own expectations, there are many inconsistencies in the autobiography, such as the section dealing with Sergei's experience in the Barysevo Orphanage as a child. The documentary, titled Forgive Me, Sergei (a pun on the autobiography title), was co-produced and directed by Polish Jesuit Damian Wojciechowski, whom she met during her investigation. He was also attempting to film a documentary on Kourdakov's life, but was struggling with inconsistencies in the book.
   "On the first film shoot, I recognized that the book was much further from the truth than what I had first thought and might simply be fiction."
The documentary received multiple awards at film festivals.