Signaling an unprecedented change in Soviet educational strat- egy, Yevgeni Kazantsev, deputy minister of education in the Russian republic, asked Slavic Gospel Association to provide Soviet school libraries with Bibles and Christian books. Kazantsev is responsible for the education of students lhroughout the U.S.S.R. Kazantsev's request came during a recent meeting with Dick Scheuerman, vice president of Slavic Gospel Association's educa- tional ministries division. In response, SGA is sending a collection of ten Christian books, including the Bible and classic books on apologetics and basic Christianity. Given the Soviet education's former commitment to propagating atheism and undermining Christianity, Kazantsev's request signals a radical turnaround that could affect an entire generation of people. This change is echoed by other Soviet leaders.
Many Soviets understand that their political.
They now recognize that the fundamental needs of the Soviet people are moral and spiritual, and that decades of militant indoctrination in atheistic Marxism have created a society that is morally and ethically illiterate. By allowing the Bible and Christian books to be circulated through school libraries, Soviet educators are aftempting to provide the people of their country with the spiritual truths that Soviet leaders have denied them for years.