I had left the employ of the Diocese of Olympia in 1988, and for a time managing a private industry 'inside' while serving as lay chaplain in two prisons. When planning for the group from the then Soviet Union began, we were asked to take the 4 Orthodox visitors inside. Our Orthodox friends from St. Petersburg were inspired. On returning home they wasted no time to seek out similar opportunities. By January 1989 they were regularly going into Mettalastroi Prison where there were no formal religious observances at all.
Today there is a chapel inside the prison walls.
I went to Leningrad for Pentecost 1991 with a group from Seattle, and had the joy of visiting the prison. Then last fall the two of us went at their invitation for two weeks. We stayed at the seminary, visited a number of their prisons, and met with the Prisoners Aid Society in St. Petersburg. We have developed close friendships with a number of the folks in Russia through the 7 years of the program. Boris is visiting us this summer.