Prayerful determination overcomes
Scripture import battle

As last Christmas approached, staff at the Bible Society in Russia were faced with being unable to meet the seasonal demand for Scriptures because of a dispute over import taxes. It was only at the last minute that their prayerful commitment to ensuring adequate supplies yielded the desired result.

RUSSIA — November 2005. The Christmas season was well under way. Churches were making preparations for the celebrations and there was great demand for Bibles. The Bible Society’s warehouses were empty, waiting to receive a large shipment of Bibles from abroad. Then everybody would be happy. But then came the bad news. A shipment of 50,000 Bibles, packed in three huge containers, had not been released from the UK. The Bible Society was still waiting to receive documentation from Rospechat, the federal agency for press and mass communications, allowing it to bring religious literature into the country tax-free.

Tax conditions

The Bible Society has the right under Russian law to import religious literature under preferential tax conditions. However, this requires the appropriate documentation from Rospechat, a very powerful agency which carries the full authority of the government. The Bible Society had been battling with the bureaucrats for two years to obtain this documentation, but had encountered a very negative response.

Inventive excuses

Rospechat officials made some very inventive excuses. “We need a special committee to decide this case,” they declared at one stage. Then came another explanation: “As a result of administrative reform, there is now nobody responsible for issuing such documents.”

The Bible Society made many phone calls and visited many offices. Eventually, at a meeting of the government committee on matters relating to religious organisations, Bible Society Executive Director Anatoly Rudenko issued a strong challenge to Rospechat representatives. An argument followed.

Negative publicity

Minister of Culture Alexander Sokolov intervened to bring it to a close by asking Rospechat, “What else is stopping you issuing the documentation to the Bible Society?” This, along with much negative publicity in a leading newspaper and on high-profile television and radio programmes, proved to be the turning point. Just a few days later, the documentation arrived.

Repay the money

After that, it was not long before the Bibles were delivered, still in time for Christmas. Moreover, the Bible Society has managed to persuade the customs authorities to repay the money it had paid in taxes on the import of Bibles. So far, it has received two transfers of funds amounting to almost US$50,000. For a religious organisation to win a battle of this kind against the government and to get its money back is unprecedented in Russia.

Staff believe that their persistence in fighting for their rights was a reflection of their commitment to being good stewards of God’s gifts. “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118: 6, NIV). (WR 402/18 - 06.06)