12  Bashkortostan, Russia  2003   12 Chapters  (103:32)   Script: Bashkortostan 2003.pdf  
03/25/2023

00-12 CAUGHT IN BETWEEN: The Peoples of Bashkortostan  (15:56)

June 2003 found us standing in the middle of Red Square. Lenin's body is on display in the building behind us. This is the same place that the Red Army, … with cannons, tanks and missiles, … passed in review for Russian dictators – Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev. These same men made churches and cathedrals into museums. All around us are symbols of

this bastion of communism … and, yes, its downfall just 13 years ago.

    The next day we were an Aeroflot airplane to Ufa, the capital of the autonomous Republic of Bashkortostan. The Peoples of Bashkortostan are caught in between the hope of the Gospel and the barriers of personal insecurity, lack of trust, and spiritual apathy caused by generations of suppression.  Most seldom think of matters of eternity or a personal relationship with God.

01 Maps   (1:48 )

02  CAUGHT IN BETWEEN 2003  (4:51)  Along the western slopes of the Ural Mountains 700 miles east of Moscow in a land known as the Autonomous Republic of Bashkortostan, lives a people who are truly caught in between. They are a people caught in between the continents of Europe and Asia: between two monuments -- one commemorating  uprisings of the Bashkirs  against the Russian and the other  the oft times uneasy friendship that they forged with Moscow.

03  Asphalt or Mud?  2003   (11:10) The cities, all connected by ribbons of asphalt, appear as the future of Bashkortostan, but the past suddenly appears when one leaves the well-traveled highway. Driving becomes an art of dodging potholes and avoiding some of the muddy roads. In these rural areas, the variety of single-family homes is in stark contrast to the rows of cookie cutter concrete apartment complexes of the cities.

04 Living Day by Day in Ufa   (9:48)  For generations, the young and old of Ufa have shared common goals and aspirations but changes are rapidly taking place.  An ever-widening gap between the generations is occurring. As these changes come about, many are left behind. The dichotomy between the old and the new, the antiquated and the modern, is everywhere one looks. The grayish soviet style apartment blocks and new apartments …

05  A White Volga or Bus 31?   (5:57)  Ivan earns about 5000 rubles per month - equivalent to $172 …barely enough for the rent, utilities, food and clothing. As he trudges toward his bus stop, Ivan cannot help but think of those who have a car or those who have time to go to the ice-cream store with their family. The citizens of Ufa are a divided people caught in between the privileged and the masses, between riding in  a white Volga or with the mass of humanity on Bus.

06  European or Asian?    (7:16)   Located between two continents, the Peoples of Bashkortstan are caught between a European and an Asian identity. Some 700 miles East of Moscow and a mere ninety miles to the west of the Ural Mountains lies Ufa, the capitol and administrative center of the Republic - a city between two rivers in a land between two continents. They are a people who are struggling to discover who they are.

07  A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep    (8:16) 

Spirituality - for most of Russia’s history - has been defined by the desires of the ruling monarchs and dictators. The choice of “proper worship” has been made on the basis of political, economic, and social advantages. Little was given for the development of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion is  determined by one’s ethnicity.  39% are Russian and Orthodox.  51% is either Bashkir or Tartar and Muslim.

08  Hope for Every Heart    (6:28)  Centrally located in the capital city of Ufa, a small team of Southern Baptist missionaries is working with the Russian Baptist Union, independent Baptist churches, and other Great Commission churches. The strategy is to see hundreds of new house churches planted in Bashkortostan within the next few years by training and equipping nationals who will then be able to motivate and train their own people in church planting. 

09  Why Smile?  (5:05)   Breaking out of Communist rule has given the whole of Russian society new opportunities and new freedom.  Behind this cheerful mask, however, lies a country still burdened by its past -- a dark inheritance of poverty and corruption.  The intimidation of seventy years of state-sanctioned fear makes life hard.  People often say, “what is there to smile about?”   They wear an expressionless, unapproachable face.

10  Baptists in Bashkortostan  (13:56) At the present time there are 18 Baptist churches in Bashkortostan with a total membership of approximately 1000. Before the ‘90s there were only 6 small Baptist churches in Bashkortostan. And only after the establishment of democratic liberty and openness there appeared possibilities for starting new Baptist churches. President Khrushchev said in the late 50’s that there would be no believers left in our country in 20 years.

11 They Call Them  “Houses of Prayer”   (32:03)  

They call them “Dom Molitvii”…. In sturdy brick buildings in the middle of town. In the homes of people living in rural villages. In rented space in apartment buildings.  As of 2003, ten of the Baptist churches in the Republic of Bashkortostan are called Dom Molitvii. The remaining 7 Baptist churches post a sign such as “Church of Evangelical Baptists”.

Excerpts from the Worship services of the Baptist Churches are as follows:

 Ufa (3:28)    Chernoikovka  (5:04)    Kumertau  (2:58)

 Ermolaevo (2:56)    Krivlya(7:34)   Neftekamsk (9:20)

 Ishimbai  (2:17)       Beloretsk and Salavat 1:51)

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