The Russian Student Christian Movement’s Religious Literature Smuggling Program (1960s–1980s)

Abstract This article offers an overview of the activities of the Russian Student Christian Movement’s Department of Assistance to Believers of the USSR . Founded in Paris in 1961 by Cyrille Eltchaninoff, it aimed at smuggling religious and dissident literature to the Soviet Union. The charity collected donations to purchase books, which were then sent to Soviet believers through a network of around 150 contacts in 30 countries. In the 1970s–1980s, it smuggled up to 45,000 books to the Soviet Union yearly, provided assistance to prisoners of faith and their families. This article argues that the RSCM acted as a bridge between East and West, supporting the nascent religious revival in the Soviet Union, thanks to an effective fundraising strategy based on support to Soviet dissidents.