ABSTRACT
This chapter is dedicated to Pentecostalism in Russia and other territories that formed part of the country in the imperial and Soviet times. It is impossible to go into the details during a period of more than 100 years. Soviet Pentecostals were able to reestablish their churches and ties between them when the western republics of the USSR were occupied during World War II. It is important to note that Soviet Pentecostals were ready to follow the official rules and repeatedly tried to register their own union in the 1940 and 1950s but were always denied because the authorities considered them incompatible with Soviet ideology. Soviet scholars of religion emphasized the isolationism and marginal character of Soviet Pentecostals, arguing that they were “urged to refuse to participate in public life, to attend cinema and theaters, not to read books and newspapers, not to get involved in sports”.
