Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has publicly acknowledged for the first time that he is a Christian. In fact he probably has been a secret believer for many years, even back to when he was a Communist leader. Ben Witherington found an article about this in the Telegraph and wrote his own post about the significance of this for Russia.
In fact Gorbachev’s own confession of faith will have little effect in Russia. When I lived there for six months, a couple of years after he fell from power, I found no one who had a good word for him. Anti-communists blamed him for communism; pro-communists blamed him for the breakdown of communism; and all condemned him for restricting the sale of alcohol!
Interesting, Peter. In an interview not too long ago Putin said he is a Christian also. He is said to have a Bible, which he reads, on his official plane.
Thanks, Wayne. I think Putin has long called himself a Christian, although some are sceptical. But then, unlike Gorbachev, he never claimed to be a Communist leader. And in Russia as in America being a Christian does not make one a good political leader.
It’s interesting. I thank God for the Christian faith in Gorbachev. I’ve always had a feeling or intuitive inkiling that he was a Christian. Now this helps me to confirm it.
According to Christian Today, Gorbachev is denying he is a Christian. According to the news report, Gorbachev emphatically says that he is an atheist. However, after I read about his visit to the tomb of St Francis of Assisi in Italy, it seems to me that he is a closeted Christian.
Claude Mariottini
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