Abstract
I investigate the claim that Baptists and other evangelicals in the area later to be incorporated into Yugoslavia came under the significant theological and ecclesiastical influence of Russian Baptists and other Russian evangelicals after 1918, through the influx of Russian émigrés and through the return of ethnic Yugoslavs who had served as prisoners of war in Russian captivity and had there come into contact with local Baptists and others. I analyse and classify all available sources of information, and I compile a database comprising some 80 relevant individuals. Research shows that between the two World Wars the two leading centres with arguably the strongest Russian presence were the cities of Belgrade and Zagreb, to which the city of Rijeka is to be added after the Second World War. I list major conveyers of Russian influence and outline the form of their influence. I also touch upon the role of Russian-based agencies and missionaries. I demonstrate that Russian influence was strongest between the two World Wars, then waned for a variety of reasons and ceased by the mid-1970s. My final conclusion is that although there are many more individuals than usually considered who can be cited in support of the claim that there was strong Russian influence on the Yugoslavian Baptist and evangelical population, their specifically Russian impact on that population should not be exaggerated.
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