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In the Cauldron of Russia
1933 · 270 pages
In the Cauldron of Russia
by Ivan S. Prokhanov
The autobiography of Ivan Prokhanov, foremost leader of the Russian Evangelical Christian movement — subtitled "the life of an optimist in the land of pessimism." It recounts his spiritual awakening against the atheistic materialism of the Russian intelligentsia and documents evangelical life under both tsarist persecution and Soviet state atheism, including arrests, censorship, and encounters with the Cheka.
The changed life
Born to a Molokan dissenter family and trained as an engineer in St. Petersburg, Prokhanov was converted in 1887, gave up his career to preach, and went on to found and lead the All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians through the last years of tsarism and the early Soviet period.
Summary
In the Cauldron of Russia, 1869–1933 is the autobiography of Ivan Stepanovich Prokhanov, the foremost leader of the Russian Evangelical Christian movement. Subtitled "the life of an optimist in the land of pessimism," it tells his own story alongside a history of the Russian Evangelical Christian Union he founded and led.
Prokhanov recounts his spiritual awakening against the atheism and pessimism that dominated the Russian intelligentsia of his youth. Converted in 1887, he gave up a promising engineering career to preach, and built the evangelical movement into a mass following through the last years of tsarism, the Revolution, and the early Soviet years.
Much of the book documents what it cost to hold and spread that faith — evangelical life under both tsarist persecution and the officially atheist Soviet state, including arrests, censorship, and encounters with the Cheka. Written in exile and published in New York in 1933, it is a firsthand record of Christian conviction sustained through decades of hostility.
Who was Ivan S. Prokhanov?
Ivan Stepanovich Prokhanov (1869–1935) was the foremost leader of the Russian Evangelical Christian movement. Born to a Molokan — Russian dissenter — family in Vladikavkaz in the Caucasus, he trained as an engineer at the Technological Institute in St. Petersburg, was converted in 1887, and gave up his engineering career to preach. He founded the All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians in 1908/1909 and served as its president until 1928.
His background was Molokan and dissenting rather than strictly atheist; his conversion is framed against the atheistic materialism prevailing among the Russian educated classes of his era, and much of his life was spent sustaining Christianity under the officially atheist Soviet state. Elected Vice-President of the World Baptist Congress in 1928, he left Russia that year and died in exile in Berlin in 1935.
Common questions
- Was Prokhanov an atheist before his conversion?
- Not strictly. He came from a Molokan (Russian dissenter) family, so his background was religious rather than atheist. His narrative frames his awakening against the atheistic materialism dominant among the Russian intelligentsia of his youth, and much of the book documents Christian life under the atheist Soviet state.
- Is this book really in the public domain?
- Yes. Published in New York in 1933, it required a US copyright renewal around 1960–61 to remain protected, and no renewal was filed; the HathiTrust rights database also classifies it as public domain and serves it in full. We link to a free source.
A note on the text. In the Cauldron of Russiais in the public domain. What you're buying is our edition — the careful typesetting and design. The original text is also available free here.