Russia is the world’s largest country in terms of landmass, encompassing 11 time zones and home to more than 180 people groups—most of whom are unreached. It is also the heartland of the former Soviet Union and the original location of Mission Eurasia’s ministry, which began in 1991.

Though the Soviet Union collapsed decades ago, the scourge of control and corruption remains in nearly every aspect of life. The Russian Orthodox Church—representing roughly 55 percent of the population—has come to function more as a cultural-political arm of the government rather than a spiritual institution. Thirty percent of population are non-religious, more faithfully representing the national spirit – plagued by excess and hopelessness – than any religion. Muslims represent ten percent, corresponding with the spread of Islam in Europe. Less than two percent are evangelical Christian.

Despite freedom of religion protections guaranteed in the Russian constitution, broad legal definitions of “extremist activity” allow for invasive and oppressive measures to be taken against religious communities through prohibitive registration requirements, requiring foreign-trained clergy and religious educators to undergo a centralized recertification process, and commonly carrying out raids, arrests, and prosecutions against religious. Since the start of the current war, many citizens expressing views against the war—as well as those avoiding conscription and mobilization into Ukraine—have been arrested and jailed.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has displaced more than 20 million Ukrainians internally and abroad. Russia has also systematically targeted Ukraine’s houses of worship in missile attacks. Despite this challenging landscape, Mission Eurasia and our School Without Walls (SWW) program remain committed to sharing the gospel and training the Next Generation of ministry leaders. In 2023, you supported our SWW ministry training for 70 enrolled leaders, all 70 of whom graduated from the full two-year program!