The Persecutor

Title: The Persecutor
Author: Sergei Kourdakov
Major Themes: USSR, Communism, Persecution
Synopsis: The gripping story of a man who persecuted Christians in the former USSR before God touched his life.

Several months ago, a friend handed me a book titled Sergei, and asked if I’d seen it before. It looked familiar, but I knew I hadn’t read it, and when I got home later that day, I realized we had the US version of the book on our shelves, under the title The Persecutor. It turns out Sergei is the UK title for the story, and apparently, it may have another title yet, Forgive Me, Natasha. I’m not certain of the last one, but either way, this is a powerful story that appears to have greatly influenced some people’s thinking back when the book was originally published. My friend was wanting me to pre-read the book for her, so she could know if it was okay to pass along to her children, and, of course, I took notes for you, too, while I was reading. It’s an incredible story, but does come with a heavy dose of warnings.

Sergei Kourdakov had a difficult upbringing. By the time he was four years old, his father had been murdered by the state, and just a few months after his father’s death, his mother had also died of a broken heart. His older brother, too, was gone, so by the time he was six, he was living in state-run group homes for children like himself, fending for himself as well as he could. That environment was anything but ideal for raising children in, and by the time he was a young teenager, he was immersed in crime and led a brutal lifestyle. One thing that was important to him was finding a place for himself in the Communist party, and through lots of hard work, he eventually became the leader of multiple youth divisions. As time went on, he gained more trust and rose even higher in the ranks, and eventually, the Secret Police asked him to aid them in their campaign against the Christians in their area. Their goal was to wipe Christianity out of Russia. And it seemed like nothing would stop Sergei and his men from doing their worst to the Christians—until one day when God started to work in Sergei’s life.

The Persecutor is the kind of story that sticks with you long after you read it. Even though Sergei died when he was just 21 years old, and the majority of his life was one of brutality and wickedness, his story will live on to bless many generations. The way God got hold of him and changed his heart is incredible, and gives hope to all of us that He can and will move even in those lives that seem to be the most hardened to the truth of the gospel. Sergei’s life, while tragically short, served as a testament to God’s power and grace.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to younger readers, because of the violence contained in its pages. I also would not recommend you have this as a book to read in the evenings! But I would recommend it to all adult Christians, as this is a powerful reminder of what many of our Christian brothers and sisters worldwide face daily. It has served to remind me that I need to pray for them more, but also pray for their persecutors—that the Lord of truth will open their eyes, just as He did for Sergei. This is a powerful, moving story, and I’m grateful I had a chance to read it.

WARNING: Drinking and/or getting drunk is mentioned frequently (two examples: ch. 9 and the end of ch. 13). Buying and selling drugs is mentioned several times throughout the book, starting in ch. 8. Stealing is also mentioned several times throughout the book. A man falls on rocks and gets badly hurt at the end of ch. 2. In ch. 3, a man is threatened with a gun, another man is squeezed to death, and a man is shot. In ch. 4, a boy tries to drown someone in a bath. There are some descriptions of what a destructive group of boys did in ch. 5. In ch. 6, a boy is injured by a prank some boys played on him, a boy and later a man get severe beatings, a boy dies, and at the end of the chapter, two children’s suicides are mentioned. More fighting is mentioned in ch. 7 and a boy is harshly disciplined. A man is fiercely beaten and killed in ch. 8, a boy is stabbed in the back and almost dies, and two men are killed. A man is knocked out cold in ch. 9, there is a mention of a boy who tried to kill a woman, a man gets shot, and there is a mention of people who died from cold and starvation. In ch. 10, there are mentions or stories of multiple suicides. In ch. 11, there are mentions of ways people sometimes hurt themselves in order to get out of the military, there is a story of a man who killed several people, another man who lived with a prostitute, there is a story of breaking up a fight by knocking people out, and the encouragement they were given to severely beat up people. In ch. 12, there is a mention of using men as punching bags and severely hurting them. From ch. 13 on, there is a lot of graphic violence. Ch. 13 has a story with a lot of brutality, people hurt, one man killed, and girls stripped naked and abused. More fighting and brutality are described in ch. 14, 16 (this has several especially bad scenes, one with a girl who was stripped and severely beaten), 17 (including mentioning several people who had died from their beatings), and 19. There is lying in ch. 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, and 17; “little devil”, “devils”, or a variant is used to refer to people in ch. 7 and 9; there are multiple mentions of people cursing throughout the story (no words printed), and someone prays to Lenin in ch. 9.

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