In Search of Kitezh

This article presents the journey of Alexander Ogorodnikov, a major figure of Christian dissidence in the Soviet Union, through an interview conducted by Jim Forest. The approach taken is that of testimony: the account of a man converted to Christianity after watching Pasolini's film on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, who then founded a clandestine prayer network across the USSR before being arrested by the KGB and sentenced to Siberian labor camps. The central idea is that authentic Christian faith proceeds from personal conversion and is sustained through prayer, even under the most extreme conditions. On a theological level, the article illustrates the confessing dimension of the persecuted Church and the capacity of prayer to constitute spiritual resistance against totalitarian systems, thus connecting with a broader reflection on martyrdom and freedom of conscience.