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Moved Controversy section from Sergei Kourdakov to here, as the controversy is specifically about the book.
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'''''The Persecutor''''', also known as '''''Forgive Me Natasha''''' or '''''Sergei''''' is the [[autobiography]] of [[Sergei Kourdakov]], a former [[KGB]] agent who persecuted Christians in the [[Soviet Union]] in the 1970s, but defected to [[Canada]] in 1971 and converted to [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christianity]].<ref name="mem">{{cite web |title=Sergei N. Kourdakov (1951 - 1973) - Find A Grave Memorial |url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=45218&GRid=25309269& |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref><ref name="front">{{cite web |title=Sergei Kourdakov Article #1 |url=http://frontiernet.net/~jamsch/Sergei.1.html |author=Marilyn and John Schreiber |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> The book was finished shortly before his death in January 1973 and published [[posthumously]].<ref name="pub-tp">Publisher's Note: {{cite book |last1=Kourdakov |first1=Sergei |editor1-first= |editor1-last= |others= |title=The Persecutor |accessdate=2009-11-02 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |year=1973 |location= |language=English |isbn=0800706315 |oclc= |doi= |id= |page=253 }}</ref> The book details Kourdakov's early life in [[Novosibirsk Oblast]], the raids he lead on private Christian assemblies while a [[Soviet Navy|Naval]] academy student in [[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky]], his [[defection]] to [[Canada]], and his new life in Canada and the [[United States]].
'''''The Persecutor''''', also known as '''''Forgive Me Natasha''''' or '''''Sergei''''' is the [[autobiography]] of [[Sergei Kourdakov]], a former [[KGB]] agent who persecuted Christians in the [[Soviet Union]] in the 1970s, but defected to [[Canada]] in 1971 and converted to [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christianity]]<ref name="mem">{{cite web |title=Sergei N. Kourdakov (1951 - 1973) - Find A Grave Memorial |url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=45218&GRid=25309269& |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref><ref name="front">{{cite web |title=Sergei Kourdakov Article #1 |url=http://frontiernet.net/~jamsch/Sergei.1.html |author=Marilyn and John Schreiber |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> and later to Russian Orthodoxy<ref>http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.california.counties.sanbernardino/1876/mb.ashx?pnt=1</ref>The book was finished shortly before his death in January 1973 and published [[posthumously]].<ref name="pub-tp">Publisher's Note: {{cite book |last1=Kourdakov |first1=Sergei |editor1-first= |editor1-last= |others= |title=The Persecutor |accessdate=2009-11-02 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |year=1973 |location= |language=English |isbn=0800706315 |oclc= |doi= |id= |page=253 }}</ref> The book details Kourdakov's early life in [[Novosibirsk Oblast]], the raids he lead on private Christian assemblies while a [[Soviet Navy|Naval]] academy student in [[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky]], his [[defection]] to [[Canada]], and his new life in Canada and the [[United States]].


It was published in [[English language|English]], then translated to over a dozen languages including [[German language|German]],<ref name="ny">Published as ''Vergib mir Natascha''. {{cite journal |last1=Trillin |first1=Calvin |last2= |first2= |year=1973 |title=US Journal: Southern California |journal=The New Yorker |date=May 5, 1973 |pages=89-96 |url= |doi= |accessdate=2009-11-02 }}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]],<ref name="esbirro">Published as ''El Esbirro''. {{cite web |title=El esbirro; Sergei Kourdakov |url=http://html.rincondelvago.com/el-esbirro_sergei-kourdakov_1.html |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> [[French language|French]],<ref name="decitre">Published as ''Pardonne-moi Natacha''. {{cite web |title=Livre : Pardonne-moi Natacha. Sergei Kourdakov, Marc Fromager - 9782843782978 |url=http://www.decitre.fr/livres/Pardonne-moi-Natacha.aspx/9782843782978 |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> [[Russian language|Russian]],<ref>Published as ''Прости меня, Наташа''.</ref> and [[Dutch language|Dutch]].<ref name="iko">Published as ''Vergeef mij, Natasja!''. {{cite web |title=Vergeef mij, Natasja! Sergei Kourdakov: ikoopjes.be |url=http://www.ikoopjes.be/vergeef-natasja-sergei-kourdakov-p-8127.html |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> Although the English versions have since ceased publications, various foreign language versions are still in print.
It was published in [[English language|English]], then translated to over a dozen languages including [[German language|German]],<ref name="ny">Published as ''Vergib mir Natascha''. {{cite journal |last1=Trillin |first1=Calvin |last2= |first2= |year=1973 |title=US Journal: Southern California |journal=The New Yorker |date=May 5, 1973 |pages=89-96 |url= |doi= |accessdate=2009-11-02 }}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]],<ref name="esbirro">Published as ''El Esbirro''. {{cite web |title=El esbirro; Sergei Kourdakov |url=http://html.rincondelvago.com/el-esbirro_sergei-kourdakov_1.html |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> [[French language|French]],<ref name="decitre">Published as ''Pardonne-moi Natacha''. {{cite web |title=Livre : Pardonne-moi Natacha. Sergei Kourdakov, Marc Fromager - 9782843782978 |url=http://www.decitre.fr/livres/Pardonne-moi-Natacha.aspx/9782843782978 |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> [[Russian language|Russian]],<ref>Published as ''Прости меня, Наташа''.</ref> and [[Dutch language|Dutch]].<ref name="iko">Published as ''Vergeef mij, Natasja!''. {{cite web |title=Vergeef mij, Natasja! Sergei Kourdakov: ikoopjes.be |url=http://www.ikoopjes.be/vergeef-natasja-sergei-kourdakov-p-8127.html |author= |accessdate=2009-11-02}}</ref> Although the English versions have since ceased publications, various foreign language versions are still in print.

Revision as of 16:45, 8 December 2009

The Persecutor
Forgive Me Natasha
The Persecutor book cover
AuthorSergei Kourdakov
LanguageEnglish
PublisherFleming H. Revell Company (Baker Publishing Group)
Revell (Baker Publishing Group)
Ballantine Books
Publication date
1973
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages253
ISBN0800706315
OCLC703265

The Persecutor, also known as Forgive Me Natasha or Sergei is the autobiography of Sergei Kourdakov, a former KGB agent who persecuted Christians in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, but defected to Canada in 1971 and converted to Evangelical Christianity[1][2] and later to Russian Orthodoxy[3]The book was finished shortly before his death in January 1973 and published posthumously.[4] The book details Kourdakov's early life in Novosibirsk Oblast, the raids he lead on private Christian assemblies while a Naval academy student in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, his defection to Canada, and his new life in Canada and the United States.

It was published in English, then translated to over a dozen languages including German,[5] Spanish,[6] French,[7] Russian,[8] and Dutch.[9] Although the English versions have since ceased publications, various foreign language versions are still in print.

Controversy

In 2004, Polish director Damian Wojciechowski released a documentary film titled Forgive Me, Sergei, in which American filmmaker Caroline Walker, claiming to have been inspired by a vision from God, investigated various parts of The Persecutor. From her research in Russia, Walker points out various deviations from the truth in the autobiography, most prominentally Kourdakov's description of his life in the Barysevo orphanage.[10]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Sergei N. Kourdakov (1951 - 1973) - Find A Grave Memorial". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  2. ^ Marilyn and John Schreiber. "Sergei Kourdakov Article #1". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  3. ^ http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.california.counties.sanbernardino/1876/mb.ashx?pnt=1
  4. ^ Publisher's Note: Kourdakov, Sergei (1973). The Persecutor. Fleming H. Revell Company. p. 253. ISBN 0800706315. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Published as Vergib mir Natascha. Trillin, Calvin (May 5, 1973). "US Journal: Southern California". The New Yorker: 89–96. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ Published as El Esbirro. "El esbirro; Sergei Kourdakov". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  7. ^ Published as Pardonne-moi Natacha. "Livre : Pardonne-moi Natacha. Sergei Kourdakov, Marc Fromager - 9782843782978". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  8. ^ Published as Прости меня, Наташа.
  9. ^ Published as Vergeef mij, Natasja!. "Vergeef mij, Natasja! Sergei Kourdakov: ikoopjes.be". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  10. ^ "Forgive Me, Sergei". Retrieved 2009-11-18.
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