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PRE . : Director, FBI ~ a " , : oon — am Aghanges in Russian lax code which is basis for hope that ~ leaders are trying to chanpe things for the better. There io one thoughts: when you relate what you mow re the USS2 with what you sce there, it is hard to know what to think. You have the Russian ocople, so kind and friendly, combined with a political, social, and economic set-up which docsn't : . : make sense. Cno cannot look’ through rose-tinted glasses. . . Pot : SCLAUTNCE PICKETT: One of our najor interests in Russia was to icentity ourselves with the people who had attended the : conference in Sweden composed of Sxedish, American, and ‘ English rriends and Eaotist ministers from Russian. The second re reached Teninc-rad, where we entered Russia, there . vas a Eantist minister we sot in Sweden and te spcnt the * : . evening in nis church. Leninsréd has a planned depression ‘ due to the fact that it has been abandoned as the capitol in favor of Moscow, and it is neglected and underdeveloped . as to industry. 4here arc lots of handsome palaces, but no industry or trace. There was a conrregation of 1,709 in the Baptist church where re spend the evening, mostly older women. the service was-two hours leng - a rich experienco which included prayer, two ecrmong and lots of singing. . . The farther last und South we went the lerrfer the proportion , > of men in the churches. In Kiev there was 2 cross section of the population - young and old, men and ronen mho exhibi-~ ted a sense of appreciating the profound neaning of the service end of the place of the church in the life of tha . people. In the 1950 conference, the sursches read were — _ full of -praise-for Coxaumicn end fer Stalinj- this-one- -—---———— recognized as tho price: paid for the right to worship. They believe the area of freedom has expanded sinco then. There were 200 boys in the Eaptist seminary, which is run by the church end not by the state. They are fundanentalists in religious belicf. They erpheeize love of Uod and rake . @pplicaticn of their belief to life. ‘they are afraic of too mich education. In each church, there is a pastor and . — three or four lay assistants. ‘ihcre are ivo sermons at each + tervice. There is eoae contact with tho Orthodox church, but in Yoscow snd the cities, tho orthodox churches have been made into musouns under the government. In the country, many churches have beon torn down or are in state of decay. 55 era still active in Moscow and there were 5,000 at the Jo