According to Parade magazine. since the Stalin era Soviet authorities have engaged in an unsuc. cessful campaign to stamp out the Pentacostalists once and for all. Although Soviet law requires that their congregations be registered. it is believed that over 200.000 Pentacostalist are defying this order. The tension has grown to such proportions that as many as 20.000 of them. according to Western estimates. have applied for emigration visas. The so.called Siberian Seven stands as the most publicized case of Soviet animosity toward Pentacostalists. The two families called the Siberian Seven. the Vashchenkos and the Chmykhalovs. fled Soviet authorities by forcing their way past Russian guards to enter the U.S.
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emigration visas