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How scientology began in Russia (the way I rememer it)

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
I have not been back in Russia for a very long time.
I call to some of my scientologists -friends sometimes and I have heard that
most of orgs are closed down.
I was there since scientology started. I'll tell how it's all began, the way I remember it.
Dianetics came to Russia in early 90s, following by Scientology. It came at the time when Russian government was looking for something to keep kids off drugs and away from jail.
Late 80 s was the time when lots of Russian kids were protesting "young pioneers" organization and refusing wear their red ties to school. ( In the defence of young pioneers and komsomol, I can say that even though we were brainwashed, at least, kids those days had respect for elderly and for war veterans).
In early 90s lots of kids were partying and getting pregnant at young age (When I say, young age, I don't mean,16 because at 16 in russia you're are legaly an adult. I mean, like at 12-13 years old)
Dianetics came about at the same time as Herbal Life and Mary Kay and a few others things from overseas.The Hubbard Humanitarian Center in Moscow was open in 1993.. The Moscow Church of Scientology was registered in 1994. Scientology came in my city in 1995.
Gorbachev was a president back then and he was looking for something to increase the morals of youngsters. He found Scientology.
I read "Dianetics" and joined the staff right away.In 1996 I also found out there was a squirrels' group in local univercity that also do cources and auditing and there was a girl who went there and got some dianetics 55 processing and got her case all messed up,then she wanted standard auditing,but it was too late to help her. We was all so scared that freezonners will screw up our cases too, and then we would never be able to move on the bridge.
By the year 1996 Scientology spreaded everywhere and it was almost imposible to find a person who never heard of it. It was more popular than Herbal Life.LOL. As thematter of fact,
lots of "Herbalifers" and other sales people was taking scn cources and studying the tone scale.:yes:
I was selling books, and delivering lots of dianetics seminars and basic cources for the public.Ups and Downs used to be the most popular cource, because each person who would admit on OCA test that sometimes he has periods when he is very active and sometimes he is not, would be sent to that cource by me.
"The way to happiness" was another very popular book.Along with Criminon and Narconon and Aplied Scolastics scientology spreaded all over Russian schools.
We also was doing assists seminars in clinics and hospitals and assist tech became very popular along with other voluenteer minister cources.
There was also a war going on in Chechnya and some scientologists went there with lots of "the way to happiness " books. Then they came back ,claming they had stoppted the war, because as soon as soldgers began reading the book, they did not want to fight and felt homesick and that's how the war was stopped. And we all believed their version.:duh:
In 1996 , I watched the first negative show about scientology on the TV. It was the interview with the girl who was forced to disconnect with SP declared boyfriend and I though, it was not a big deal. Just one girl.But since that time I started noticing more and more anti-scientology shows on TV and articles in newspapers.My best friend and my auditor blew the org after watching one of those shows and when I asked her why, she said she does not want anything to do with sects. That was a big shock for me.:omg:

In 1997 I was doing some course sup training in OTL (Hubbard Humanitarian Center became OTL once they imported a few OTs from America and made a first Russian Clear).I got on ethics and was not able to study ,so I was doing some FSMing for a several month.
At that time Scientilogy was in Moscow so popular, I used to make lots of points just by selling books and giving out flyers. That was the time when scientology was still fun. People was sharing lots of sucsess stories and cource sup was not forcing anybody to write them.
OTL was a place I could call home. I was there all day long. I was there eating (had my food in the fridge,) and even sleeping sometimes
My mom came to visit and she freaked out because she heard some cursing and yelling in TRs room.But I calmed her down and sent her home. Staff tryed not to shout and curse around raw meat and threat them as VIPs
People in the orgs were so ethical , was just amazing.. My friend left her gold ring in OTL's bathroom by the sink, a few hours later it was still there. I mean, comparing to my wogs-friends who were stealing and doing drugs, my scientologists-friends were just awesome.
At that time orgs were full of people. Ethics officer, Boris was a nice guy and everybody liked him. Course supervisors were very nice .
There was lots of events going,full of public on and PR of scientology was not bad at that time
-------
:no:
Then a man named Richard became a capitan and brought with him several OTs who did not speak any Russian. His plan was to let Moscow mission handle new public and keep OTL only for staff members that came from other orgs for training.
And then I went to U.S.
And when I came back, I don't know what the heck,have happened. I did not recognized Hubbard Humanitarian Center at all. Almost all staff was replaced. I did not know most of people there. My favorite course sup ran pass me in the gray shirt.
The biggest shock for me was the fact that most of staff were very low on the tone scale.
I was looking for MAA I knew to talk to but i was told she is not there anymore, there was another woman instead.We was talking toher about my future plans, I told her "I will see.May be I will go back to US and re-join the SO" and she wrote on report " Time will show" (In Russian "the time will show " and "I will see" have different meanning. One means you're the cause,other does not):angry:
In the middle of our interview, she got up from her chair several times and started yelling and cursing because somebody locked the door.:hissyfit:
And the girl who locked the door by mistake was yelling and curcing back at her thru the closed door :catfight:
(I've seen lots of officers yelling in cursing in SO and got used to that already) but the funny thing was, this one was curcing in Russian, she acted as she did not know what she was doing and why she was curcing. She stopted the com cycle several times just to bang on the door and yell some more.)
It seemed to me she never understood the purpose of shouting with intention, she was just yelling, copying others who were yelling and cursing.
I was looking for some of my friends who I wanted to see and found only two of them and I was not allowed to speak to them .I still was able to talk to some people and found out that most of my friends blew, was RPFed or in freezone right now. I was shocked
Even people who lived in that neighbourhood, was kinda hostile to me and was giving me dirty looks watching me heading in dirrection of OTL.
Everything had changed. I looked around and did not recognize the place.It did not feel like the place I used to call home.:bigcry:
It was full of trained robots who was not hatted at all. OTL looked like a big daycare with no audult in charge. Most of staff members were very young (what happen to others, before I left there was many elderly people on stuff) The org looked like a bad parody of Sea Org .Yes, it was RussianSea Org .
And I was wondering, what's the hell have happened to this place?
:wtf:
 
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Lurker5

Gold Meritorious Patron
Thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing some more of your story, firedragon. Very interesting information on Russia and your beginning in scn/co$. Keep going.

:clap:
 

Mystic

Crusader
That story sounds like standard scientology/dianetics. All starts out nice and clean and smooth and looks like it is really going somewhere valuable. Then, gradually, it goes to where the Hubbard thing had always secretly intended, making vampire fodder.
 
I know somone who was a part of a group of people in Lenningrad who were using Dianetics in the late 1980s.

They had a copy of Dianetics that was translated from French.

There was only one or two copies available so they passed it around and did Dianetics on each other.

The Anabaptist Jacques
 

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
I know somone who was a part of a group of people in Lenningrad who were using Dianetics in the late 1980s.

They had a copy of Dianetics that was translated from French.

There was only one or two copies available so they passed it around and did Dianetics on each other.

The Anabaptist Jacques

Misha Priv was the first who translated dianetics in Russian and it was aproved by Cof S. All translations before that was not aproved.
A friend of mine (i won't post his name here) also tranclated dianetics and his version was may be a little squirreled, but more understanable to Russian-speaking readers, he was going to publish that but got in troubles because of copyrights
 

VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
Thanks, Dexter! (for your post below)

I messed up the editing buttons so it's reposted below your reply now (to look as I meant it to look).
 
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VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
I want to correct some historical detail here and add some comments:

Gorbachev was a president back then [in 90s] and he was looking for something to increase the morals of youngsters. He found Scientology.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: Михаил Сергеевич Горбачёв Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov [mʲɪxɐˈil sʲɪrˈɡʲeɪvʲɪtɕ ɡərbɐˈtɕof] ( listen); born 2 March 1931) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev

At that time we had:
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин, IPA: [bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn] ( listen); 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin
Not sure if either of them "found" Diantetics and Scientology though.

By the year 1996 Scientology spreaded everywhere and it was almost imposible to find a person who never heard of it. It was more popular than Herbal Life.LOL.

Up until recently, when I used a word Scientology and asked if they ever heard of Scientology, I hardly ever hear affirmative response anywhere. May be, it was local phenomena?

"The way to happiness" was another very popular book.Along with Criminon and Narconon and Aplied Scolastics scientology spreaded all over Russian schools.

Won't argue here (because in 1997-2003 I was in US). Only that would mean that by now almost everyone would have heard of Scientology. I don't see it happening.

Ethics officer, Boris was a nice guy and everybody liked him.

Boris Ryasanov? - We used to live in one dorm in 1996-97. Cool guy. Wonder where he is now...

Then a man named Richard became a capitan and brought with him several OTs who did not speak any Russian.

Was it Richard Fear? - He came with his wife, Zee Fear.
But I know for the fact that he came to us in 1995-96. I was there, being a Qual Word Clearer. Were you there then?

When I joined SO ("Hubbard Humanitarian Center" officially, to us, OTL CIS) in March 1994, it had 16-18 members. Walter Cotric was the CO. Zara (his young and beautiful wife) was his deputy. Birtha Heldt was OSA... and there some more foreign SO members (names escape me now).
I was there until June 3 1997 (when I left for SO US).
 
Misha Priv was the first who translated dianetics in Russian and it was aproved by Cof S. All translations before that was not aproved.
A friend of mine (i won't post his name here) also tranclated dianetics and his version was may be a little squirreled, but more understanable to Russian-speaking readers, he was going to publish that but got in troubles because of copyrights

Yeah, this early translation wasn't approved by the Church.

I don't think the Church ever knew about it. The person I knew who was a part of this group came to America around 1991-1992.

I also have relatives who took the personality test in 1988-1990, probably 1990, but the center was there even earlier than that. It was in Lenningrad on the first floor of Pushkinskaya Ulitsa 25.

The Anabaptist Jacques
 

VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
That story sounds like standard scientology/dianetics. All starts out nice and clean and smooth and looks like it is really going somewhere valuable. Then, gradually, it goes to where the Hubbard thing had always secretly intended, making vampire fodder.

Mystic, you are right. When I came there for a visit (in September 2002) I had a completely different feeling. Everyone was too busy, and hardly could stop to have a talk with me. I didn't feel good in that environment of my old friends. They were like "hunted" for having to do what they were supposed to do.
I couldn't have a decent relaxed conversation (besides my great friend who was C/S, in his "Ivory Tower")

Thanks, Mystic! This memory has been escaping my re-evaluation.
Thanks, Yulia, for bringing the subject up.
 

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
.
Boris Ryasanov? - We used to live in one dorm in 1996-97. Cool guy. Wonder where he is now...
Then a man named Richard became a capitan and brought with him several OTs who did not speak any Russian.


When I joined SO ("Hubbard Humanitarian Center" officially, to us, OTL CIS) in March 1994, it had 16-18 members. Walter Cotric was the CO. Zara (his young and beautiful wife) was his deputy. Birtha Heldt was OSA... and there some more foreign SO members (names escape me now).
I was there until June 3 1997 (when I left for SO US).

Yep. That Boris. He was the nicest guy in OTL. I used to like to do my o/ws write up because of him. He was very nice.But each time I would think my needle would start floating I would go on e-meter check and Dima Medvidenko would stare at me (I had a hard time confronting him) and send me back to write more.
Yea.. Richard Fear. He was not there in 95, I think, he came in 96-97?
There is was also a girl named Lada , a very OT-like person.
Oh yeah.. And Veronica. She was clear. Forgot her post..
I don't remember Britha unless she was a lady in her 40s with short hair..
I was there untill the same time you was there, june 1997,then I went to Flag.
P.s.
Not going to ague with you about Gorbachev, there was rummors going on that the reason he left his post was because he read dianetics and had cogs that he should not be a president..:dieslaughing:
 

scooter

Gold Meritorious Patron
Love your story thefiredragon. Here's some background on someone you mentioned in it.

Richard Fear was SO in Oz before he went to Russia. I think he started as a Tours Reg here.

Just before he went, he was given a post to do with getting Scilon materials out in the public. A friend of mine had been working with the Rotary Club upper management in Sydney and they wanted their own version of The Way To Happiness - something distinctly Australian. They asked for ideas of how to do this as the pictures in the current version then were too American and the Rotary people believed (correctly IMO) that, for TWTH to be effective in Oz, it needed a distinctly Oz flavour.

They were planning on doing a HUGE distribution throughout Australia of TWTH via all their branches.

Several of us submitted illustrations to them that were distinctly Australian and the Rotary Club bigwigs were quite pleased with the results.

Enter Richard Fear, who told them that they had to have the "standard" TWTH or nothing. Rotary Club went and found another charity to support - a "psych-based" program of course. Bunch of SPs they must have been. :D

My friend dropped her hat as TWTH head and slid quietly out of Scientology after that, and no-one who knew the story blamed her. She'd put a lot of effort into getting Rotary on board and it got shafted by Richard Fear in typical SO Exec mode.

When I heard Richard and Zee had gone to Russia, I feared for Scientology in Russia. Now I think it was just another of those magnificent decisions by "Management" to ensure the cult fails. :happydance:
 

VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
Oh, those memories. They just come back to mind and I have to share them now.

You think that deciphering scribbles of LRH on OTIII is the second time (after Teqnique 88) one has to do in Scn???
- When I was doing my EPF, we had only handwritten translations of "Basic Sea Org Member Hat" and "Personal Grooming Course" (4th and 5th courses of EPF respectively). They weren't only handwritten, they were very bad copies of handwritten.
We didn't only have to read them, but pass checkouts on them, do demos and clay demos, write essays (in general, all the usual stuff per the checksheet).
:yes:
 

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
Love your story thefiredragon. Here's some background on someone you mentioned in it.

Richard Fear was SO in Oz before he went to Russia. I think he started as a Tours Reg here.

Just before he went, he was given a post to do with getting Scilon materials out in the public. A friend of mine had been working with the Rotary Club upper management in Sydney and they wanted their own version of The Way To Happiness - something distinctly Australian. They asked for ideas of how to do this as the pictures in the current version then were too American and the Rotary people believed (correctly IMO) that, for TWTH to be effective in Oz, it needed a distinctly Oz flavour.

They were planning on doing a HUGE distribution throughout Australia of TWTH via all their branches.

Several of us submitted illustrations to them that were distinctly Australian and the Rotary Club bigwigs were quite pleased with the results.

Enter Richard Fear, who told them that they had to have the "standard" TWTH or nothing. Rotary Club went and found another charity to support - a "psych-based" program of course. Bunch of SPs they must have been. :D

My friend dropped her hat as TWTH head and slid quietly out of Scientology after that, and no-one who knew the story blamed her. She'd put a lot of effort into getting Rotary on board and it got shafted by Richard Fear in typical SO Exec mode.

When I heard Richard and Zee had gone to Russia, I feared for Scientology in Russia. Now I think it was just another of those magnificent decisions by "Management" to ensure the cult fails. :happydance:

When Richard came to Russia he brought along lots of old scn books and orderd to sell them very cheap. I asked why and I was told that these books are no longer in use because they have new ones now, improed ones but if public wants it ,they can get them. Those books was I mean, really cheap and lots of people bought them. I bought "creation of human ability," and some lectures and tapes. They also had old "the way to happiness" free.
And some free records and tapes.
As soon as Richard came to OTL, he began giving lots of semminars to all BSOs. Hunderds of people were comming to the OTL just to look at him, because they never have seen real-life OT before and before we made the first Russian Clear ,Veronica wasthe first imported Clear and public would just stare at her.LOL
(Later on some people found out from auditing they were past life clears and OTs and it was not a big deal. But Richard was the first OT that would actually make people to go to his seminars " just because he was OT"
:dieslaughing:
 

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
Oh, those memories. They just come back to mind and I have to share them now.

- When I was doing my EPF, we had only handwritten translations of "Basic Sea Org Member Hat" and "Personal Grooming Course" (4th and 5th courses of EPF respectively). They weren't only handwritten, they were very bad copies of handwritten.
We didn't only have to read them, but pass checkouts on them, do demos and clay demos, write essays (in general, all the usual stuff per the checksheet).
:yes:

Hey, Vadim thanks for helping me and other Russians to do our courses that were in English at Flag.
We were the first Russians there and most of courses weren't translated yet.
Thanks for M-7,man!
:thumbsup:
When youleft to CA I had to do my product 1 and product 2 without any help
 

VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yep. That Boris. He was the nicest guy in OTL. I used to like to do my o/ws write up because of him. He was very nice.But each time I would think my needle would start floating I would go on e-meter check and Dima Medvidenko would stare at me (I had a hard time confronting him) and send me back to write more.
Yea.. Richard Fear. He was not there in 95, I think, he came in 96-97?
There is was also a girl named Lada , a very OT-like person.
Oh yeah.. And Veronica. She was clear. Forgot her post..
I don't remember Britha unless she was a lady in her 40s with short hair..
I was there untill the same time you was there, june 1997,then I went to Flag.
P.s.
Not going to ague with you about Gorbachev, there was rummors going on that the reason he left his post was because he read dianetics and had cogs that he should not be a president..:dieslaughing:

Were you a public in 1997? Sorry, but don't remember seeing you on Galushkna, 19. :blush:

Richard and Zee were the ones who complied to Int Telex to send two better qualified SO members for Super Power training (for our org, and that's what we both agreed to and subscribed to. We were both in agreement that we get trained and get back to audit Super Power to our OTL staff). Kostia Kluev (an Auditor then) and I were "the chosen ones". It ended up that we, having arrived at HGB, were "supposed to go to Gold", after were trained (but that's another story).

Richard and Zee came to replace Walter and Zara who went to Int (I guess to get briefed and indoctrinated moar), to later go to CLO EU to become CLO EU (Walter) and his D/CO I (Zara).
Richard and Zara brought with them "New Era of Management". I think it was in 1995. We were still on Budennogo. He looked so fresh and so marketing-oriented guy. Zee, his wife, was always by his side. There were times she would scare the shit out of me how she spoke (that was just eerie. Yet, another story).

Boris was cool. He was kinda "rastafarian" guy. "We cool" he felt, and that feeling was when one was around him. Calm, easy-going kind of person. Not the type I would always feel comfortable around, but he had this "calming effect" on me (I liked his attitude. Sometmes, I need more of that).

Dima Medvedenko. That's exaclty that C/S whom I could talk to with ease (without feeling that I distract him. In fact, he was my best friend in SO. IN 2002 he was Senior C/S CIS. He had 2 assistants (both young bautifult girls). He is now not a C/S but rather FOLO/I HELP type. Got remarried. See his pix below.

Lada is beautiful. She was already there when I joined. Have no pix of her now. I might admit that I joined SO because of her (and such as her). :yes:
 

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VaD

Gold Meritorious Patron
OTL CIS 2002

This was OTL CIS 2002 ceremony thing.
 

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Kutta

Silver Meritorious Patron
Vadim and Firedragon, do you recall a NZ guy called Nigel Gray who I believe went to Russia?
 

thefiredragon

Patron Meritorious
Nigel Gray was a friend on facebook and we used to talk with him about scientology and reasons why I left. Take a look at one of ://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?t=20562 posts "scientologists want me back" Nigel was one of those people.

He disconnected from me by blocking me on FB . He said, sometimes you have to bite the bullet to be able to move on the brige. Even he sees some out ethisc stuff,he would rather "bite the bullet" than lose his chance to clear the planet.

He is actualy a nice guy, just very brainwashed one.
 
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