Christian message is growing in war-weary Ukraine, Ukrainian broadcaster tells Rochester crowd
Apr. 30—ROCHESTER — As the war in Ukraine enters its second month, the conflict is expanding the popularity of Christian radio among Ukrainian listeners looking for hope in the wreckage of war.
Amid a fight for national and personal survival, the Christian message of hope is resonating with more and more Ukriainians who are finding a measure of solace and comfort from the Bible and its message of suffering and redemption.
That was the message that Victor Akhterov, a Ukrainian native, delivered to a Rochester audience Thursday at the Best Western Empire Center in Rochester. Akhterov, a director of the Far East Broadcasting Center, an international Christian radio network, oversees seven Christian radio stations in Ukraine.
In an interview with the PB, Akterov shared stories of listeners tuning in even amid the shock of war. Listeners include those who live in cars fleeing the war; who are lying in the mud capturing broadcast snippets between explosions of bombs; who are caring for family members maimed in the war.
"It's not only about the afterlife, " Akhterov said. "It's about him being in the trenches with you. It's him standing with you, as you're holding your daughter who is dying. And that message is hard to deliver, but it resonates as never before."
Akhterov said something as simple as reading the psalms or Scripture over the radio draws an audience.
"You wouldn't believe how relevant it is to what's happening," Akhterov said.
The Ukrainian radio stations have kept broadcasting despite operating in or close to war zones and the risk to employees' lives. The stations employ broadcasters, engineers, technicians and counselors who are kept busy responding to calls and text messages from listeners.
Some staff fled from the eastern part of Ukraine, where fighting and shelling has been the most intense, and are now broadcasting from central Ukraine.
One broadcaster and his sister were inside an Kyiv apartment when a bomb exploded nearby. They were not hurt but the apartment was damaged.
Since the war started, one of the seven radio stations was shut down, two of them operate intermittently, and five continue to run full-time.
"Everybody is going through a very difficult time, because their friends are dying, their classmates are dying," Akhterov said about the broadcasters and other employees. "Their kids are scared."
Akhterov said he considers himself "fully Ukrainian," despite a family history rooted in both Ukraine and Russia. If someone had asked about his allegiances three months ago, before Russia's invasion, he would have talked about how complicated and messy relations between the two countries are. Today, the picture is black-and-white.
"Putin is killing hundreds of Ukrainian kids for no reason whatsoever," he said. "And there is no political reason that can justify that in any way."
Having a foot in both countries gives him insights into the mindsets of both peoples. Growing up in the old Soviet Union, he and others used to laugh at the ineptitude of state-controlled media. But he hears stories through employees of how Russian propaganda is holding sway over many Russian people, who don't consider Ukraine a sovereign nation but only a little brother to Russia.
"I was talking to one of my friends. He's our program director in Russia. And he was talking to his father, who used to be a KGB officer. He's like, 'I love my father. He loves my kids and his grandkids.' And I'm telling him, 'Well, kids in Ukraine are dying.' And he's saying, 'Oh, don't worry about it. We'll forget about it as soon as we capture Ukraine.'"
FEBC had an active ministry before the war. Russia and Ukraine have some of the highest rates of teen suicides in the world. Counselors also stayed busy giving guidance to people suffering from depression and coping with divorce.
"Life happens to people. We had dozens and dozens of averted suicides," he said. "It's more real life problems. Today, it's just deeper, harder and more difficult. People are dying."
Audience members found Akhterov's message moving, said Wendall Amstutz, president of the National Community Resource Center, one of the sponsors of the event along with KFSI 92.9 FM radio.
"They were painful and heartwarming stories of the Ukrainian people," Amstutz said. "The message was deeply touching. There wasn't a dry eye in the place."
