Opening the Red Door, John A. Bernbaum
Opening the Red Door, John A. Bernbaum
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Opening the Red Door
The Inside Story of Russia's First Christian Liberal Arts University

Author: John A. Bernbaum, Philip Yancey

Narrator: P.J. Ochlan

Unabridged: 11 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/17/2019


Synopsis

After the Berlin Wall fell, a group of Christian colleges in the U.S. seized the opportunity to begin strategic faculty and student exchanges with universities inside the Soviet Union. They could not have foreseen the doors that would open next. During a 1990 visit to Russia, John Bernbaum and his colleagues received a surprising invitation from a Russian government official: come help build a faith-based university in Moscow. Thus, after seventy years of fierce religious persecution under communism, the Russian-American Christian University (RACU) was born.

As a founder and later president of RACU, Bernbaum offers a ground-level perspective on Russia's post-communist transition and the construction of a cultural-educational bridge between the two superpowers. He describes how American RACU staff worked to understand Russian history and culture so they could support their new Russian friends in rebuilding an educational system and a society. He documents the story of the first private Christian liberal arts university to be accredited in Russia's history, from its first steps to its facing increasing opposition during the Putin era. Opening the Red Door offers unique insight not only into Russian culture and post–Cold War history but also traces the dynamics within international educational institutions and partnerships.

About John A. Bernbaum

John A. Bernbaum worked for the US Department of State from 1972 to 1976 and then spent nearly two decades with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in Washington, DC, where he founded and directed the American Studies Program, served as CCCU executive vice president, and developed the Russian Studies Program. He also served as president and CEO of the Russian-American Christian University (RACU) in Moscow from 1996 to 2011. He is the author of Why Work? and Perspectives on Peacemaking.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bob on February 11, 2020

Summary: An inside account by a founder and President of the Russian-American Christian University, from the surprise invitation received from Russian leadership to its closing. The period of 1989-1990 was a heady time as the Iron Curtain fell and country after country overturned Communist leadership......more

Goodreads review by Becky on August 22, 2019

When Communism started to crumble in the USSR, the Christian College Coalition (CCC) started to explore opportunities for student and faculty exchanges with universities in Russia and other Soviet states. Shocking everyone, the CCC found top leaders from Moscow strongly encouraging these exchanges a......more

Goodreads review by Tim on July 25, 2020

This is a story about failure...or is it??? Some people have the misconception that to be a Christian, one needs to be a pastor. Wrong. This story of how the first Christian liberal arts university in Russia is about the task to influence the world for Christ in other professions (i.e. business, socia......more

Goodreads review by Mandy on January 07, 2020

I found this book deeply troubling, if an interesting glimpse into a byway of history I had no idea about. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian government invited the Americans to set up a Christian University. I’m not clear why they wanted this to happen, but remarkably happen it did......more

Goodreads review by Helina on January 16, 2023

It was okay. There were a lot of slow parts because it’s more about the information of starting a school. I thought it would be more personable and more narrative. It was painful to finish this book… I learned new things though......more