“Allow Freedom of Religion in the Soviet Union”

There are a number of materialism-based theories that are
popularly held but not verified. One is Charles Darwin’s theory
of evolution. Another such theory comes from the writings of
Karl Marx. The idea that spirit originates from matter is wrong down
to its root. Human beings are created by God, and all beings are unified
bodies having both material and spiritual aspects. In short, the core
theory and philosophy underlying communism is wrong. While studying
in Japan, I worked together with communists for the independence
of Korea. They were my good friends who were prepared to give their
lives, if necessary, for the liberation of our homeland; but our way of
thinking was fundamentally different. So, once independence was
achieved, we had to go our separate ways.
I am opposed to the historical materialism of communism. I have
carried out a movement for victory over communism throughout the
world. I have advised successive U.S. presidents to protect the free
world, standing up to the communist strategy of turning the world red.
Communist countries that were unhappy with my actions attempted
to remove me through acts of terror, but I do not hate them. Nor do
I consider them my enemy. I oppose the philosophy and ideology of
communism, but I have never hated its people. God wants even communists
to be brought into His oneness.
In that sense, my visit to Moscow in April 1990 for a meeting with
President Mikhail Gorbachev and my visit to Pyongyang the next year
for a meeting with President Kim Il Sung were not simple journeys;
they were taken at the risk of my life. It was my destiny to go on these
journeys to convey Heaven’s will to these men. I said only half-jokingly
at the time that Moscow, pronounced in English, sounds similar to
“must go,” and so I had to go.
I had a long-held conviction regarding communism. I could
foresee that signs pointing to the fall of communism would begin
to appear after about sixty years from the Bolshevik Revolution, and
that the Soviet edifice would fall in 1987, the seventieth anniversary
of the revolution. So I was excited in 1984, when I heard that Dr.
Morton Kaplan, a noted political scientist at the University of Chicago,
was proposing to hold an international conference titled, “The
Fall of the Soviet Empire.” I asked him to pay me a visit in Danbury
prison so that we could discuss the details. The first thing I said to
him when we met was that I wanted him to declare “the end of Soviet
communism” before August 15 of that year.
Dr. Kaplan responded, “Declare the end of Soviet communism? How
can I do such a risky thing?” and indicated he was not inclined to do this.
But, it’s the final flame that burns the brightest. In 1985, the Soviet Union
was increasing its worldwide influence, and there were no outward signs
of its decline. So it was natural that Dr. Kaplan would be reluctant. If he
made a declaration predicting such a specific event and it turned out to
be false, his reputation as a scholar could be destroyed overnight.
“Rev. Moon,” he said, “I believe you when you say that Soviet communism
will fall. But I don’t think it will happen just yet. So instead
of declaring, ‘the end of Soviet communism,’ how about if we say ‘the
decline of Soviet communism? ’” I saw, too, that he was proposing to
soften the title of his program and use something other than “Fall of the
Soviet Empire.”
I burned with anger. These were compromises I could not accept. I
felt strongly that if a person had conviction, he should be brave and put
out all his energy to fight, even if he feels afraid.
“Dr. Kaplan,” I said, “What do you mean? When I ask you to declare
the end of communism, I have a reason. The day you declare the end of
communism, it will take energy away from it and help bring about its
peaceful collapse. Why are you hesitating?”
In the end, Dr. Kaplan declared “the end of Soviet communism” at
a conference of the Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA) held in
Geneva under the title, “The Fall of the Soviet Empire: Prospects for
Transition to a Post-Soviet World.” It was something that no one had
dared consider. Because Switzerland was a neutral country, Geneva was
a major staging area for the Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB),
and many KGB agents worked from there to carry out espionage and
terror activities around the world. The Intercontinental Hotel, where
the PWPA conference was held, faced the Soviet embassy across the
street, so I can well imagine how much fear Dr. Kaplan must have felt.
A few years later, however, he became well-known as the scholar who
first predicted the end of Soviet communism.
In April 1990, I convened the World Media Conference held in Moscow.
Unexpectedly, the Soviet government gave me head-of-state–level
protocol, beginning at the airport. We were transported to the center
of Moscow in a police-escorted motorcade. The car that carried me
traveled on the yellow section of the road, which was used only by the
president and state guests. This happened before the collapse of the Soviet
Union. The Soviet government afforded this exceptional treatment
to me, an anti-communist.
At the conference, I gave an address praising the move toward perestroika.
I said this revolution must be bloodless, and that it must be a
revolution of the mind and spirit. The purpose of my visit was to attend
the World Media Conference, but my mind was focused on meeting
President Gorbachev.
At the time, President Gorbachev was popular within the Soviet
Union, following the successes of his perestroika policies. I could have
met the U.S. president ten times if I’d wanted to, but meeting President
Gorbachev was much more difficult. I was concerned that even one
meeting might be difficult to achieve. I had a message to give him, and
it was important that I do this in person. He was reforming the Soviet
Union, giving rise to the winds of freedom there, but as time passed,
the swords of reform were being increasingly pointed at his back. If the
situation were left unchecked, he was about to fall into great danger.
I explained, “If he does not meet me, he has no way to catch the wave
of heavenly fortune, and if he cannot do that, he will not last long.”
Perhaps President Gorbachev heard this expression of my concern.
The next day, he invited me to the Kremlin Palace. I rode in a limousine
provided by the Soviet government and entered deep into the Kremlin.
On entering the presidential office, my wife and I took our seats, and
Cabinet ministers of the Soviet Union took seats next to us. President
Gorbachev smiled a big smile and gave us an energetic explanation of
the successes of his perestroika policies. Then he showed me into an
anteroom, where we met one on one. I used this opportunity to give
him the following message.
“Mr. President, you have already achieved much success through
perestroika, but that alone will not be sufficient for reform. You need
to immediately allow freedom of religion in the Soviet Union. If you
try to reform only the material world, without the involvement of God,
perestroika will be doomed to fail. Communism is about to end. The
only way to save this nation is to allow the freedom of religion. The time
is now for you to act with the courage that you have shown in reforming
the Soviet Union and become a president of the world who works to
bring about world peace.”
President Gorbachev’s face hardened at the mention of religious
freedom, as though he had not been expecting this. As one would
expect from the man who had allowed the reunification of Germany,
however, he quickly relaxed his expression and soberly accepted my
words to him. I continued, saying, “South Korea and the Soviet Union
should now open diplomatic relations. In that context, please invite
South Korean President Roh Tae Woo to visit.” I also explained a list of
reasons why it would be good for the two countries to have diplomatic
relations. After I had finished all I wanted to say, President Gorbachev
made a promise to me with a tone of certitude that I had not heard him
express prior to that point.
“I am confident,” he said, “that relations between South Korea and
the Soviet Union will develop smoothly. I, too, believe that political
stability and the relaxation of tensions on the Korean peninsula is necessary.
Opening diplomatic relations with South Korea is only a matter
of time; there are no obstacles. As you suggested, I will meet President
Roh Tae Woo.”
As I was about to leave President Gorbachev that day, I took off my
watch and put it on his wrist. He seemed a little bewildered that I would
treat him as I might an old friend. So I told him firmly, “Each time your
reforms face difficulty, please look at this watch and remember your
promise to me. If you do that, Heaven will surely open a path for you.”
As he promised me, President Gorbachev met President Roh in
San Francisco in June that year for a bilateral summit. Then, on September
30, 1990, South Korea and the Soviet Union signed a historic
agreement to open diplomatic relations for the first time in eightysix
years. Of course, politics is the job of politicians, and diplomacy
is the job of diplomats. Sometimes, though, when a door has been
closed for a long time, a religious person who has no interests at
stake can be more effective.
Four years later, President and Mrs. Gorbachev visited Seoul, and
my wife and I hosted them at our home in the Hannam Dong neighborhood.
He had already been removed from power by a coup d’état.
Following the coup by anti-reformist forces opposed to perestroika, he
had resigned his position as general secretary of the Soviet Communist
Party and dissolved the party. As a communist, he had eliminated the
Communist Party. The former president and first lady used chopsticks
to eat the bulgogi and jabchae we had carefully prepared. When he was
served su-jeong-gwa as dessert, Mr. Gorbachev repeated several times,
“Korea has excellent traditional foods.” He and the first lady appeared
quite different from the days when he was in office. Mrs. Gorbachev,
who had previously been a thoroughgoing Marxist-Leninist lecturing
at Moscow State University, wore a necklace with a crucifix.
“Mr. President, you did a great thing,” I told him. “You gave up your
post as general secretary of the Soviet Union, but now you have become
the president of peace. Because of your wisdom and courage, we now
have the possibility to bring world peace. You did the most important,
eternal, and beautiful thing for the world. You are a hero of peace who
did God’s work. The name that will be remembered forever in the
history of Russia will not be ‘Marx,’ ‘Lenin,’ or ‘Stalin.’ It will only be
‘Mikhail Gorbachev.’”
I gave high praise to the decision by Mr. Gorbachev to bring about
the breakup of the Soviet Union, the mother country of communism,
without shedding blood.
In response, Mr. Gorbachev said, “Rev. Moon, I have been greatly
comforted by your words. Hearing your words gives me energy. I will
devote the remainder of my life to projects that are for the sake of world
peace.” And he firmly took my hand in his.