The recent interview given out by Metropolitan Sergius in which he denied religious persecution in Russia was typed on paper used only in the offices of the Ogpu, the Russian secret police, claims the Sunday “Times” on the basis of information received by it that escaped the Soviet censor. The Sunday “Times” also says that the Metropolitan kept the newspapermen waiting an hour because he had apparently not yet received the text of his ostensible statement from the Ogpu.
Pointing out that he declined to answer questions because he was himself unacquainted with the text the Sunday “Times” intimates that the interview was arranged by the Soviet foreign office and the text compiled in the Ogpu’s religious department. Without drawing conclusions the Sunday “Times” also says that the circumstances of the release of the statement of the Minsk rabbis through the foreign office suggests a parallel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
