Was God’s Army destined to fail? Part One of Five

From FSAOF.blogpot.com

Ten years in Russia Russia

When the Salvation Army through the initiative of General William Booth in the early1900s sought to establish its presence in Russia it was apparent that there would be great difficulties. The country was in many ways susceptible to outside influences or movements. Initially, in 1913, through contacts in Finland and a large exhibition in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) an opportunity opened.

The leader of the Salvation Army in Finland was the Swedish Smålandsman Karl Larsson, who later became the Commander and leader in several other countries, including Sweden.

Karl Larsson was a driven and courageous leader, but also an accomplished and prolific writer.

In one of his stirring books he talks about the ten years in Russia.

Commissioner Sven Nilsson now shares in his series of "Salvation Army Literature" for www.bootheum.se about this book, which was first published in 1937 and then in a successive three runs. He writes that "the book provides an interesting account of how the Salvation Army's work, not least with the help of the Swedish officers who were actively working there, was established and developed. Karl Larsson tells of privation, hardship, stress and illness, but also for the pioneering spirit and self-sacrificing work.

© Photos: Stefan Örtenblad & from the book Ten Years in Russia

Copyright: Salvation Army File, Inal 2013-11-07

Sven Nilsson