Seventh-day Adventist publishing leaders in the Euro-Asia region have announced plans to translate and print books in the local languages of eight former Soviet nations by the end of 2002. Until now, most Adventist materials in Euro-Asia have been published only in Russian, Ukrainian, or Romanian (Moldovan).

Currently most people in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountains can speak some Russian, but use of the language is expected to decline in the future.

“We have to understand that Russian is not the native language of many people in countries like Kazakhstan or Georgia,” says Wilmar Hirle, who directs publishing for Adventists in Euro-Asia. “Of course they would prefer to read spiritual materials in their first language. Our pastors and publishing directors are pleading for such books, but we have nothing to give them.”

Speaking at an annual planning conference for Adventist publishing directors, Hirle outlined a plan to select and translate three books in the dominant native language of eight countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

“Local Adventist leaders will choose the three books,” he explains. “One on a spiritual topic, one about family, and one about health for each country. We urgently need practical materials, and we need to produce items that respect the languages and cultures around us.”

Books for most of the countries will be finished by the end of this year, Hirle says. The only exception is Turkmenistan, where obstacles to religious freedom may hinder the process of translation and printing.

Also at the publishing conference, Hirle introduced the annual sharing book, which is a mass-produced paperback intended for Christians to give to coworkers or neighbors. This year’s book, Life Without Fear (Zhizn Bez Strakha) by Adventist leader Mikhail Kaminsky, addresses the pain of living in a world filled with disappointment and terrorism, and it suggests that lasting hope can be found in Christian faith. “This book is a milestone for us,” says Hirle. “I believe it is our first annual sharing book to be written in the Russian language and by a local person. Before, we translated books from English or other languages. The message was good, but stories were from somewhere else. Already people have told me how touched they are by Pastor Kaminsky’s message. They say, ‘He is one of us. He knows our lives and what we need.’”

The sharing book was produced at the Source of Life Publishing House in Zaoksky, Russia, which is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this month. Dedicated in 1992, just months after the demise of the Soviet Union, the facility now publishes magazines, spiritual books, children’s materials, songbooks, and Bibles.