Argunov, Andrei Ivanovich

Life in the Ponds

Andrei was born into the peasant family of Ivan Kuzmich and Pelagia Vasilievna Argunov on October 13 (26), 1904 . In connection with the early death of his father, the family became extremely in need, but, despite this, Andrei managed to unlearn in a rural school . After that, he was a craftsman , worked in an artel , which was engaged in the production of toothbrushes . In addition to work, Andrei Argunov sang in the church choir and was chairman of the parish council of the Intercession Church of the village of Prudtsy . The events that ultimately led him to death occurred in the 1930s . ^[one]

In 1933, a collective farm was organized in the village as part of collectivization , which had not only economic, but also political coloring. Since the collective farm ideologically declared itself “godless” , the 29-year-old Andrei Argunov did not join him. In the next three years, all his property was taken from him - a house, sheds, a barn, a horse and a cow. ^[2]

In 1936, the authorities put him as the sole individual requirements similar to the surplus appraisal . He was ordered to hand over to the state 60 kg of meat per year, which he obviously could not fulfill. In October of that year, local authorities planned to dismantle the brick wall of the church for the construction of a power plant : ^[2]

Representatives of local authorities :

By agreement with the district executive committee, we ... held a meeting with the church council of the Intercession Church on the issue of giving bricks from the church fence for an artel to build a power plant and install an engine ... Andrey Argunov, who is also the chairman of the church council, said that we would not give and would not give our consent, and so the Christian faith from the persecutors of the Church suffered greatly ...

After the speech ... about the Trotsky-Zinoviev pack , which impedes the strengthening of socialist society and the transition to a communist society , about the great construction in the USSR and the country's defense, Argunov replied that

these people ... have suffered, perhaps for no reason. Perhaps this fate will also befall us, but since Christ bore his cross, he suffered for us, and we too must suffer from the persecutors of the Church for the faith of Christ . Here you (pointing to our side) keep your leaders in the Kremlin behind a brick fence and walls and do not dismantle the shrine, but you want to break our fence. We don’t care about your power station, no matter what you set up, the time will come, it will all collapse

- application to the NKVD ^[2]

In 1937, Andrei was arrested for selling toothbrushes made by him in the artel, where he worked; He was sentenced to 6 months in prison. After his release, he was sentenced to forced labor for felling without the permission of the village council of several birches in the fence of the church cemetery . ^[one]

Arrest after arrest and subsequent canonization

In July of the same year, Andrei was charged with refusing to supply the state with 60 kg of meat, while the authors of the denunciation testified against him.

On September 14, 1937, Andrei was arrested and imprisoned in the Tagansky prison , he was immediately questioned, which was not the standard for that time. He was charged with " counter-revolutionary activity, the spread of slander against the Soviet government ." He did not plead guilty during interrogation.

From the materials of interrogations ^{[1] [2]} :

I opposed breaking the church fence, and called for protest of all members of the parish council. I said that Christ carried His cross, and we must also suffer from the persecutors of the Church for the Christian faith. At the same time, pointing to the side of the Communists, I said: “ Well, you are protecting your leaders in the Kremlin behind a brick wall and you are not breaking the walls, we don’t care about your power plant, no matter what the construction, the time will come, everything will collapse .”

When I met people from the village of Prudtsy, I said: " We need to keep faith and the Church, if it does not exist, then we will all perish ."

Investigator: Indicate the facts of your counter-revolutionary activity that you conducted among the collective farmers
Argunov: In May 1936, at my relative at the funeral, where the collective farmers were present, they started talking about the existence of God. I began to prove that God is. At the same time, I argued that the time would come, people would die, like flies, from hunger and disease, and from the sword of the war for the sins of the people.
S: Indicate what else were the facts of your counter-revolutionary statements among the collective farmers?
A: When I met with individuals from the village of Prudtsy, I expressed my religious beliefs, stating: “We need to keep faith and the Church, if it does not exist, then we will all perish.”
S: Who did you consider the persecutors and enemies of the Church?
A: I consider the persecutors and enemies of the Church to be Communists.
S: The investigation established that you were spreading counter-revolutionary slander against the Soviet government. Testify on this issue.
A: Personally, I believe that the Soviet government is the persecutor of the Christian faith, on this account I had statements ...

I consider Communists persecutors and enemies of the Church. I do not consider my statements to be slanderous, what I said was true.

On October 10, 1937, the Special Troika at the UNKVD in the Moscow Region was sentenced to eight years in a forced labor camp . Andrei Argunov was sent to serve his sentence in Bamlag , where he had not worked for a year. He died in custody on August 5, 1938 and was buried in an unknown grave. ^{[1] [2]}

The Moscow diocese introduced Andrei Argunov for canonization , and on April 20, 2005, by the definition of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was glorified for general church veneration as a martyr in the Council of Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia . ^[one]

• Andrei Ivanovich Argunov // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M. , 2000. - T. reference volume "Russian Orthodox Church" . - ISBN 5-89572-005-6 .
• Lives of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the 20th Century Russian Moscow Diocese. - Tver: Bulat, 2006. - T. IV (optional). - S. 147-149.