Natasha Vins, Daughter of Former Soviet Religious Prisoner Georgi Vins, Passes Away at 67

Note: The editors at Lighthouse Trails have been aware of the Vins’ family since the late 1970s when Georgi Vins was a prisoner for his faith in the U.S.S.R. Today, Lighthouse Trails is the publisher for two of Georgi Vins’ books and carries one book written by his daughter, Natasha Vins. This family continually exercised courage and faith in the midst of persecution and are an inspiration and an example to the body of Christ, especially in a day and age today when freedom and liberty to worship God are at such risk of being lost.

There are no greater riches than Christ, and you feel this especially keenly when they want to take Him away from you, when they forbid you to share these riches with people . . . But people need Him so much! Jesus—is there any name more dear to a redeemed soul?—Georgi Vins

Natalia “Natasha” Vins –
November 27, 1952 – December 21, 2019

“A Legacy to Remember”

On December 21, 2019, Natalia (Natasha) Vins departed from this world and joined those who have gone before her into the arms of the Lord and eternal life.

Natasha was born November 27, 1952 in Kiev, Ukraine to Georgi and Nadia Vins during a period when Ukraine was part of the atheistic U.S.S.R. Her father was a Baptist preacher, and when Natasha was just nine years old, her father was arrested for preaching the Gospel. Over the next 17 years, he spent a total of eight years imprisoned for his faith.

Because of the unrelenting hostility by the Soviet State against Christians, throughout Natasha’s childhood she and her family suffered greatly. Not only were she and her younger siblings deprived of their father for many of their childhood years, they suffered persecution in their community and schools. There was also a law established when Natasha was in 1st grade that children were not allowed to attend church anymore. This was a great disappointment and heartache for Natasha and her family. Eventually, secret outdoor church meetings in the woods began that the Vins’ family participated in, but it put them in great danger. But there was never a question as to whom should they serve—God or man. The Lord had their unwavering devotion. In Natasha’s biography, Children of the Storm, she recalls:

Many changes took place for Peter and me after that first worship service in the woods. Papa explained to us, “The police might come to one of our meetings, arrest me, and take me to prison because I preach from the Bible. . . . He also said that difficulties might come not just for the grownups in our family, but also for me in school. “You are already nine, Natasha, and can understand a great deal. For many months you and Peter couldn’t go to church, because children were forbidden at the worship services. Unfortunately, these regulations were made by church leaders who gave in to pressure from the atheistic authorities. But when the church submits to such unbiblical demands, it disobeys the Lord’s commandments. There are many other things going on that have forced us to start a new church. But you are still too young to understand it all. Just remember the most important thing—your parents love Jesus and want to live according to the Bible.” That is how our carefree childhood abruptly ended: for me at the age of nine; for Peter at six; and little Lisa was not even big enough to remember the days when Papa spent his evenings at home, reading us children’s books and taking us to the playground in the park. Our family entered a harsh period of persecution that was to last several decades. (p. 6)

In school, Natasha experienced much ostracizing and ridicule for her belief in God. She describes one particular day:

Natasha – 10 years old

In October of 1962, a long article criticizing Christians appeared in the Evening Kiev newspaper. My parents’ names were mentioned in it. The next day at school, my teacher Mrs. Alekseeva was telling us about cavemen, their customs, and religious practices. Suddenly she exclaimed, “Children, can you imagine that even in our day there are people who believe in God just like those cavemen did?” The kids giggled. “Science has proven that there is no God,” the teacher continued, “and progressive-minded mankind rejected all religious beliefs long ago. But occasionally even today we encounter people stupefied by religion. And such a girl is in our own class!” Mrs. Alekseeva stopped and peered at the class. Everyone was silent, waiting for what would come next. She turned to me. “Natasha Vins, come forward, stand before the class, and tell your comrades. Is it true that you believe in God?” I felt a sudden panic. Like a little animal being hunted, I wanted to hide, to become invisible. “Well? How long do we have to wait?” the teacher repeated in a stern voice.

Slowly I walked forward and turned to face the class. Tense silence hung in the air. Quietly, almost in a whisper, I said, “Yes, I believe in God.”

“What’s wrong with you?” the teacher exclaimed angrily. “Are you that ignorant? Didn’t you read what Yuri Gagarin said after he returned from his space flight? It was in all the newspapers. He did not see God anywhere! You’re in the third grade already! The Soviet State is making every effort to give its children the best education in the world, and here is the result. How shameful! Go to the principal’s office.” . . . My classmates had discovered that I was strikingly different from everyone else, and our relationships changed. (pp.7-8)

Natasha – 19 years old

In 1979, when Natasha was 27 years old, her family was released from the U.S.S.R.’s hold, and they resettled in America. How this came about is chronicled in Children of the Storm as well as her father’s book, The Gospel in Bonds. Once settled in America, Natasha’s father became part of a ministry called Russian Gospel Ministries, which aided those still suffering persecution. Natasha worked by her father’s side until his passing in 1998 at the age of 69.

After her father passed away, Natasha continued in ministry for the Lord in various aspects including interpreting for Bible teachers and sharing the story of the Vins’ family and her own testimony of coming to faith in Christ while enduring years of persecution.

During the last several years of Natasha’s life, she worked alongside her husband, Alexander Velichkin, serving together as missionaries in Russia, bringing the Gospel to remote and hard-to-reach small villages scattered along two Siberian Rivers.

Natasha’s paternal grandparents, Peter (who was executed in a Soviet prison in 1937 at the age of 39) and Lydia, and Natasha’s parents left a legacy to their children and grandchildren of devotion and commitment to the Lord even in the face of extreme persecution and suffering. Natasha did not squander that legacy given to her but rather carried it throughout her own life, serving Christ and testifying to His faithfulness and goodness so that others might be partakers of the same unwavering faith that was passed on to her.

Today, we rejoice in knowing that she is now reunited with those who shaped her life and share in her life’s hope that many will come to Christ and follow Him all the days of their lives.


Natasha’s obituary and funeral service information.

To read more about Georgi Vins and his daughter Natasha, visit www.georgivins.com.

5 thoughts on “Natasha Vins, Daughter of Former Soviet Religious Prisoner Georgi Vins, Passes Away at 67

  1. Thank you Julie. What a beautiful tribute! We here at Lighthouse Trails were never privileged to meet her face to face, but when she gave us permission to publish her father’s books, we were so blessed to know that we could have a part in helping others to know about this incredible family who truly knew what it meant to forsake all and follow Christ.

  2. After Natasha’s arrival in North America, she joined the London Baptist Seminary, Ontario, Canada. I met her and got to know her for a whole school year; we were in the New Testament Greek class together. An amazing woman, full of compassion for everybody around her and especially for her brothers and sisters in Christ in USSR. She opened my heart to their lives and she is still a living memory, a spiritual model for me. At different moments in my life, I missed her very much. I look forward to see her again in heaven. One could easily feel how intimate and real her relationship with Jesus was.
    Soon, it will be one year that she passed away. I will be praying for the loss her husband, brothers and sisters suffer.
    Julie Dumas

  3. I have her book here, and it is a powerful and encouraging word to the church today — a reminder to us NOT to compromise the faith, but to stand strong in God’s Holy Word.

    I am sorry (for our sakes) that she is gone, but so happy for her! that she is now with the LORD she loves, and her dear loved ones too. Precious is her memory!

  4. Thank you for alerting your readers to the passing of Natasha Vins. Our family was privileged to meet Natasha and her father, Georgi, after they came to America through a Swedish cousin, Ingemar Martinson. The Vins family were always willing to travel and speak about their experiences and the persecuted church. They had a depth of love for the Lord that must only come with suffering for Him.

    Ingemar Martinson, my mother Grace Martinson Carlson’s first cousin, was the head of the Swedish Slavic Mission for many years. The Mission supported the families of prisoners all throughout the Communist world but especially in the Soviet Union. They also smuggled in Bibles and Christian literature, and smuggled out letters, films, and messages from the persecuted church. Ingemar was in close contact with Brother Andrew of Open Doors ministry also, and others working with the persecuted church in Communist countries.

    Thank you, Lighthouse Trails, for drawing our attention again to the persecuted church.

  5. Praise the Lord for such a faithful servant. What a testimony! I’m blessed and encouraged by her and her faithful family and Glory to God for His wonderful love and mercy to us all.
    Every blessing to all at Lighthouse Trails for the coming year and thank you for all that you do.

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