“V. A. Pashkov (1831–1902), a retired colonel, public figure and owner of thirteen estates, was the head of the evangelical movement in St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century. As V. G. Chertkov, a close friend of L. N. Tolstoy, wrote about him, Pashkov “simply accepted... the evangelical understanding of Christian teaching, and tried to spread it by preaching.” Having started reading about him as a subject of scientific and historical research, I was soon convinced that Pashkov should serve as a model for all today’s believers who are in completely different circumstances. I was amazed by his desire to serve both people of high society and the lowest strata of the Russian population, his devotion to God in good and bad times, in a St. Petersburg mansion and in exile...”