Ex-KGB agent takes refuge in Vancouver church
VANCOUVER, BC—Mikhail Lennikov, 48, was born in Russia and lived most of his life there. He has also lived in Japan, and—for the past 12 years—in Canada. But right now the boundaries of his world are the four walls of the church where he has claimed sanctuary from the Canadian government that wants to send him back to his homeland.
The courts and the government say the law is clear that Lennikov must be deported because he once worked for the Soviet secret police, the KGB. But because he has disclosed insider information about the KGB to Canadian intelligence, Lennikov feels certain his life would be in danger the moment he stepped on Russian soil.
Deportation would also mean leaving behind his wife and teenage son who have been granted permanent resident status in Canada.
But Lennikov says his Christian faith remains strong. "I think it was kind of some supreme hand that was taking us through all this, that brought us here for a reason," he says.
Lennikov began working for the KGB (against his will, he says) in 1982, because the secret service wanted to use his fluency in Japanese. He resigned in 1988. After living in Japan for two years, Lennikov entered Canada in 1997 on a student visa to complete a Master's degree at the University of British Columbia. He had begun work on a PhD when his application to stay in Canada was rejected earlier this year.
"I believed [in Christ] in my early 30s," Lennikov says. "Especially when I left the KGB, lots of things started happening. As I tried to come to terms with these events, I turned more and more to the spiritual side of life."
Richard Hergesheimer, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Vancouver, where Lennikov has been living since June 2, is convinced he poses no threat to national security.
"Here is a guy who speaks flawless English, who is university-educated. He has a strong family," Hergesheimer says. "These are exactly the people that [Immigration Minister] Jason Kenney says we want to find to live in Canada."
Hergesheimer also rejects the accusation some media commentators have made that the Lennikovs—who joined the church about a year ago—are just opportunists.
"When they began to tell their story I said, 'I don't know how we can help.' And they said, 'We're not looking for your help. We're looking for a [church] family, a place to belong.' And we began to realize we've got an opportunity to care for these people."
Lennikov's only hope now is that Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan will exercise his right to grant him an exemption. But Vancouver South Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who strongly supports Lennikov, says that is unlikely to happen.
"It takes sort of a revelation to [the government] of some error or deficiency in their considerations," he says. "Or the minister is shuffled out and the new minister comes in and takes a fresh look with the passage of time."
University of Windsor criminologist Randy Lippert has analyzed recent sanctuary incidents in Canada. He too thinks that Lennikov could be staying at First Lutheran for quite a while. "Based on everything we know," he says, "he can expect to be living in that church for two years before he's going to have his case resolved."
On two occasions, Lippert says the government threatened to revoke a church's charitable status on grounds that granting sanctuary was a misuse of funds for "political" purposes. "They didn't back down, but certainly it was, 'Oh! We hadn't thought of that.'"
"It's crossed our minds for sure," says Hergesheimer. "When people have said, 'We would like to send a donation [to the Lennikovs],' we've said, 'Fine, but you make the cheques out to Mikhail and you'll not get a tax receipt.'"
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
