Sergei Kourdakov died mysteriously fifty-two years ago. And still…people from all over the world want to know more about him! I can absolutely understand that. Sergei’s life was anything but ordinary. He grew up in a Soviet orphanage, was recruited by the KGB, defected from the USSR, and later talked about his newly found Christian faith while he was in the United States.
When Sergei and I met at my U.S. Federal Government office in Washington, DC we were just 21 years old. We began dating, and I heard his story first hand. My book, A Rose for Sergei, is the true story of our time together. At a recent book signing I was asked by several people how Sergei survived his jump from a Soviet trawler into the frigid waters off the coast of British Columbia in Canada. My response was always the same, “Sergei’s battle for survival in the ocean was a miracle.”
* * *
From The Persecutor by Sergei Kourdakov, Chapter 2, Battle for Survival:
“Slowly, ever so gradually, I could sense
something strange happening. Though I had been drained of every ounce of
energy, I sensed a new strength flowing into my tired arms. I felt the strong
and loving arms of the living God in the water….
And, strangest of all, I could sense what
general direction to take! I could sense where the shore lay. Even when the
tossing waves spun me about, I could come right back to the path I somehow knew
would lead to shore. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. All I knew
was that my life was going to be spared.”
* * *
The question regarding how Sergei survived his treacherous swim stayed with me long after that book event. I tried to envision that stormy night and what Sergei might have sensed as he desperately struggled to head in the right direction. Instead of putting my thoughts down on paper, I decided to paint a picture of the night Sergei Kourdakov swam toward freedom and a new life.
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| Sergei Kourdakov - "Survival" Painting by K. Kidd |
