The republics along the Soviet Union's southwestern border with Europe Belorussia, Ukraine and Moldavia - have been one of history's perpetual battlegrounds. In the last one hundred and fifty years the region has been invaded a total of fourteen times; and the Belorussian (White Russian) capital of Minsk has been under foreign occupation over one hundred times since its founding. The Poles, Swedes, French and Germans have all had their day in one or another of the peripheral republics. The Nazi invasion during the Second World War was particularly devastating. When the Red Army retook Minsk in Juty of 1944 only 40,000 inhabitants - of a prewar 237,000 - remained. Nearly 9,500 towns and villages were destroyed, while 2,200,000 people - or every fourth inhabitant of the republic - were killed. The Ukraine has suffered similarly under the ravages of war and forced famine.

The Belorussians seem never to have bounced back from their catastrophe. Visitors from the West and East frequently remark about their laconicpersonalities.Their name,White Russians, is most likely derived from their fair features; although other scholars insist it is because Ghengis Khan's Mongol armies pulled up at their border - the so-called "white line". The republic is perhaps best known, for its bountiful potato crops - nearly 5% of the world's total output. Belorussians not only avidly consume this vegetable they call their "second bread", but export it throughout the rest of the USSR.

Compared with their Slavic Russian and Belorussian cousins, Ukrainians are the "hot bloods" of the family. Sometimes referred to as "Dnieper Italians", their fiery and friendly dispositions are demonstrated in brilliantly coloured folk art and acrobatic Cossack dances. Ukrainian women are equally renowned throughout the Soviet Union for being ample of body and tongue. Diets heavy in starch and fat along with strenuous workloads tend to give them a sturdy appearance.

Ukrainian embroidery and intricate, coloured Easter eggs are world famous, while artisans from the village of Oposhnya create ceramicwonders that are coveted throughout North America and Europe. This predilection for intricate work is perhaps revealing of another Ukrainian trait - that of being slow and tardy. In his book Journey Across Russia, author Bart McDowell recounts a joke about two Ukrainians at a train station. "The bell rings for the train and one Ukrainian says, 'not our call'. It rings again and he repeats his comments. Then the stationmaster comes out and shoves both Ukrainians onto the train just as it pulls out and the Ukrainian says, 'that's the signal for us!'"

The Ukraine is the birthplace of modern Russia. For years the city of Kiev served as the centre of Slavic civilization in the region. Today its claim to fame is its chernozem - rich black soil that extends from the northern steppelands to the Crimean Peninsula where the republic dips its toe into the Black Sea. Thousands of square kilometres of farmland produce corn, wheat, cabbage, beets and an abundance of other produce. It is also the nation's "Bible Belt". The Orthodox, Baptists and Pentecostals are all strong in numbers and faith throughout the republic. Fervent prayer meetings and Bible studies often last well into the night, and even weddings are used as an occasion to proclaim the Gopel to unsaved guests.

If the Ukraine is the nation's breadbasket then the republic of Moldavia is its vintner. Even its contour on a map resembles a bunch of grapes. Ethnically related to their Romanian neighbours, the Moldavians are Latin, rather than Slavic in origin. Their name is derived from the Moldova River, a fact which lends itself to the pastoral personality of the Moldavian people.

PRAY:
-for the many Ukrainian Christians in Kiev, Odessa and Yalta for the Lord to give them favour in the eyes of their neighbours and for opportunities to witness.

PRAY:
-for a continued movement of God's Spirit among young people in Moldavia. Large numbers of Moldavian Christian youth regularly gather for Bible study and fellowship.

PRAY:
-for God's hand of guidance to be on the leaders of the church in Belorussia. PRAY especially for believers in the city of Minsk.

PRAY:
-that the large Jewish population in the Ukraine might find spiritual completeness through an encounter with their Messiah.

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