Almost 150 languages are spoken in the former Soviet Union, ranging from those with millions of speakers and a long literary tradition, to those with only a few hundred or fewer speakers and no written form. The Bible does not exist in the vast majority of these languages. Today, the Swedish-based Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) is translating the Scriptures into 73 languages in the former Soviet Union spoken by 85 million people, 55--60 million of whom are of Muslim heritage. The Institute translates and publishes the Bible, but is not involved in distribution which is carried out by other organizations.
History
In 1973, Dr. Borislav Arapovic, a Croat living in Stockholm,
Sweden, recognized that Bible translation work among the many large
non-Slavic peoples in the Soviet Union had ceased following the 1917
Bolshevik Revolution. Seeing the need for renewed efforts to
translate and publish the Bible in these languages, Dr. Arapovic
founded East Bible Institute and began research, reprinting,
translation, and publishing activities. In 1978 the organization
was renamed the Institute for Bible Translation. The largest
nationality of the former Soviet Union without a full translation of
the Bible are the 20-million-strong Uzbeks. The smallest groups
without Scripture number perhaps 50 people in remote villages of the
Caucasus and Pamir Mountains.
Publications to Date
The Institute has now translated and published the complete
Bible in three languages (Moldovan, Georgian, and Tajik) and the New
Testament in ten languages (Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Balkar-Karachai,
Kabardin, Komi, Azeri, Mari-Low, Ossetic, and Adygei). Gospel
portions have been published in another 37 languages. In
addition, the Institute publishes a 540-page, illustrated Children's Bible,
now available in 24 languages. Another similar publication, a
50-page version of the Children's Bible called "Jesus Friend of
Children," has been distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies in
several languages.
Publications in Slavic Languages
The Institute only publishes specialized editions in Russian, Ukrainian, and Bielorussian; for example, its Children's Bible,
has been distributed in 7.5 million copies to date. In 1989 the
Institute provided 150,000 sets of a three-volume, 6,500-page Russian
study Bible to the Russian Orthodox Church in commemoration of the
thousandth anniversary of Eastern Slavic Christianity. Private
donations from all five Scandinavian nations, including government
contributions from Norway and Denmark, funded this project. In
1995 the Institute published a Greek/Russian interlinear Gospel of
Luke. An entire Greek/Russian interlinear New Testament should be
completed by 2000. Over an eight-year period, the Institute
cooperated with the British and Foreign Bible Society and Germany's
Licht Im Osten (Light in the East) to produce the first-ever
computer-generated concordance keyed to the Russian Bible. The
first copy of this work was presented by IBT to Russian Orthodox
Patriarch Alexei II on 17 December 1995.
Partnerships and Training Programs
With the dismemberment of the Soviet Union in 1991, other
organizations began to assist in the Institute's translation projects,
including Wycliffe Bible Translators/Summer Institute of Linguistics
(SIL) and United Bible Societies (UBS). IBT also has partnered
with the Russian Academy of Science and its affiliates in other former
Soviet republics. IBT, in cooperation with Wycliffe/SIL and UBS,
regularly arranges courses and seminars for indigenous translators in
the former Soviet Union, including 10 in 1995-96. The Institute
also offers a Bible translation course in the Department of Linguistics
at Moscow State University.
Support
Since its founding in 1973, the Institute has been supported
primarily by four Scandinavian missions: Danish European Mission
(Copenhagen); Norwegian Mission to the East (Oslo); Swedish Slavic
Mission (Stockholm); and Avainsanoma (Helsinki, Finland). Other
organizations in these countries, as well as organizations in Germany,
Britain, Switzerland, and Holland, have participated in the Institute's
work by sponsoring the publication of translations. In the United
States, the Russian Bible Society, Asheville, NC, has for many years
partnered with the Institute and provided financial support.
For additional information contact:
| Dr. Borislav Arapovic
Institute for Bible Translation Box 20100 Stockholm S-10460 Sweden tel: 08-722-2340 fax: 08-722-2345 e-mail: rizell@ibtinst.no |
Curt L. Gustafson
WORDpress International Box 216 Alhambra, CA 91802 tel: 818-281-4740 fax: 818-458-0677 e-mail: gustafson@ibtla.org.  |
Written permission is required for reprinting or electronic distribution of any portion of the East-West Church & Ministry Report.
© 1996 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664