The Russia-based Union of Evangelical Christians Baptists (UECB) has made a statement announcing its intentions to intensify its outside contacts.

The UECB central Moscow offices have revived the 'Department for External Church Relations', which had stopped functioning during the Perestroika period of economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Witali Wlasenko, 37, longtime head of the Russian branch of the Campus Crusade mission, has been named as the new director of the Department for External Church Relations.

Wlasenko, a Baptist pastor, has set key goals to make an impact beyond Russia's borders: "If we Baptists come together and share our resources across all European borders, we can create synergetic effects benefiting the entire kingdom of God!"

The department has three divisions: its diplomatic and representation desk intends to propagate the union's activities and convictions both internally and externally and contribute to the strengthening of inter-church relations in Russia and abroad.

The press desk wants to make not only Baptist positions, but rather all Protestantism in the country better known. Protestants make up less than one per cent of the population.

The legal desk will concern itself with legal matters as well as questions of religious freedom in the country.

In addition, the central church offices are being renovated this year in preparation for the union's 140th anniversary. The Evangelical Christians-Baptists number 85,000 baptised members in 1,750 congregations and groups.