Background
Krasnov-Levitin, Anatolii was born on September 21, 1915 in Baku.
Krasnov-Levitin, Anatolii was born on September 21, 1915 in Baku.
Educated at secondary school in Leningrad. Graduated from the Herzen Pedagogical Institute.
Moved with his parents to Leningrad, 1920. As a young man, was an active member of the Living Church (a radical group, encouraged by the authorities to undermine Patriarch Tikhon), close to A. Vvedenskii. Taught literature at secondary schools.
During World War II, ordained deacon by Vvedenskii. Left the Living Church and joined the official Orthodox Church in 1944. After World War II, lived in Moscow.
Arrested, 1946. Released during the Khrushchev thaw in 1956. Writing on church and religious subjects, became a well-known samizdat author from the late 1950s. Many young Soviet dissidents became interested in religion through his writings or personal contact with him.
Emigrated in 1977. Lives in Switzerland, continuing to campaign for human rights and religious freedom.