With God in Russia

The Inspiring Classic Account of a Catholic Priest's Twenty-three Years in Soviet Prisons and Labor Camps

By: Walter J. Ciszek, Daniel L. Flaherty

Narrated by: James Conlan

“. . . a human and historical document of compelling interest.” — The Atlantic

Powerful and inspirational, With God in Russia captures the heroic patience, endurance, and religious conviction of a man whose life embodied the Christian ideals that sustained him.

While ministering in Eastern Europe during World War II, Polish-American priest Walter Ciszek, S.J., was arrested by the NKVD, the Russian secret police, shortly after the war ended. Accused of being an American spy and charged with ""agitation with intent to subvert,"" he was held in Moscow’s notorious Lubyanka prison for five years. The Catholic priest was then sentenced without trial to ten more years of hard labor and transported to Siberia, where he would become a prisoner within the forced labor camp system made famous in Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Prize—winning book The Gulag Archipelago.

In With God in Russia, Ciszek reflects on his daily life as a prisoner, the labor he endured while working in the mines and on construction gangs, his unwavering faith in God, and his firm devotion to his vows and vocation. Enduring brutal conditions, Ciszek risked his life to offer spiritual guidance to fellow prisoners who could easily have exposed him for their own gains. He chronicles these experiences with grace, humility, and candor, from his secret work leading mass and hearing confessions within the prison grounds, to his participation in a major gulag uprising, to his own ""resurrection""—his eventual release in a prisoner exchange in October 1963 which astonished all who had feared he was dead.

“More than a superbly interesting adventure story, With God in Russia is a moving document of a man’s faith in his God and his God’s goodness in allowing him to live through his ordeal.” — The Advocate

Long Suffering and Trust in God's Providence

This is a beautiful story of a priest who, by all rights, shouldn't have survived. What he went through in his 40s to his 60s should have killed him and drove him mad; but something kept him not only alive, but serving others. It is a very inspiring story that can't help but encourage the listener to greater trust in God and love of neighbor. Very good narration, felt as if Fr Ciszek was speaking himself.

Great story!!

It’s so captivating, motivating, and inspiring! 10/10 recommend listening to it. You won’t want to put it down. It is so good!!

Remarkable

Incredible story of faith. Walter's story encourages me to hold onto God even in the darkest times.

Unfathomable trials pairs with unquestioned faith

I read He Leadeth Me first, which was a life-changing book, and there were so many references to his trials in Russia that I just had to read this one. They are both incredible.

An astonishingly moving autobiography

I first listened to Fr. Ciszek’s book “He Leadeth Me” after it was recommended by Fr. Mike Schmitz in a homily. I was taken away by Fr. Ciszek’s deep spirituality in the face of such desolation. I continued to listen to With God in Russia and was moved by the simple faith shown through his experiences in Russia. It was such a great testimony to the complexity of life in the USSR at the height of communism and the perseverance he showed throughout his experience.