By Su-gita Vani devi dasi
Back in 1922, H.H.Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Goswami Maharaj categorically told Srila Prabhupada that Krishna consciousness didn't have to wait for a change in Indian politics, nor was it dependent on who ruled. Krishna consciousness was so important-so exclusively important-that it could not wait. Whether in the Indian sub-continent or elsewhere. So, in this spirit, preaching was inaugurated, in very hostile circumstances, in communist Russia and also in south Africa where apartheid was at its height. Later, when the political climate changed in Russia and in south Africa, devotees continued to preach, taking advantage of the now-available freedom to preach.