———- Forwarded message ———-
From: avidogim<avidogim@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 26, 2018 at 9:09 PM

Hi TOC friends,

I recently had a chat with Michael Challis about Mo’s complaint to him
regarding our Russian printing, our using the same distributor and all that
jazz.

As I was explaining some of the facts in this situation to Mike, he asked me
if I could give him a bullet summary that he could take with him to a
meeting in July (during the joint conference in Vancouver) to which the UF
trustees had invited him in order to discuss this issue.

Attached is what I composed for that purpose. Please check it out and let me
know if you think it contains any errors or significant omissions.

Thank you,

Avi Dogim

USGNY Russian Translations & Printing – A brief overview
. In the fall of 1990, USGNY decided to undertake translations of the
UB into Korean and into Russian. It formed a Translation Oversight Committee
(TOC) and began to raise funds for the projects. At the time, there was no
indication that Urantia Foundation (UF) was planning translations into these
same languages.
. A few months later, after some preliminary work had begun, Lila met
Michael Henian in Finland while on route to Russia for a UB related meeting.
Mr. Henian told her that he was under contract with UF to translate the book
into Russian. When she asked to see some of his work, he said he was
forbidden by UF to show it.
. TOC met to discuss this development after Lila’s return to the U.S.
and decided to suspend work on the Russian translation.
. Over a period of almost two years, TOC members tried to get from UF
trustees and staff information about the status of UF’s Russian translation.
UF refused to give any information, including as to whether any progress was
being made.
. Then, following this two year suspension, TOC, with USGNY blessings,
decided to resume work on the Russian translation.
. Following about 11 years of translation and editing work, USGNY
produced a CD-ROM based electronic text of the work and received orders for
several dozen units from points far and wide in the former Soviet Union. The
e-text had also been made available on theuniversalfather.com (Barry’s)
website and subsequently on the USGNY website.
. Recently, USGNY decided to print a hard-cover version of the Russian
translation in Russia. It had taken several months to identify the printer
who could meet the required specifications. It took several weeks more for
us find a distributor who could accommodate our needs. It was during our
negotiations with the distributor that we found out that it was also
distributing the UF’s Russian book. Neither the distributor nor we thought
that presented a conflict, especially in view of the fact that the
Fellowship has been using the same distributor as the UF for the English
language UB. Prior to going to print, USGNY had gotten the Fellowship’s
permission to use the Uversa Press cover design.
. The book is available for sale on the distributor’s website as well
as on Ozone (the Russian equivalent of Amazon) and in some bookstores in
Russia.