They traveled as tourists. Their real goal was teaching Judaism and dispensing religious articles in the former Soviet Union. For close to forty years, Chabad emissaries would travel with prayer books, tefillin, kosher food and other products which were otherwise unavailable in a country which forbade the open practice of Judaism. As the years passed, the need for more tefillin grew, and the "tourists" were unable to keep up with the demand. Local Russian scribes were needed. A group of refuseniks learnt the scribal art. Two scribes traveled to Russia, administered tests, and gave scribal certificates to eight scribes; five in Moscow and three in S. Petersburg.
