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Doctrine changes · Claim record

The organisation later applied the same prophecy to the Soviet Union, and in 2018 the Governing Body identified Russia and its allies as the king of the north, a change published in the May 2020 study edition of The Watchtower.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-chg-king-north-russiaConcerns 1 May 2020Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 May 2020 Verified

The organisation later applied the same prophecy to the Soviet Union, and in 2018 the Governing Body identified Russia and its allies as the king of the north, a change published in the May 2020 study edition of The Watchtower. The Watchtower (Study Edition), May 2020

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation states the criteria it now uses — a government must deal directly with Witnesses, act as their enemy, and compete with the rival king — and links the 2018 identification to Russia's 2017 ban on the organisation.

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower (Study Edition), “Who Is “the King of the North” Today?”

May 2020 · pp.13-14 · pars. 4, 8-9 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“Note why we can say that today the king of the north is Russia and its allies. … when Nazi Germany filled the role of the king of the north, particularly during the second world war … After World War II when the Soviet Union took on the role of the king of the north … in 2018 the Governing Body identified Russia and its allies as the king of the north.”

The study article sets out the organisation's own sequence of identifications — Germany, then the Soviet Union, then, from 2018, Russia and its allies — and ties the latest assignment to the 2017 ban on the organisation in Russia.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Document opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026; the wording was read in full and the page number taken from the library's own page markers.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-d-w-2020-05-king-north-russia

Claim page

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