Gary L. Browning (born 1940)[1] is an American Russian language academic and was the first mission president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Russia, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Born in St. Maries, Idaho, Browning was a missionary for the LDS Church in Finland as a young man.[2] Upon returning from his mission, he earned a bachelor's degree in Russian from Brigham Young University, a master's degree from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.[2] In 1969, Browning lived in Moscow for six months while he worked as a guide for a United States Information Agency exhibit.[2] In 1973, Browning returned to live in Russia for six months as he researched his Ph.D. dissertation.[2]
Browning spent two years as a member of the faculty of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and then joined the faculty of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah as a professor of Russian language and literature.[2] In the 1980s, he founded a Utah County chapter of Utahns Against the Nuclear Arms Race and became a peace activist.[2]
In July 1990, Browning was asked by the LDS Church to become the president of the newly created Finland Helsinki East Mission of the church.[3] This mission was headquartered in Helsinki, but all its assigned missionaries preached in Russia and the Baltic states.[3] At the time, there were small branches of the LDS Church in Leningrad, Tallinn, Vyborg, and Moscow.[3] The Leningrad Branch was the first LDS Church congregation to receive official recognition within Russia.[3] Browning is recognized by the LDS Church as the first mission president in Russia and the Baltic states.[4]
In February 1992, the Finland Helsinki East Mission was dissolved and divided into the Russia Moscow Mission and the Russia St. Petersburg Mission; Browning became the first president of the Moscow Mission and served in this capacity until July 1993.[3] After his mission service, Browning returned as a faculty member of Brigham Young University.[2] He served two terms as the chair of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages.[2] He retired and is a professor emeritus of BYU.[5]