Activities of the Union of Militant Atheists in Kazakhstan in 1920-1930s

Abstract

The Union of Militant Atheists (UMA) was created as a mass voluntary public organization, which set as its goal the fight against religion in all its manifestations. The Union’s main task was considered to build effectively an organizational structure, forming regional, provincial, and district and volost councils with the aim of mass coverage of the population with anti-religious propaganda. The authors attempted to give a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the regional organizations of the Union of Atheists in Kazakhstan in 1920-1930s, to show the features of building an organizational structure, the nature and content of anti-religious propaganda. With the help of the method of discursive analysis of archival sources, the history of the formation of the regional organization of the UMA is studied, the stages of its development are indicated, and the main directions of activity, forms and methods of fighting against the religious worldview of the masses are considered.According to the results of the study, it was found that the organization and activities of the UMA in Kazakhstan were carried out in accordance with the instructions and recommendations of the central party and Soviet bodies