Anti-religious Propaganda Research Articles

Anti-Religious Propaganda in the Newspaper “Krasnoyarsky Rabochii” in 1931

Anti-Religious Propaganda in the Newspaper “Krasnoyarsky Rabochii” in 1931

ЖУРНАЛІСТСЬКА НЕУПЕРЕДЖЕНІСТЬ: ЯК ПИСАТИ ПРО РЕЛІГІЙНІ СПІЛЬНОТИ

Existing journalistic standards are designed to prevent conflicts within society. In particular, this concerns the standard of balance of opinions, points of view, which implies the need to «give the floor to all parties to the conflict and reflect their positions, while the journalist himself must be as impartial as possible». Specifying of this standard, experts advise to avoid a false balance to consult with professional experts and to refuse altogether from writing material in case of lack of information. The standard of separation of facts from comments is also designed to convey the most unbiased information, where the position of the journalist himself, if any, is presented separately from the information presented. However, the journalist is a part of this culture of perception of the world that exists in this society. the consequence of the above is, in our opinion, that the journalist is not aware of the presence of his own prejudices, and therefore it is quite difficult for him to avoid them. Prejudice against Protestant religious communities has deep historical roots. Thus, in the Russian Empire, Protestants were forbidden to carry out missionary activities in relation to the Orthodox population. Both in imperial times and in Soviet times, the «struggle against sects» was relevant, which usually meant any deviations from the dominant religion/ideology. The Soviet authorities added to this active anti-religious propaganda with the help of cinematography. A vivid example of such propaganda is, in particular, the tape «Clouds over Borsk», where Pentecostal Protestants are presented as a group that makes human sacrifices. Conducted field studies prove the stability of such ideas. Thus, among the Orthodox, there is a widespread opinion about the «exorcism» of Pentecostals, not knowing the denominational affiliation of Protestants («probably not Christians») and even ideas about human sacrifices. The questions raised in this investigation relate, firstly, to the presence/absence of extrapolation of similar ideas to individual journalistic materials devoted to sensitive religious topics. Secondly, we are trying to find out in what way it is possible to create unbiased journalistic material on religious topics. For this purpose, an analysis of the material for compliance with journalistic standards and an interview with the journalist – the author of the material, were conducted.

Özbekistan'da Bilimsel Ateizm Gelişiminin Retrospektif Analizi (XX. Yüzyılın 30'larında)

The article provides a retrospective analysis of the ways, mechanisms, and methods of development of atheism in Uzbekistan in the 30s of the twentieth century. It is explained how in the complex process of the formation of the communist worldview it influenced the consciousness of people and what an important role the atheistic education of the peoples of the former states of the USSR played. The struggle against religion is a necessary circumstance for building a socialist society. Modern Soviet atheist literature included studies aimed at a deeper understanding of the issue of scientific atheism and a precise definition of its place in the system of social and natural sciences, especially in the system of philosophical knowledge. Currently, the study of the connection between the theory and practice of atheism and the development of general problems of communist education is intensifying. Soviet philosophers who study the problems of the theory of scientific atheism face a difficult consequently: to find out how the content of scientific atheism, the forms and methods of its dissemination reflected those profound transformations in all spheres of people’s lives that took place in a developed socialist society. One of the results of the development of our country along the socialist path, which predetermined enormous socio-economic and cultural transformations, is the formation and steady growth of mass atheism. The disappearance of antagonistic classes in Soviet Union has led to the fact that the edge of the class struggle is turned outward. An enormous role in the spread of scientific atheism is played by the ideological activity of the Communist Party. Finally, the nature of the development of mass atheism, the content, forms, and methods of its propaganda has been and is being exerted and continues to be exerted by the political position of religious organizations. Questions of the formation of the Marxist-Leninist worldview are constantly at the center of the Party’s ideological and educational work, an important part of which is atheistic education. During the development of atheism, it? was associated with the activities of the Union of Militant Atheists, which arose from the cells of the society of friends of the newspaper "Bezbozhnik". The Union of Militant Atheists made a great contribution to the development of the theory and practice of anti-religious propaganda. Problem statement: The article focuses on the main question: what was the goal of the Communist Party for the development of atheistic ideology? With the help of what methods and mechanisms did they want to degrade the ideological worldview of the peoples of Central Asia? What role did the intelligentsia of Uzbekistan play in the spread of atheistic ideologies? Goal: study and analysis of the socio-political consequences of the spread of atheist ideology in Uzbekistan. Investigating the psychological impact of atheist ideology on the consciousness of the people of Uzbekistan. The aim of the study is to determine the concept of Atheism itself and to establish its relationship and mutual influence with the concepts of secular and religious culture, science, philosophy, religious tolerance, free thought, humanism, skepticism, and materialism, which have not been studied sufficiently to date. Method and outputs: Analysis with the help of what methods and mechanisms the leadership of the Communist Party propagated the ataxic worldview and ideology. To clarify this, methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, induction, and deduction were used.

The First Celebration of «Komsomol Christmas» by Soviet Atheists in 1923. Reasons for Holding, Sacred Meaning, and Significance of the Precedent in the Matter of Anti-Religious Propaganda

The First Celebration of «Komsomol Christmas» by Soviet Atheists in 1923. Reasons for Holding, Sacred Meaning, and Significance of the Precedent in the Matter of Anti-Religious Propaganda

THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN THE CONDITIONS OF CRISIS AND THE CALL OF THE SOVIET SYSTEM (LATE 1960S – EARLY 1990S)

This article examines several issues of religious life in the 1960s – 1990s. The religious policy of the Soviet authorities regarding the Transcarpathian Reformed Church is highlighted. In the late 1960s, in connection with the improvement of state-church relations, the Soviet authorities eased the pressure on the church. In 1965, the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults and the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church were reorganized into a single body - the Council for the Affairs of Religions, which existed until 1991. However, the course on atheist education remained unchanged. The removal from the leadership of M. Khrushchev led to the liberalization of politics in the field of religion. The authorities have abandoned pronounced actions against the church and believers and are trying to cover up anti-religious actions by law. The authorities gradually moved from a crude and direct struggle with the church to more sophisticated methods - reducing the number of believers through anti-religious propaganda and anti-religious education. The reconstruction initiated by M. Gorbachev marked the beginning of the state's religious policy. The last third of the 1980s can be considered a turning point in relations between the state and church institutions. In fact, in a few years, the state went from implementing an anti-religious policy to promoting the development of church institutions. The general political situation in the country on the eve and in the year of independence had a positive effect on the life of the Reformed people of Transcarpathia. Contacts with Protestant, in particular, Reformed (Calvinist) religious and secular organizations in Europe were revived. The religious education of the youth was resumed, and the training of new priests became possible again. The churches confiscated by the state were returned to the communities, and the construction of new churches began on the site of damaged or destroyed ones. There were changes in the management system, from single leadership to synodal-presbyterial management.

Антирелигиозные фильмы и борьба с антисемитизмом в 20-30-х гг. XX в. в Советском Союзе

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, there was a surge of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, which was considered the first immediate task since 1926. This wave of Judeophobia was attributed to the socio-economic situation, mistakes made by the state authorities, and chauvinism. While there were some common reasons cited in Soviet literature, anti-Semitism was primarily associated with the imperialist past, survivals, and counter-revolution. To combat anti-Semitism, the Union of Militant Atheists (UMA) was involved, as the fight against Judeophobia was seen as part of anti-religious work. The UMA used cinema as a propaganda tool to attract viewers through the use of anti-religious films. The article discusses the completion of the publication of M. N. Kefala, which consists of two parts. The first part contains a selection of seven works that cover the Jewish question, while the second part contains materials for a report on anti-Semitism. The fight against anti-Semitism continued until 1932, and the SVB included it in anti-religious propaganda. Methods and tools were developed, and results were achieved, as Judeophobia and distrust were squeezed out of public organizations into the daily sphere of activity due to pressure from the authorities.

ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ РАДЯНСЬКИХ ОРГАНІВ АНТИРЕЛІГІЙНОЇ ПРОПАГАНДИ НА ДОНЕЧЧИНІ В ДРУГІЙ ПОЛОВИНІ 1920-Х РОКІВ: НА ПРИКЛАДІ СПІЛКИ ВОЙОВНИЧИХ БЕЗВІРНИКІВ

An unbiased and objective studying of the history, activities, and development trends of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, namely, studying the relationship between Orthodoxy and state power on the territory of the Donetsk region, an industrial region with its own regional characteristics, is necessary. For a complete and objective study of state-church relations, the relationship between the Bolshevik Party and the Orthodox Church in the Donetsk region it is necessary to input the efforts of more than one generation of domestic historians. Today, when the issues of relations between the Orthodox Church and the state are of great interest to both domestic and foreign researchers, there is a lack of fundamental research in the field on the historical problems of state-church relations in various regions of Ukraine, in particular in the territory of the Donetsk region. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive historical analysis of Soviet entities of anti-religious propaganda in the second half of the 1920s, on the example of the activities of the Union of Militant Infidels in the territory of the Donetsk region. The article is devoted to the study of the problem of the activities of the Soviet entities of anti-religious propaganda in the 1920s. The author analyses and summarizes the peculiarities of the functioning of the Union of Militant Infidels and the repressive anti-religious policy of the Soviet authorities on the territory of the Donetsk region in the second half of the 1920s. The researcher concludes that the influence of the Orthodox Church on the social and political life of the Donetsk region has not yet been the subject of a special study, and therefore the study of the role of Orthodoxy in the 1920s will provide an opportunity to fill the existing factual gaps in the relationship between Soviet anti-religious propaganda entities and the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Thus, in the 1920s, despite the schism and anti-religious actions of the Soviet authorities, the Orthodox Church continued to play a significant role in the religious life of the Donetsk region. The rural population of the Donetsk region which were remaining mostly indifferent to atheistic propaganda actively participated in the construction of churches, the organization of church services and the support of priests. The influence of religion on children remained unchanged – during church holidays schools were empty. Even rural activists maintained their outward religiosity. Religion continued to hold a strong position not only in the villages but also in the cities. But despite this situation, the Bolshevik government constantly resorted to social manipulation by skilful usage of anti-religious agitation and propaganda means. Gradually, the Communist Party was able to change the emphasis so that the huge Orthodox country approached the system of secular beliefs, the sacralization of the party, its leaders and goals, investing in this process all the available potential and skills of religiosity, which were determined by its historical and cultural and civilizational features. On the one hand, the atheism of the population took place under the constant influence of the ideology of hostile counter-revolutionary activities, which the Orthodox Church and its ministers supposedly carry out; on the other hand – due to the active affirmation of communist ideology through the organization of debates, lectures, reading huts, anti-religious circles, schools, trade unions, Komsomol, anti-religious literature, etc.

ДЕСТРУКЦІЇ АНТИРЕЛІГІЙНОЇ СТРАТЕГІЇ РАДЯНСЬКОГО ПЕРІОДУ У ЦИВІЛІЗАЦІЙНОМУ ВИБОРІ УКРАЇНИ

In the conditions of building a Soviet society, the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR adopted a decree on the separation of the church from the state, the school from the church. Since then, the decree has become the basis of legislative acts, which determined the relations between the Soviet authorities and religious associations of Ukraine. Having announced the separation of church and state, the Soviet government gave society/citizens the right to independently choose any religion, or choose none. That is, the attempt to build an atheistic ideology of the USSR began. The decree caused the indignation of religious communities of all denominations without exception, because it legitimized open persecution both against the Orthodox Church and against religious societies, Christian and non-Christian. The decree referred to the strengthening of measures with a bias towards scientific and educational and anti-religious propaganda. In this direction, a huge amount of work was launched to establish the publication of a variety of religious press, the study of fundamental Marxist historical and philosophical problems in religious studies was introduced, ethnographic expeditions and sociological studies were conducted, the works of the classics of bourgeois religious studies were translated. And what was remarkable was the appearance of a number of «talented» experts who interpreted all of this in a way favorable to Soviet atheistic propaganda. Primary attention in atheist education was given to women. The problem was that the woman-mother brought up the future generation and had a greater influence on the formation of the worldview of the child than the man. That is why the propagandists of atheism paid the main attention to the formation of a scientific and materialistic worldview in women, often individually. The situation with «legality» in the Ukrainian SSR was interesting. The law was interpreted arbitrarily and was frankly decorative in nature, as a rule, this was done in order to be able to keep in subjection the party leadership, officials, representatives of the Council, the average citizen, who had religious beliefs. The abnormality and duplicity of the situation in which religious communities, parishioners and part of the party leadership were found was a common phenomenon. The situation changed somewhat with the coming to power of M. Gorbachev and his policy of «perestroika» and the course towards glasnost. Whole layers of previously forbidden, unknown history were discovered, which received the name «white spots», the crimes of Stalinism, repression became known, nationalist movements, the issue of the national language, etc. became more active. Liberalization and democratization of society took place, which ultimately led to the collapse of the USSR.

Советские исследователи о шаманской болезни и «шаманском безумии»

The purpose of this article is to review various opinions of Soviet scientists about mental health of shamans. The task of this paper is to analyse a wide range of Soviet sources on shamanism, identify their attitude to “shamanic madness” and possible reasons for its formation, and compare positions of different authors on the subject. The following methods were used: comparative, causal analysis, historicism, and typological methods. In modern Russia, there is a preconceived opinion about the sharply negative attitude to religion in the Soviet era. In the USSR, there was indeed active antireligious propaganda, but it is an exaggeration to say that it represents the entire complex layer of relations between representatives of different faiths and Soviet institutions. Soviet science was based on the aspiration for objective knowledge of the world. This also applied to the primitive beliefs that existed at that time in the Northern and Eastern regions of the country, in particular shamanism. This article deals with the issue of shamanic initiatory sickness and shamanic activities based on communication with spirits. On this issue, there was a lively debate – whether these diseases are the result of psychological abnormalities or have a different origin. The article provides a wide range of sources about shamanism and the personality of the shaman, from the works of exiled revolutionaries to professional researchers done in the 80s. The main theories about the reasons for the shaman's ritual behaviour are briefly presented. The dependence of scientists' representation of the shamans during the development of Soviet state and science is shown.

От врага до заблуждающегося: советские репрезентации образов евангельских верующих

The article is devoted to the formation of the image of a sectarian (which means evangelical believers), carried out within the framework of anti-religious propaganda in the Soviet Union. The concept of "sectarian" in the state-public discourse was initially loaded with a negative meaning. The analysis of texts focused on criticism of Evangelical-Baptist believers and Pentecostals allows us to identify ideas about the religious life in the Soviet Union and the mentality of the society and the principles of interaction of various social groups. The image of a dissident believer who did not fall within the framework of recognized religiosity was constructed and supported by the efforts of state ideology through the education system and the media. The research question of the article is devoted to identifying the evolution of the image of evangelical believers in the public space and the dynamics of changes in the components of the image of believers throughout the Soviet period. Antireligious and atheistic publications played a special role in creating a certain perception system. Soviet propaganda replicated a stable set of qualities attributed to the so-called "sectarians". This set included the following qualities: ideological alienation, anti-Soviet views, espionage, religious extremism, pacifism, raising children within the anti-Soviet ideology. In the 1970s and 80s, the concept of "religious extremism" was added accusing those who ignored legitimation (refusing to register or not complying with it). Some religion researchers have tried to change the attitude both to the evangelical believers themselves and to the concept of "sectarians" used. The shift of emphasis in the interpretation of the image of a believer became possible in the 1960s, when the concept of "sects" was introduced into the space of science as neutral. Despite repeated attempts to present believers as part of Soviet reality, negative connotations regarding evangelical believers have become firmly entrenched in the Soviet public consciousness. The sources for the article were a variety of textbooks for propagandists and agitators; atheistic reference and scientific publications devoted to the history of religion and atheism, as well as regional (West Siberian) newspapers, reports of local branches of the Union of Militant Atheists, operational notes of the NKVD/KGB were used to illustrate certain provisions.

Страница истории Успенского собора Г. Осы в период антицерковной кампании

The country was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe in 1921-1922. The food policy in the countryside, the lack of workers and draft animals, crop failure, the Red Terror are the main causes of famine. The events take place in the small county town of Osa, Perm region. The parishioners of the Dormition Cathedral refused the proposal of the local authorities to hand over church property to the Committee for Assistance to the Starving in the Volga Region. The purpose of the study is to show the attitude of the Orthodox residents of the county to anti-church policy using the example of unique archival documents. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of objectivism and historicism. In order to demonstrate the influence of objective facts on historical events, an ideographic method was applied. The use of archival documents as a primary source allows us to restore a picture of the relationship between the authorities, parishioners and the church. After the devout of the Dormition Cathedral refused to hand over church property to the famine relief committee, arguing that it would be looted, an anti-church campaign was launched with the mediation of local authorities, and a criminal case was opened against two priests. The protocol of the meeting of the devout is the only document that has been preserved and filed with the criminal case - the last manuscript of the parishioners of the Assumption Cathedral. Most of the documents of the case are represented by protocols of searches and interrogations of priests, testimonies of witnesses and sentencing. The Orthodox residents of the Osinsky district decided not to go into conflict with the district executive committee and decided to allocate personal funds for the fight against hunger, realizing that their funds would be embezzled. It was an attempt to save the Dormition Cathedral from ruin. But, as the subsequent course of events showed, the local authorities did not appreciate the deed of the parishioners, and the refusal to hand over church items was used as a pretext for initiating a criminal case and starting anti-religious propaganda in the press. All the accused were ultimately sentenced by the Perm Provincial Revolutionary Tribunal to community service. It is not known how the further fate of the clergy and parishioners developed. The Dormition Cathedral, built at the expense of parishioners in the late 18th - early 19th century, which was once the center of world of spirit suffered a sad fate. The central dome and bell tower were demolished, and the rest of the building is occupied by the local museum.

ALATYR THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL AND ALATYR UYEZD CHURCHES IN 1917–1922

This article examines closing of the Alatyr theological school and a number of churches in the Alatyr uyezd during the years of the Soviet rule in the Simbirsk province. The article focuses on the peculiarities of the structure and the significance of the religion and the operation of the Alatyr Theological School. It is noted that the Soviet government could not accept the existence of the school and churches, because it considered them to be an obstacle to spreading atheistic beliefs among the population and strengthening their own authority in the eyes of citizens. The population as a whole did not oppose the closure of these religious buildings, but the Soviet authorities could not immediately close down the religious school because of the struggle of the Red Army with units of the People’s Army of KOMUCH that was taking place on the territory of the Simbirsk province at that time. Therefore, its liquidation stretched from 1918 to 1919. During that time, the school continued to operate, despite the official closure. The Soviet government paid great attention to the development of education of citizens. Education was an important means of propaganda, including anti-religious one. The councils wanted as many people as possible to be involved in education. The teachers had the responsibility of educating citizens, and there was not supposed to be a question the teacher could give an evasive answer to or leave it aside. The main ideologist of Soviet anti-religious propaganda was E.M. Yaroslavsky. He believed that the work of teachers had to be set on the path of anti-religious propaganda. The Soviet government created all the conditions for the population to renounce the Christianity. The existence of the Alatyr theological school, in which, from the point of view of the Soviet regime, representatives of the exploiting classes of the population studied, contradicted religious propaganda and questioned the success of this propaganda. The churches were gradually closed down by the Soviet regime, so fewer and fewer priests were required. In 1917–1922, the Soviet government managed to significantly weaken the position of the Russian orthodox church in the Alatyr district.

Кеңестік Қазақстандағы дінге қарсы үгіт-насихат ұйымының қызметі (1929–1941 ж.ж.)

When it comes to the Soviet government religion policy one can think of the Soviet atheist policy and antireligious attack. Even if the atheism was one of the main ideologies of the communists throughout the Soviet history, the policy of the state in relation to religion, including Islam, was different at each stage. The attack by the Soviet authorities on Islam, which took place between 1929 and 1941, was the most severe. It was the unprecedented Soviet attack against Islam. Along with a direct attack on Islam, the Soviet government intensified its massive anti-religious propaganda during this period. There was an anti-religious agitation organization called the League of Militant Atheists. This research is devoted to the history of the antireligious organization that existed at that time. The work of the League of Militant Atheists is revealed based on propaganda activities carried out in Kazakhstan. Therefore, this topic is relevant. The article reveals the original policy, the principles of Soviet power regarding religion and the reasons for its softness towards Islam in the initial period. The laws of the Soviet state concerning religion, the main positions of the communist party, and consequences of anti-Islamic attack and propaganda regarding religion have also been discussed in this work.

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

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

РЕФЛЕКСИВНО-ДИАЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ВЗГЛЯД НА МУЗЫКАЛЬНОЕ ИСКУССТВО СОВЕТСКОГО ПЕРИОДА 1930-1950-Х ГГ.

The reflexive-dialogical view allows us to rethink the heritage of Soviet art. The totalitarian policy of the USSR is paradoxical in its essence: anti-religious propaganda did not destroy religiosity, but used it to create new myths, manipulating the mass consciousness. Based on archetypes and mythologemes, the new doctrine creates the image of a «new man», ready for obedience, for submission, putting the interests of the state above his own. In manyrespects, the state ideology was closed on itself, when the opposition «we» (the Soviet Union) and «they» (the West, hostile to us) was clearly declared, the idea of the superiority of socialism over capitalism was introduced into the minds of people, the war was going on in the minds of people. With the aim of introducing the basic dogmas of political ideology into the sphere of musical art, introducing uniform creative principles of socialist realism, obligatory for all musicians: composers, performers, critics, etc., a new organization was created (Union of Soviet Composers, 1932). Collectivism, being a component of Soviet ideology, took on a massive scale and expressed itself in the phenomenon of «mass song». The main characteristics of the mass song genre are highlighted: artistry, simplicity, brightness of a memorable melody, verse-chorus form, accessibility to perception, replicability. The cantata-oratorio genre plays the role of the genre dominant of the «grand style», with its monumentality, the idea of praising the «father of nations» and glorifying the myth of the inviolability of the imperial power of the state. Composers and performers of the Soviet era continued the best domestic traditions, preserved those universal spiritual principles that political and ideological censorship could not influence, although to a certain extent they held back creative thought, wounded and sometimes humiliated a creative person. The depth of reflection on the problems of modern reality, the author's vision and individual view of the values and meanings of life gave rise to the originality of the artist's ethical reflection, regardless of ideological influence.

“Era of Prophylaxis”: KGB Practices in Work with Religious Organizations during the “Khrushchev period” (Based on Leningrad Materials)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the participation of state security agencies in the anti-religious campaign of the “Khrushchev period”. The main emphasis is placed on 1959—1964, the time when new approaches to this issue were being formed in the KGB. In the first part, the author focused on the struggle of the KGB against illegal, i.e. not passed state registration, religious movements. The second part is devoted to the eradication of any uncontrolled trend within official religions, as well as the participation of security officers in anti-religious propaganda. The author paid the main attention to the application of a new method of combating dissent — the so-called “prophylaxis”. The main sources for the study were reports on the work done by the KGB Leningrad Department to the leading party bodies, as well as articles published in specialized journals. The author makes a number of conclusions about the degree of effectiveness of the KGB work with believing citizens and the reasons of such a great interest in the religious life of citizens.

К проблеме антирелигиозного воспитания молодежи Тамбовской области в 1937–1941 гг.

The features of the perception of anti-religious propaganda and religious values by the youth of the Tambov Region are studied. The relevance of the chosen topic for domestic science lies in the fact that, despite a deep study of the content of anti-religious propaganda in the late 1930s, there are no generalizing works devoted to the peculiarities of the perception of religion by young people. The purpose of this research lies in the need for a comprehensive study of the role of the religious factor in the life of the younger generation. In the process of research, analytical, deductive and historical-comparative methods are used. The role of Komsomol organizations and periodicals in the dissemination of a politicized interpretation of scientific atheism, which offered the most radical measures to combat religion in the conditions of tightening political control and preparations for elections to the Supreme Council, is shown. Based on the analysis of historical sources, a conclusion is made about the inconsistency of the results of anti-religious work with the younger generation. On the one hand, it was the youth, directing their paternalistic impulses towards Soviet power, who acted in the vanguard of the anti-religious movement aimed at eradicating traditional Christian rituals and institutions from everyday life. At the same time, among many young men and women, mostly in rural areas, there were many who, for various reasons, showed passivity in anti-religious work, continuing to secretly take part in the Church Sacraments. Among the young people there were also those who were not afraid to be ranked among the “enemies of the people”, openly resisting anti-religious attitudes.

Исламский дискурс в государственно-конфессиональной политике советской власти в Казахстане в 1920-1930-е гг.

The article considers the social and political aspects of the Soviet state policy towards the Muslims of Kazakhstan in the 20- the 30s of the XX century. Documentary materials from the archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan represent the source study base of the research. Based on the analysis of archival sources, the transformation of state-Muslim relations is shown as the Soviet power strengthened: from a tolerant attitude towards Islam in the first years of the victory of the Bolsheviks to the complete secularization of the rights and freedoms of Muslims in the following decades. The author gives a characteristic of the forms and methods of the anti-religious struggle of the Soviet state, substantiates the thesis about its harmful influence on the spiritual life of Muslims that, under conditions of the most severe administrative pressure and total restriction, took the form of a semi-legal existence. The policy of the Soviet state in relation to Islam was built considering the political situation in the country. The loyalty of politics in the early years of Soviet power to a certain extent contributed to the temporary revival of the religious movement. It was due to the desire of the latter to receive political support from a huge number of Muslims of the former Russian Empire, including Kazakhstan. At the same time, loyalty did not exclude the conduct of anti-religious propaganda aimed at limiting Islam. As the Soviet power strengthened, the anti-Islamic doctrine became tougher, acquiring the character of an uncompromising struggle aimed at closing the objects of a religious cult and spiritual education, limiting, and then eliminating the Muslim clergy, etching the religious worldview from the minds of the masses, and imposing communist ideology. The declared “class struggle against the enemies of socialism,” which included the Muslim clergy, became the political underpinnings of the tightening of confessional policy. Public organizations made their contribution to whipping up the atmosphere of intolerance towards religion, to the destruction of the spiritual foundations of society: the Union of Militant Atheists of Kazakhstan, Anti-religious, the Union «Koshchi».

ЛИТЕРАТУРНО-ОБЩЕСТВЕННАЯ ПОЗИЦИЯ СОВЕТСКОГО НЕМЕЦКОГО ПИСАТЕЛЯ АНДРЕАСА ЗАКСА В ВОПРОСАХ РЕЛИГИИ И ЦЕРКВИ (1930–1960-Е ГГ.)

The Soviet-German writer Andreas Saks (1903–1983) is known as an atheist, an activist of anti-religious propaganda in the 1930s carried out in the Republic of the Volga Germans, and as an author satirizing the religious superstitions of people and the vices of clerics. Applying the biographical approach of intellectual history the author of the article reconstructs A. Sack’s literary and social position on matters of church and religion. As sources for that the author uses Sack’s anti-religious humorous stories as well as his unpublished reviews of the works by Astrakhan novice writers where he expresses his views on the church, clerics and religiosity. There is a conclusion in the article that in those anti-religious works Andreas Saks remained tactful and delicate as he derided the religious superstitions of individual people, mostly, from an older generation who were baptized before the October revolution of 1917. Theomachism and the insulting the people’s religious feelings are not found in his works. It may reflect the Soviet Germans’ “cultural resistance” to the antireligious and anti-clerical campaigns waged by the communist authorities, to the closures of churches and repressions against the clerics in the 1930s. On the other hand, that reflects the writer’s understanding of man’s religiosity as “a complex existential issue” and his realization of big difficulties in “an ideological fight” against church and religion.

Комсомольская организация Калмыкии и ее антирелигиозная деятельность (1921–1941 гг.)

The article aims to examine episodes of anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization of Kalmykia in 1921–1941. The research is based on archival and published materials. The analysis of archival documents shows that despite the anti-religious policy actively pursued by Soviet authorities, the local party and Komsomol organizations failed to establish a system of effective anti-religious propaganda in Kalmykia. Notably, in their anti-religious activity, the Komsomol members had to deal with the multi-confessional population in Kalmykia. Granted the lack of guidelines for organizing the campaign against Buddhism, they often had to rely on practices used in the anti-religious work against Christianity: e.g., to follow the successful example of ‘Komsomol’ Christmas, the Tsagan Sar and other Kalmyk holidays were also introduced as ‘Komsomol’ events. Also, it was recommended that in their anti-religious work, the Komsomol activists were to take advantage of the split of the Buddhist clergy. After repressions against the clergy of all confessions that took place in the late 1930s, the anti-religious activity of the Komsomol organization in Kalmykia was reduced to formal work.