V. Sipeikin A.

The Soviet Antireligious and Antichurch Policy: 1917–1920TH

Authors

V. Sipeikin A.

Keywords:

Soviet antireligious policy, soviet antichurch policy, Antireligious commission of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party.

Abstract

This article is devoted to the history of developing of the soviet policy to-wards various religious organizations. The key role in this policy played the Antireligious commission of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, the Eighth Department of the National Commissariat of Justice, and the Fifth Department of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission. This study is based on the analysis of documents of both local and central institutions. The author says that for the “view from the grassroot” it is very important to study documents of local institutions. All Bolshevik leaders desired to eliminate all religious organizations, but discussed different means to gain this purpose. Local authorities varied from those who used radical measures against the religion to those who tried to comply with the Church.

The Soviet Antireligious and Antichurch Policy: 1917–1920TH