What is it about?

This article draws on archives, memoirs, and other sources to show the impact of changes in Soviet state policy between 1917 and 1991 on one type of religious activity in one part of the country, namely: pilgrimages by Orthodox believers to outdoor holy sites located in and around Moscow. It uses the history of a bronze statue of Christ to illustrate changes in the Soviet government’s methods and policies toward pilgrimage.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This research shows that a popular misconception ("the Soviet government always attacked and repressed religion") is wrong. Soviet officials engaged in vicious attacks on the Russian Orthodox Church for only 20 years between 1917 and 1991 (in 1918-1922, 1929-1939, and 1959-1964). In other years, it ignored or permitted or even encouraged religious practices. The article explains why policies changed by looking at Orthodox holy sites and pilgrimages.

Perspectives

I am convinced that a more accurate history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet era helps us understand the actions of the Church in post-Communist Russia. The Soviet state molded the Church in its own image and for its own purposes. As a result, the Church has willingly served as the ideological ally of the authoritarian system put in place by Vladimir Putin.

Edward Roslof

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: The Black Savior and Control of Extrainstitutional Sacred Sites in Communist Moscow, The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, June 2023, Brill Deutschland GmbH,
DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10080.
You can read the full text:

Read

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page