Creating a positive impression of church-state relations in the USSR as a form of interference in church life in 1940–1950

Aim. To analyze the propaganda efforts of the Soviet government aimed at creating a positive image of the Church situation in the USSR in the eyes of the international community.

Methodology. The article is based on documents from the fund of the Authorized Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Moscow and the Moscow region which is located in the Central State Archive of the Moscow region. It examines the practice of the influence of the state apparatus on the clergy and laity in order to form a favorable view of the position of the Church in the USSR in the eyes of foreigners. The article applies the comparative historical and problem-analytical research methods.

Results. The author comes to the conclusion that the first attempts to form ideas about the benevolent attitude of the authorities towards the Church were already made at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, which was expressed, in particular, in the publication of the book “The Truth about Religion in Russia” in 1942. To a large extent, the same goal was promoted by the creation in 1943 of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, which employees, among other functions, were to ensure the pro-Soviet orientation of any contacts of clergy and believers with foreigners. The article shows how such contacts were planned and organized, what kind of instruction was carried out with the clergy in order to exclude the possibility of independent answers to the alleged questions, as well as how the clergy were removed from their posts if their ability to communicate with foreigners within a strictly defined framework was doubtful from the viewpoint of the officials of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church. The author comes to the conclusion that the actions of the authorities taken to form a positive impression of church-state relations in the eyes of foreigners were often an interference in intra-church relations, and in some cases led to the destruction of temple buildings.

Research implications. The results obtained during the work on the article can be used in teaching activities in disciplines related to the study of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the twentieth century.

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