Vladimir. A. Somov
National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Volga Region branch of the Federal State Budget-Funded Educational Institution of Higher Education «Russian State University of Justice named after V.M. Lebedev»
Gennady V. Egorov
National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
DOI: 10.24412/2541-9056-2026-138-40-50
Keywords: Soviet Russia, power and believers, local approach
Abstract
The authors draw attention to the need for an impartial scientific analysis of the relationship between the authorities and believers in Soviet Russia in the pre-war period (1917-1941). The relevance of this approach is due to the persistent bias in assessing the historical role of the participants in this process. Applying a local approach to studying the problem allows us to narrow the territorial, temporal, and problematic scope of the study and to adjust established historiographic definitions. As a result, it becomes clear that the Soviet government did not aim to physically exterminate all believers. The intensification of repression against believers was due to the incompatibility of the revolutionary authorities’ ideological principles with the traditional conservative way of life of the older generation, and only in the case of the latter’s destructive activation – for political reasons. The article demonstrates that by the late 1930s, the Soviet government had failed to significantly reduce the religiosity of the population. Moreover, paradoxically, it dialectically integrated into the traditional model of Soviet behavior, which found vivid expression during the Great Patriotic War. Numerous examples of heroic resistance and defense of the Motherland’s independence in the face of fascist aggression can be seen as a tangible embodiment in the population’s consciousness of traditional behavioral motivations, which synthesized both religious, and rational aspects.
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Citation link: Somov V.A., Egorov G.V. Power and believers in Soviet Russia in the 1920-1930s in the context of a local approach // Humanities researches of the Central Russia. – 2026. – №1 (38). – P. 40-50.DOI: 10.24412/2541-9056-2026-138-40-50