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Abstract
This article examines the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (hereafter, ROC) and its relations with Soviet authorities in the Ukrainian SSR between 1946 and 1951. It draws on archival materials introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time–specifically, reports by commissioners of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults in the Ukrainian SSR, with particular reference to Vinnytsia region. Relations between the ROC and the Soviet authorities, in authors opinion, should be regarded in the context of a noticeable easing of anti-religious pressure under Stalin’s totalitarian regime compared to the 1930s. This shift was driven both by the revival of religious life during the Nazi occupation and by the Soviet leadership’s intention to use church institutions to strengthen its domestic and international position. In particular, the restoration of church activity was meant to signal to the Western Allies (the United States and Great Britain) a reduction in repression and the existence of religious freedom in the USSR. Accordingly, in 1943 the Russian Orthodox Church was reestablished in the Soviet Union, but as a structure fully subordinated to the state, in which the higher clergy cooperated with the NKVD/MGB. In effect, this pragmatic decision did not entail a cessation of atheist propaganda but rather incorporated the Church into the state apparatus. The Councils established to supervise and protect the rights of religious communities frequently acted unlawfully themselves, arbitrarily deregistering churches, depriving priests of their right to serve, imposing illegal taxation, and exerting moral pressure on both clergy and believers.
The Podillia region is of particular scholarly interest due to its prewar borderland status between the Soviet Union and European states. Even after the war, Podillia remained multi-confessional with a relatively high level of religiosity, which caused a particular concern for Soviet authorities. On the one hand, this situation necessitated the implementation of anti-religious measures; on the other, it required the use of covert and manipulative instruments in order to avoid provoking mass resistance among clergy and believers, while simultaneously seeking to maintain the international image of the USSR during the early Cold War years, particularly among allies within the socialist camp.
Recommended Citation
Zhmud, Natalka and Voynarovskiy, Anatoliy a. skiy
(2026)
"The Russian Orthodox Church in the Ukrainian SSR, 1946–1951: Activity and State Relations in Vinnytsia Region,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46
:
Iss.
6
, Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2811
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss6/11