The struggle for the preservation of parish churches during the anti-religious campaign of N. S. Khrushchev 1958–1964

Abstract

Khrushchev's personal desire to destroy religion in the USSR resulted in the organization of a campaign to eliminate Orthodox parishes. This anti-religious campaign differed from the previous ones in that the authorities avoided direct opposition to the Russian Orthodox Church and the physical destruction of the clergy. Instead, legal measures were taken that simplified the liquidation of parishes, and economic steps that significantly complicated the maintenance of church buildings. The article examines the process of the struggle of believers against the closure of churches on the basis of documents from the fund of the State Archive of the Russian Federation P6991. The material focuses on parish churches, excluding monasteries. The dynamics of the development of the situation from the beginning of the anti-religious campaign to its end is investigated. The main methods of resistance among believers are traced. The facts of the struggle for the preservation of churches are considered against the background of secret orders of Soviet authorities, which assumed to completely destroy the Russian Orthodox Church, creating the appearance of freedom of conscience in the USSR. The material and orders of the party leadership are examined in chronological order. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of pilgrimage to holy places as an aspect of the struggle for churches.