Participation of Writers in Khrushchev’s Anti-Religious Policy of the Late 1950s and Early 1960s

Abstract

The article presents a brief review of selected works of Soviet literature of the period of Khrushchev’s persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church (late 1950s and early 1960s), where the anti-religious campaign was reflected. These are novellas and short stories by Vladimir Tendryakov, Nikolai Yevdokimov and Alexander Makarov. The article examines “Miraculous”, “Extraordinary”, “Sinner” and “Web”. The author explores how these texts, which describe the lives of believers belonging to various denominations and sects, portray religious individuals. The selected works are compared with Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “Matryona’s Home” and “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”. The author considers how the writers’ differing goals were expressed in the compared works and whether it can be argued that some authors were simply fulfilling state orders.