Daniel Peris “God is Now on Our Side: The Religious Revival on Unoccupied Soviet Territory during

World War II” Kritika 1:1 (2000) 97-118.

Tremendous stress, brought about the invasion of the German army during World War II, drove
the Soviet Regime to adopt compromises in both its structural and ideological stance with regards to
religious practice. Stalin's open meeting with Russian Orthodox Church leaders in September 1943
formally recognized the faiths reemergence into a state of quasi-acceptance, a fact confirmed by the
first opening of churches in 1944. This detente heralded a shift in previous efforts by the Soviet regime
to eradicate religious belief, to a policy of accommodation, albeit with several stipulations that severely
curtailed the faith's previous role in society. Yet, in many respects, the new relationship between Soviet
state and Orthodox Church resembled previous incarnations seen during the reign of the Tsars. By
embracing the Russian Orthodox Church as a means to revivify public sentiment for defense of the
homeland, Stalin's Soviet Union drew further away from the more internationalist flavor of Lenin's
Bolshevik ideals in favor of an ideological compromise that made publicly permissible space for a
hallowed Russian nationalistic institution.
Peris's article looks at the records of the Council of Affairs for the Orthodox Church for the
Iaroslavl' and Ivanovo oblasts to analyze the Soviet regimes efforts to assess and then control the
religious revival occurring during World War II. While the authorities managed to reverse their
previous policies regarding the presence of religion without immediate consequence, the continued
presence of the church forced a fundamental compromise in the ideology of the ruling elites vis a vis
the role religion played in a communist system. This 'compromise' with religion ultimately contributed
to a long-term legitimacy crisis for the Communist Party amongst its most dedicated members.
Another potential issue with the Soviet-Church relationship took form in the willingness of of the
people to reconcile their Soviet and religious identity; this amalgamation proved the failure of the
regime to bring about complete social change once promised by Communist advocates. To be sure, the
Soviet authorities carefully controlled the role and space provided for the Russian church, yet it could
not articulate to its local ruling organs the exact role the faith would play in the structure of
government. Regardless, the Orthodox Church seized the opportunity provided to reestablish its
legitimacy in the public sphere and acquiesced to regulatory demands made by the Soviet government.
While the Russian church would face difficult time in the post-war period, the dramatic reversal
of fortune experienced during the months of German invasion created a public and quasi-accepted
presence for the faith within the Soviet regime. Peris brings new analysis to the Soviet-Church
relationship through his in-depth look at the religious revival during the war; his use of petitions that
advocated the opening of churches, written by religious believers, revealed the ability of the common
populace to use the tenets of their Soviet identity to secure legitimacy in their attempts to reshape the
discourse regarding the role of religious practice. While the regime demonstrated its flexibility with
regards to its central, foundational and legitimizing ideology, as well as willingness to compromise in
the face of crisis, its acceptance of the religious revival made light of the paradoxical forces engendered
by fusing Stalinist Soviet identity with religious belief.

Jeremy Antley
jantley@gmail.com