THE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A SECULAR STATE IN THE USSR FROM 1917-1991: A LEGAL ASPECT

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Research practices in this area began to take shape in the 1920s, and remained unchanged until almost the end of the 1980s. In this regard, I would like to mention the historian M. M. Persits [1], who introduces archival materials into scientific circulation, analyzes the laws of the USSR, which distinguishes it from a number of agitation works of that period. In the same period, interesting works by V. A. Kuroedov [2], A. I. Barmenkov [3], V. V. Klochkov [4], V. D. Timofeev [5] appeared. In the early 1990s. together with the collapse of the USSR and the removal of ideological attitudes, a critical rethinking of religious-state relations began. New sources appeared, archived data that had previously been classified, and the style of the research itself changed. Interesting works of P. N. Dozortsev [6], A. S. Lovinyukov [7], V. N. Savelyev [8], F. M. Rudinsky [9].

Research conditions and methods
An important approach that formed the basis of the study was the synergetic approach, which means the relationship of such subjects as religious organizations and the Soviet government in the form of its legislative documents. The confrontation of these actors allows us to see the formation of two discourses – religious and anti-religious in Soviet society. In addition, the method of quantitative analysis, including the diachronic method, is used to trace the development of relations between religious organizations and the Soviet government from the time of the revolutionary events to 1929, i.e. in their historical development. Undoubtedly, since the research is of an interdisciplinary nature, the work uses comparative-legal, formal-legal research methods.

Results and discussion
The beginning of the establishment of the principles of freedom of conscience and religion in Soviet Russia dates back to 1917, when the VTSIK and the SNK adopted a number of decrees that provided for the regulation of marriage relations through legislation, including the decree "On the separation of Church from state and school from Church" [10]. The publication of the first decrees is considered the beginning of a radical change in the relationship between church and state in post-revolutionary Russia. The next step in determining the place of religion in the new Russia was the adoption of the first Soviet Constitution, approved by the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets on July 10, 1918. "In order to ensure the workers' real freedom of conscience, the church is separated from the state and the school from the church, and the freedom of religious and anti-religious propaganda is recognized for all citizens" [11. p. 133]. The continuation of the separation of religion from the state and the new task of the party was to establish the foundations of atheism in Russian society. In the autumn of 1922 under the Central Committee of the RCP(b), a Commission was created to conduct the separation of church and state, headed by E. M. Yaroslavsky. The ideas of anti-religious propaganda were expressed by V. I. Lenin himself. The key work of the leader of Soviet Russia was his article "On the meaning of militant materialism", published in the spring of 1922: "Atheistic propaganda can bring success only if it is based on a solid philosophical foundation, on natural science, imbued with the ideas of militant materialism, if its content is connected with life, with communist labor, its organization, methods and forms are scientifically justified" [12. p.33]. The result of the gradual approach of the Soviet leadership to the establishment of the foundations of anti-religious propaganda was the XII Congress of the RCP (b), held in April 1923. The Congress recognized anti-religious work as a scientific task of the party and called for better education of the working masses on this issue [13].

When considering the relationship between the power structures and the Soviet society, it is necessary to identify those authorities with the help of which the management of religious issues was carried out. The VTSIK developed and adopted legislative acts, instructions and circulars that served as a guide to the actions of local authorities, made final decisions on such issues as the registration and de-registration of societies and groups, the closure and further use of prayer buildings and religious property. In relation to religious organizations, the NKVD was charged with the following duties: general supervision of their activities, registration and accounting, control over the execution of the decree on the separation of church and state, issuing permits for holding congresses, and suppressing violations of the law on religious cults. The OGPU controlled the political side of the activities of the clergy and church administration bodies. The years 1924-1927 are characterized by an approximate balance between these organizations and the degree of their influence on church policy [14. p. 29]. However, gradually, the practical implementation of church policy was concentrated in the hands of the OGPU and the NKVD. By the mid-1920s, a new organization of workers was formed in the USSR – the Union of Militant Atheists, which was finally formed in 1925 and for many years became a springboard for anti-religious work.

When analyzing Soviet legislation, it is necessary to note special laws concerning non-orthodox confessions, for example, as sectarians. The party's policy towards them was a continuation of the imperial policy of establishing the foundations of religious tolerance. An important moment was the adoption by the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the proclamation of October 5, 1921. "To the sectarians and Old Believers living in Russia and abroad" [15]. According to this document, the sectarians were to be given land and actively involved in the construction of a new communist life. Also, in the issue of the realization of freedom of conscience, the evolution in the issue of exemption from military service is very indicative. In October 1918, citizens who, due to their beliefs, could not take up arms, received the right to pass the sanitary service. A little later on January 4, 1919. the decree "On exemption from military service on religious grounds" was issued, which stated how this citizen could perform military service: "Persons who cannot take part in military service on the basis of their religious beliefs should be granted the right, by a decision of the People's Court, to replace such service for a certain period of conscription of their peers with sanitary service, mainly in infectious hospitals or other relevant generally useful work, at the choice of the conscript himself..." [16]. Exemption from military service based on religious beliefs was legally enshrined in the legal structure of the USSR by the law of August 13, 1930, which also mentioned religious sects: "Citizens belonging to religious sects whose teachings prohibit the carrying of weapons, serving military service may be replaced by performing other duties..." [17].

In the summer of 1929, the Second Congress of the Union of Militant Atheists was held, which defined anti-religious propaganda as the most important stage of the class struggle. In the same year, a new state decree "On Religious associations" [18] appears, which finally rejects the principles of religious freedom in the country. Since 1930, you can see the tightening of measures to combat any manifestations of religiosity, this time is called the year of the great turning point in the religious policy of the state. One of these actions of the authorities aimed at tightening control over religion was the resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of January 30, 1930 "On measures to eliminate kulak farms in areas of continuous collectivization", in one of the parts of which you can see the following lines: "... Urgently review the legislation on religious associations in the spirit of complete exclusion of any possibility of turning the governing bodies of these associations (church councils, sectarian communities, etc.) into strongholds of the kulaks, dispossession and generally anti-Soviet elements..." [19]. The continuation of the theme of dekulakization was the order of the OGPU of February 2, 1930 No. 44 / 21 "On the elimination of the Kulaks as a class". This document refers to sectarians as harmful elements for which the OGPU needs to introduce special measures: "... Kulaks are active members of church councils, all kinds of religious, sectarian communities and groups that actively manifest themselves..." [19]. It is also worth noting that since 1930 the active secularization of churches, mosques, and prayer buildings on a large scale is beginning, with the practice of violating the current legislation in relation to religious societies, the illegal seizure of church property, and the increase in the number of criminal and administrative measures against the clergy. In this regard, the Commission on Cults was organized under the Presidium of the VTSIK P. G. Smidovich, which was later renamed the Commission on Cults of the CEC of the USSR. The commission was responsible for reviewing draft regulations related to the activities of religious organizations, submitting them for consideration and discussion in higher authorities. Since 1938, the Commission was liquidated, and the only bridge through which the dialogue between religion and the state was conducted, the rights and freedoms of the part of society that were believers were protected, was destroyed. Thus, a new system of authorities controlling the implementation of legislation on freedom of conscience was being built.

Of great importance in studying the issue of freedom of conscience and religion in the USSR was the adoption in 1936 of a new Constitution, in which article No. 124 dealt with the problems of implementing freedom of conscience in the country: "In order to ensure the freedom of conscience of citizens, the church in the USSR is separated from the state and the school from the church. Freedom of religious worship and freedom of anti-religious propaganda is recognized for all citizens" [20]. Article 135 also emphasized the equality of all citizens in the exercise of the right to vote: "The elections of deputies are universal: all citizens of the USSR who have reached the age of 18, regardless of race and nationality, gender,religion ... have the right to participate in the elections of deputies..." [20].

During the Great Patriotic War, the situation of religious societies and the attitude of the party towards religious citizens changed somewhat. During the war, everyone understood the importance of moral support of the population, and did not want to allow conflicts with the clergy and religious organizations. Also, in the occupied territory, the German invaders did not prevent the opening of prayer houses and churches, in some cases contributing to the revival of church life, of course, pursuing their own goals. According to another opinion, "the decisive role in changing the course in the religious issue was played by the foreign policy factor" [21. p. 260.], since at the height of the war, the USSR tried to remove from itself the image of the state that persecutes believers. The change of course in 1943 can be explained by the Tehran Conference, where the leaders of the leading countries of the anti-Hitler coalition discussed the opening of a second front and the question of freedom of conscience and religion in the USSR and the compliance of the norms of the 1936 Constitution with real practices, was extremely important to solve [22. p.185-186]. The first thing that the Soviet government began to take measures to revive religious life in the country was the re-establishment of unified centers for various faiths. For this purpose, in the summer of 1943, special bodies were created – the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Council for Religious Cults. Since the beginning of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, churches and monasteries have been opened in the country, the printing of church literature has been resumed, etc.The Council for Religious Cults has been dealing with the affairs of other religious organizations. The Old Believer communities received the restoration of the archdiocese, the Muslims-spiritual administrations, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists and the Council of the All-Union Organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church were formed, etc. By the autumn of 1943, a procedure for the registration of religious societies was developed, which was regulated by the regulations "On the Procedure for Opening Churches" of November 28, 1943 and "On the procedure for Opening Buildings of Religious Cults" of November 19, 1944 [21]. A huge step towards the rapprochement of religion and the state was the meeting of I. V. Stalin and the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Sergius, on September 4, 1943, in the Kremlin. During this conversation, the Russian Orthodox Church was guaranteed full support from the state. Just a few days later, on September 8, 1943, the Bishops ' Council elected Sergius Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. "The election of the patriarch...can be understood as the recognition of Russian freedom of religion" [22. p. 181.] - wrote in his notes W. Churchill. The softening of the Soviet government's religious policy was replaced in the 1950s. "fierce voluntarism, a departure from which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s" [23. p. 40].

There were enough reasons for changing the Government's course on the religious question and for exercising freedom of conscience and religion. During the war and the post-war years, the number of churches and houses of worship in the country increased dramatically, the authority of the church and its influence among the people increased, and this put the propaganda of godlessness on a lower level. Also, there was a significant outflow of young people from the official communist ideology, which could not but cause concern. In 1954. there is a resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On major shortcomings in scientific and atheistic propaganda", which puts forward the requirements: "... resolutely end passivity in relation to religion, expose the reactionary essence of religion and the harm that it brings... " [24. p.247-248]. A little later, there is a second resolution "On errors in the conduct of scientific and atheistic propaganda", which changes the wording and addresses issues of freedom of conscience and religion: "not to allow any insults to the feelings of believers and clergy ..." [24. P. 248.]. However, throughout the 1950s, during the period of the "thaw", which allowed Soviet citizens to exhale from the comprehensive control of their private and public life, in the spiritual sphere, there was an increase in the pace of the fight against religion. In this regard, it is necessary to mention the adoption in 1960 of the new Criminal Code of the USSR, a number of articles of which formally did not allow the exercise of freedom of conscience. For example, Article No. 227 stated: "the creation of a group whose activities, carried out under the pretext of preaching religious beliefs, involve harm to the health of citizens or sexual promiscuity...is punishable by imprisonment..." [25]. In practice, this meant "the possibility of conviction for circumcision, baptism, refusal of blood transfusions, organization of religious education of minors" [24. P. 249]. Article 70 revealed the penalties for anti-Soviet propaganda, which could easily lead to any case in the religious issue.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the situation changed again in a positive direction. L. I. Brezhnev departed from the principles of strict anti-religious propaganda and tried to soften the policy towards religion. By the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 1965, a new body appeared in the country – the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, whose main goal was "the consistent implementation of the policy of the Soviet state in relation to religions, monitoring compliance with the legislation on religious cults" [26. p.414]. In the same year, the decree "On certain facts of violation of the socialist rule of law in relation to believers" is issued, after which many citizens convicted of religious activities receive amnesty. Since 1975, the Supreme Council, by its resolution, has allowed religious societies to sell church utensils to parishioners, rent premises, transport, and purchase buildings for their needs. Soon a new Constitution of 1977 was issued, which, like the previous one, was written about freedoms, although in practice they were not implemented: "Citizens of the USSR are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess any religion or not to profess any, to practice religious cults or to conduct atheistic propaganda. Incitement of hostility and hatred in connection with religious beliefs is prohibited" [27]. During the period of perestroika, the attitude towards religion, believers and clergy was in line with the general policy of the party, which had a positive impact on the realization of freedom of conscience and religion.

The last law regulating issues of freedom of conscience and religion No. 267-I "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious organizations" was adopted on October 25, 1990. Every citizen freely and independently determined his attitude to faith, could express his beliefs: "In accordance with the right to freedom of conscience, every citizen independently determines his attitude to religion, has the right alone or jointly with others to profess any religion or not to profess any...parents or persons replacing them, by mutual consent, have the right to raise their children in accordance with their own attitude to religion..." [28]. Also, this normative act equalized all denominations among themselves, which caused an unprecedented resonance in the minds of the Soviet people and contributed to the spread of a large number of sects and denominations [29. p. 17]. Articles 8,9 of this law emphasized the secular nature of education in the State and the separation of atheist organizations from public associations. A very important point was the decision according to which the activities of religious organizations could be terminated only by a decision of the general meeting or the dissolution of a religious society, or by a court decision on the contradiction of the charter of the society and the activities carried out to the current legislation [30. p.78-79]. It should be added that in August 1991, The secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted a resolution "On the policy of the CPSU in the religious question in modern conditions", which recognized the right of each member of the party to freely express their religious or atheistic beliefs. This normative act was a key document in the history of the difficult path of freedom of conscience and religion in the USSR, allowing members of the highest governing bodies the right to religious self-determination.

Conclusion
Having been formed in the Russian Empire, the ideals of freedom of conscience and faith underwent a complex evolution, starting with the views of religion as a bulwark of traditional pre-revolutionary values in the 1920s, then with the understanding of religion as "opium for the people" and an ideological enemy of the state in the 1930s. In the later Soviet period, there was a relative freedom of conscience and faith in legislation, but there was a complete lack of it in real life. Finally, by the end of the Soviet era, the religious question was raised again at the state level and resolved towards the establishment of final freedom of conscience in the 1990s. The study of the process of the formation of a secular state in Russia from 1917-1991 allows us to conclude that there is a complex transformation of legislation in relation to the formation of a secular society. Legal and subordinate acts adopted in a particular historical period have had a significant impact on the formation and implementation of freedom of conscience and religion in Russia.

About the authors

Alina Protasova

Samara National Research University

Author for correspondence.
Email: intelegentna@rambler.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4733-0301
SPIN-code: 1556-8767

Postgraduate student of the Department of Russian History

Russian Federation, 34, Moskovskoye shosse, Samara, 443086, Russia

References

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