FORMS AND PRACTICES OF ATHEISTIC ANTI-ISLAMIC PROPAGANDA IN THE REGIONS OF RUSSIA’S ASIAN PART IN THE 1920s

DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-47-70

УДК 94:354:37(470.344)”1925/1940″

ББК 86.38-12+63.3(2)613-72

Aleksei N. STAROSTIN, Saidali O. SOKHIBOV

Key words

atheism, Islam, mosque, imam, communists, propaganda.

Abstract

The topic of state-confessional relations in Russia is one of the significant problems both in the field of historical research and in the modern political, social, social and cultural life of the society. One of the aspects that has not been fully understood is the topic of anti-religious propaganda, which was so widespread that the system of stereotypes created by atheist propaganda during the Soviet period remains in the mass consciousness to this day. In this regard, it seems most important to analyze the period of forming this trend of Soviet policy in the 1920s, since it was at this time that the reformatting of the consciousness of the country’s population from religious to atheistic began. Of particular interest is the work with ethnic and religious minorities, in particular with the peoples who were adherents of the Islamic faith, since most of them did not know the Russian language at that time and were deeply rooted in their religious traditions. Representing the ethno-confessional minority living in a non-cultural environment, the Muslims of the Ural-Siberian region steadfastly resisted atheistic influence, so propagandists had to creatively approach this problem and use different methods of ideological influence. It is also important that the set of arguments formed during this period, which was used to criticize the Islamic faith, was then reproduced in atheistic anti-Islamic writings of propagandists until the end of the USSR.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the practices, forms and effectiveness of atheistic work with the Muslim population of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, aimed at separating this population group from religious tradition and reducing the influence of the clergy.

Materials and methods. The materials for the study were scientific papers reflecting various aspects of state-Islamic relations in the 1920s, published and first introduced into scientific circulation documents from the state archives of a number of regions of Russia’s Asian part (the state archives of Sverdlovsk region, Novosibirsk region, Khabarovsk Territory, the National Archive of the Republic of Buryatia), reflecting the activities of party-state bodies on working with national minorities, regional branches of the “Union of Militant Atheists” and other institutions of the Soviet power. The research used general historical methods of analysis and generalization, as well as special historical methods such as problem-chronological, historical-comparative and structural-functional ones.

Results. Anti-religious propaganda in the 1920s was mainly of a debatable and polemical nature. Such forms of anti-religious events were practiced as debates and discussions between atheists and representatives of the clergy, creation of an alternative public holiday tradition instead of religious ones (holding “Komsomol Ramadans and Bayrams”, organizing performances, lectures, and other events interesting to young people during the celebration of Eid al-Fitr and Kurban Bayram, holding Komsomol naming ceremonies), and circle work, lectures on atheistic and natural science topics, film shows and many others. Special emphasis was placed on children, the youth, women and workers. The use of both published and unpublished archival materials from different regions shows that the agitators faced the same problems, such as resistance of the Muslim clergy, lack of religious-savvy lecturers, and commitment of the Muslim population to religious traditions. Various forms of agitation campaigning were practiced.

Conclusions. The 1920s were the initial stage in the development of atheist propaganda in the Soviet state. This period can be described as a “trial of the pen”, when propagandists experimented, tried to apply various forms and methods of propaganda work, including polemics with the clergy, creation of new traditions and rituals, creation of new leisure facilities and gaining knowledge, which were designed to replace mosques and remove various categories of the population from their influence. The main difficulties in the work carried out were the Muslim population’s ignorance of the Russian language, adherence to religious traditions, and an acute shortage of agitators who knew the essence of the Islamic faith, as well as atheists from among the Tatars, the Bashkirs and the Kazakhs. As a result of the resistance shown by the Muslim clergy representatives to the ongoing propaganda work, administrative and restrictive methods began to be gradually applied: religious teaching opportunities were reduced, some representatives of the Muslim clergy were included in the category of “deprived”, others were subjected to repression. Despite the measures taken, it was not possible to achieve significant success in atheistic propaganda against the Muslim population, therefore, along with anti-religious agitation, which was increasingly carried out in the form of lectures, it was decided to replace the Arabic alphabet, first with Latin, and then with Cyrillic, in order to separate the masses of the Muslim population, primarily young people from centuries-old traditions, and a course was taken towards a forceful solution to the “religious issue” by closing mosques and mass repressions against the clergy and the most active believers. Along with this, taking into account the mistakes of previous years, the system of atheistic propaganda continued to develop and improve, which was actively carried out throughout the subsequent years of the USSR.

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About the authors

Aleksei N. Starostin – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University named after N.A. Dobrolyubov, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod; Associate Professor, Department of Theology, Ural State Mining University, Russia, Ekaterinburg (alisheria@mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2703-5364).

Saidali O. Sokhibov – Doctoral Candidate, Bulgarian Islamic Academy, Russia, Bolgar; Senior Lecturer, Department of Theology, Ural State Mining University, Russia, Ekaterinburg (saidali72@mail.ru).

For citations

Starostin A.N., Sokhibov S.O. Forms and practices of atheistic anti-Islamic propaganda in the regions of Russia’s Asian part in the 1920s. Historical Search, 2025, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 47–70. DOI: 10.47026/2712-9454-2025-6-1-47-70 (in Russian).

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