The “Communist” Transformation and the Phenomenon of Soviet Patriotism among Orthodox Believers in the Late USSR

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the phenomenon of the “communist shift” in the mass Orthodox culture of the late USSR. The author analyzes the pro-Soviet rhetoric of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the peculiarities of the consciousness of ordinary believers which allowed the community of Orthodox-oriented citizens to remain part of the Soviet society in the cultural dimension. The paper shows that the Church made significant efforts to form a social concept consonant with the ideals of the communist party in the post-war period. The basis of this concept was Soviet patriotism, the struggle for peace, equality and fraternity of peoples, social justice and progress, respect for personality together with criticism of the vices of the capitalist system. In the 1950s and 1980s, the corresponding values were repeatedly proclaimed in official speeches, sermons, publications of the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, they tried not to touch on the fundamentally insoluble in the Soviet realities contradiction between religious and atheistic worldviews.The “communist transformation” of the Church as a community of believers was not just a survival strategy. Socialization in the Soviet cultural environment led to the formation of a large stratum of the priests who sincerely shared the ideals of building a “new world”, believed in the compatibility of religion and communism, as well as the great historical mission of the USSR. The Soviet patriotism of the clerics was also stimulated by the spiritual demands of the Orthodox-oriented citizens who were increasingly accustomed to consider themselves Soviet people. The work demonstrates that a significant part of the population saw the practical embodiment of the Christian values in the socialist transformations, turning a blind eye to the atheism of the dominant ideology or viewing it as a misunderstanding, the existence of which must be reconciled. At the same time, the mission of the Church was often associated with spiritual support in new social conditions and assistance to the state in its good endeavors by adherents of Orthodox churches.

Keywords

• orthodoxy
• the ussr
• soviet culture
• public consciousness
• communist values
• patriotism
• identity