Godless Communists: Atheism and Society in Soviet Russia, 1917-1932

Drawing on archival and ethnographic sources, journals, newspapers, and eyewitness accounts, Husband (history, Oregon State U.) investigates the impact and effectiveness of Soviet anti-religious policies and tactics within a culture deeply enmeshed in Orthodoxy. He finds that the majority of Russians stood between the extremes of church and government, and he offers a fresh interpretation of early Soviet efforts to create an atheistic society. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR