The far eastern branch of "The league of militant atheists": history and the stages of development

Throughout the whole history of Russia, there have been various patterns of relationship between the state and the church: from merging of the state and the church to the aggressive anti-religious policy of the 1930s. The study of the activities of the “The League of Militant Atheists” allows us to analyze the system of special state activities aimed at preventing the reproduction of religion among the future generations of Soviet people. The offices of the League were established all across the Soviet Union. The Far Eastern office started operating in 1926. The uniqueness of this remote region manifests itself in different areas of social life including the religious life. The Russian Far East historically was a multinational and multiconfessional region where Orthodox Christianity has never been the dominating religion. Another important point is that since the time of the Russian colonization until the present day the majority of the population of the region have never reckoned themselves among the followers of any religion at all. All these circumstances had a great impact on the character and results of the anti-religious activities of the Far Eastern branch of the “The League of Militant Atheists”.