Campaign to confiscate church valuables and lawsuits against Orthodox clergy in 1922 as part of the final stage of the Russian Civil War

1922 for the history of Russia marked the end of the Civil War and the formation of the Soviet Union. One of the last, if not the last, opponents of the Bolshevik regime was once the largest Local Orthodox Church. Famine in the Volga region of 1921–1922 and its horrifying consequences resulted in a campaign organized by the Soviet authorities to seize church valuables. The process of seizure caused a far from unambiguous reaction among believers, often became the causes of excesses and clashes between representatives of the commissions for the seizure and armed Red Army soldiers on the one hand, and the defenders of the church on the other. The most cruel turn of events took place in Shuya, Moscow and Petrograd. The clashes resulted in show trials, with the help of which the authorities decided to expose the problem and show the population who does not want to help the hungry. However, instead of the expected effect, they received resistance and rejection. The article is based on archival material and periodicals.