“The commission for separating church from state and the school from the church” in 1920-1921 in Don oblast: activities and results

The article is devoted to the first stage of the implementation of the anti-church legislation of the Soviet state in the Don region - a region that until 1920 was the center of the formation of the Volunteer Army and resistance to the ideas of Soviet power. The urgency of the problem posed is justified by the fact that the activities of the “Commission for the Separation of Church from State” in 1920-1921 in the Don region has not been the subject of research. The purpose of the article is to determine the circumstances of the establishment of the Commission for the Separation of Church from State”, to study the directions and results of its activities, as well as the role in the implementation of the anti-church policy of the Soviet state. The research is based on the historical-systemic method, traditional for historical science, as well as on the principles of historicism, consistency and objectivity. The application of these methods and principles made it possible not only to achieve the set goal, but also to conclude that the first stage of the implementation of the decree “On the Separation of Church from State” was not repressive. The legal termination of the existence of diocesan councils and other diocesan structures did not affect the internal life of the dioceses. A number of political circumstances did not allow the commission to implement the main directions of its activities.