Mass religious events of Siberian Germans as an expression of "willful stubbornness" (1960-1980s)

This article provides description of several methods of communication used by Siberian Germans who were supporters of Council of Evangelical Christian-Baptists Churches during Brezhnev’s Era. An emphasis is made on various religious holidays (Day of Harvest, Christmas, Easter), family celebrations and rituals (weddings, funerals, baptisms), celebratory meetings between «prisoners of conscience», and also on religious rallies of youth. The research of memorandums written by emissaries of Council of Religious Affairs, and letters «to power» written by believers, led to the conclusion that during 1960-1980s religious rituals and mass gatherings of religious dissidents were considered to be a gross violation of the Soviet law, and were keenly and maliciously overseen by the Party and State. The usual way of fighting with collective «willful stubbornness» was using administrative measures, mainly fines and policy of dissociation of «provocative mass gatherings». Also government tried to compete with religious public events by introducing similar, but secular «soviet» rituals. However, this way required scrutinous and delicate concern, while new soviet holidays and rituals were badly thought out, and, in every way, the new rituals, from the point of view of religious holidays, were inferior. In such circumstances, the government traditionally considered prohibitions and punishments to be more effective way of controlling relationship between church and state. In their turn, believers successfully negated the state policy which aimed for «atomization» and maximal dissolution of religious communes with collective gatherings. During Brezhnev’s era, mass «fraternal fellowships» were the public representation of religious dissidents, and through these gatherings they showed their fearlessness in the face of the state punitive apparatus. «Fellowships» were an «inconvenience» to the state, since the latter could not find an adequate response.