Towards the isolation of the Church: An aspect in the study of Soviet religious policy (1940s – 1980s)

Abstract

The article examines one of the important aspects of Soviet religious policy, namely,
the regime’s attempt to isolate the Church from society. Towards this end, the author
focuses on tax policy and state control over the system of theological education. The
investigation mainly draws from unpublished sources from the central archives of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
Key words: Church, Orthodox Church, Soviet regime, church=state relations, tax policy, theological education.