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Scientific Papers of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyiubynskyi State Pedagogical University Series History

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Scientific Papers of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyiubynskyi State Pedagogical University Series History

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You are here: Archives/Original articles/No. 56

The "soviet-style" principle of church-state separation: based on an analysis of top-secret documents of the State Political Directorate (GPU) and the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine CP(b)U

Authors

Oleksandr O. Korotaiev
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4460-0118 (unauthenticated)

Files

PDF (Ukrainian)

Key Information

Published

June 1, 2026

Journal

Published in No. 56 (2026) of Scientific Papers of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyiubynskyi State Pedagogical University Series History.

The journal covers current problems of history of Ukraine, World history, historical local history, ethnology, historiography, source studies, theories and methodologies of history, the most modern monographic works in the field of historical sciences are reviewed.

The publication is designed for scientists, ethnographers, teachers, postgraduates, students, everyone who seek to get a solid knowledge of the theoretical and applied nature of history.

By the decision of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine this journal is included in the list of scientific professional editions (category B) in which the results of dissertations on historical sciences can be published. (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No.409 dated 17/03/2020).

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How to Cite

Korotaiev, O. O. (2026). The "soviet-style" principle of church-state separation: based on an analysis of top-secret documents of the State Political Directorate (GPU) and the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine CP(b)U. Scientific Papers of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyiubynskyi State Pedagogical University Series History, 56, 86-96. https://doi.org/10.31652/2411-2143-2026-56-86-96

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to verify the concept widespread in historiography that interprets the Bolshevik secularization of the 1920s as a “legal” or “formal-legal” process, as well as to identify the mechanisms through which the proclaimed state neutrality toward the institution of the church was transformed into a system of administrative and operational control over it. Research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis; inductive and deductive reasoning) and special historical approaches (historical-logical and systemic-structural methods). Scientific novelty of the study lies in the integrated analysis of the restrictions imposed by Soviet legislation in the religious sphere (nationalization of church property, deprivation of legal personality of religious organizations, the system of standard contracts, and registration procedures) together with a reconstruction of the covert, agent-based dimension of this policy implemented by the bodies of the Cheka-GPU. Conclusions. The article demonstrates that the principle of the separation of church and state proclaimed by the Soviet authorities was purely declarative and did not correspond to the actual practice of state-church relations. Based on the analysis of top-secret documents of the GPU and the CP(b)U, it is shown that “separation” functioned rather as a system of managed legalization, within which formal legal mechanisms were combined with covert operational control. The registration of religious communities, standard agreements for the use of property, and various authorization procedures were employed as instruments of selection, filtering, and subordination of religious organizations to party-state policy. A particularly important role in this process was played by the agent infiltration of GPU bodies into the leadership structures of Protestant unions and the "orchestration" of their loyal political stance toward Soviet power. It is shown that this practice of "separation,” which in fact amounted to controlled legalization and declarative loyalty, was purely instrumental and temporary in nature. The transition, after the curtailment of the NEP, to a rigidly repressive model of state-church relations confirmed that the previous policy did not constitute the realization of freedom of conscience but was merely an element of a long-term strategy aimed at the subordination, disorganization, and ultimately the elimination of religious communities.
PDF (Ukrainian)

References

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Details

Published

June 1, 2026

Issue

No. 56 (2026)

Section

Original articles

How to Cite

Korotaiev, O. O. (2026). The "soviet-style" principle of church-state separation: based on an analysis of top-secret documents of the State Political Directorate (GPU) and the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine CP(b)U. Scientific Papers of the Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsyiubynskyi State Pedagogical University Series History, 56, 86-96. https://doi.org/10.31652/2411-2143-2026-56-86-96

Pages

86-96

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