DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_3_142

P. G. Rogozny. The Russian Orthodox Church and the First World War: The Transformation
of Religious Perception and the Use of War by the Bolsheviks in Anti-Clerical Propaganda
after the Revolution // Petersburg Historical Journal, no 3, 2025, pp. 142–150

Abstract:

The Russian Orthodox Church provided unwavering support to the Russian Empire, which
subsequently entered the war that would subsequently be designated the First World War. It is noteworthy that the Church regarded the war as a patriotic undertaking, among other considerations. However, the initial surge of patriotism was soon superseded by the onset of a challenging period of trench warfare. Upon assuming power in 1917, the Bolsheviks regarded the Church as an ideological adversary. A primary tenet of the left-wing parties’ anti-clerical propaganda asserted that the Church endorsed the “bloody imperialist war”. The ecclesiastical institution in question was accused of violating fundamental Christian tenets and commandments. This propaganda had a significant impact on the peasant masses, who predominantly adhered to religious beliefs. The endeavours of the Church and the religious community to respond to the Bolsheviks and left-wing parties in general, through the use of counter-propaganda, have largely been unsuccessful.

Key words: Russian Orthodox Church, World War I, propaganda, anticlericalism, Bolsheviks, peasants.

Author:

Rogozny, Pavel Gennadievich — Cand. of Historical Sci., Researcher at the St. Petersburg
Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: rorozny@yandex.ru

References:

Bairau, D. Fantazii i videniya v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny: pravoslavnoe voennoe dukhovenstvo na sluzhbe Vere, Tsaryu i Otechestvu [Fantasies and Visions during the First World War: Orthodox Clergy in the Service of Faith, Tsar and Fatherland. In Russ.]. In Zakharova, L. G., Mironenko, S. V., Emmons, T. (eds.). Petr Andreevich Zaionchkovskii: Sbornik statei i vospominanii k stoletiyu istorika. Moscow, ROSSPEN, 2008. P. 761–762.

Golubev, A. V. Krest’yanskie slukhi i tolki: istochnik ili predmet issledovaniya? (Na primere
vneshnepoliticheskikh predstavlenii 1920-kh gg.) [Peasant rumors and gossip: the source or object of study? (On the example of foreign policy ideas of the 1920s.). In Russ.]. In Ezhegodnik po agrarnoy istorii Vostochnoy Evropy. 2012. No. 1, pp. 301–313.

Ivanov, A. A. Vozhd’ chernoi reaktsii. Nikolai Evgen’evich Markov [Leader of the Black Reaction: Nikolai Evgen’evich Markov. In Russ.]. Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Dal’, 2023. 639 p.

Tikhon (Zatekin), arhimandrit. Svyatitel’ Tikhon, Patriarkh Moskovskii i vseya Rossii. Zhizn’ i podvig [The Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Life and Feat. In Russ.]. Nizhnii Novgorod, 2018. 1024 p.

Перейти к полноэкранному режиму

Similar Posts

|

PHJ № 2 (34) 2022 — Ju. Moshnik. “THE HEROIC TALE OF THE RUSSIAN ENGELBREKT”. FILM IMAGE OF ALEXANDER NEVSKY IN THE PRE-WAR FINNISH PRESS

“Alexander Nevsky” was the only motion picture of S. M. Eisenstein and the last Soviet film that was released to the public in Finland before the start of the Soviet-Finnish (Winter) War of 1939–1940. Even before the premiere in Helsinki on August 20, 1939, the Finnish press published articles about Eisenstein’s creative work and the success of “Alexander Nevsky” at the Soviet box office. After the premiere screening, critical reviews of the film were placed on their pages by all the central newspapers of the country. The interest of Finnish film critics in Eisenstein’s new picture was due not only to the outstanding artistic merits of the film, brilliant camera work and acting, but, above all, the relevance of the issues raised in the film for the modern political agenda.

PHJ № 1 (37) 2023 – Choi Deokkyoo, I. O. Ermachenko. The Russo-Japanese War, Japanese occupation of Korea and the secret activities of L.V. von Goyer in the Far East (1904–1910)

The article is devoted to the activities of Lev Viktorovich von Goyer (1875-1939), one of the prominent employees of the so-called “Shanghai agents”, an intelligence service established in April 1904 and operating in close contact with the Russo-Chinese Bank. All aspects of his covert work during the Russo-Japanese War and in the coming years after its end are comprehensively characterized.

| |

PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — T. V. Sazonova. “SHE WAS DOING THE OPPOSITE TO THE HOLY CHURCH”: PRINCESS ANNA KHILKOVA IN THE GORITSKY MONASTERY

The article contains and analyzes all available materials regarding one of the famous residents of the Goritsky nunnery, Anna Pavlovna Khilkova. An analysis of the news regarding her family ties and land ownership is conducted, with the documents concerning her exile to the nunnery and subsequent escape from it being meticulously examined. It is evident that A. P. Khilkova is a staunch supporter of the Old Belief, according to the sources cited. The exile of the subject to the Goritsky nunnery had no effect on her beliefs, nor did it compel her to observe the Nikonian rites, at least in public. It became evident to her that she would not be left unaccompanied, and consequently she absconded from the nunnery, a manoeuvre which was facilitated by the perpetual “unrest” therein. It is hypothesised that her subsequent fate was connected with the Old Believer communities of Romanov and Poshekhonye.

|

PHJ №1 (45) 2025 — A. V. Ushakov. FRAGMENTS FROM THE BOOK ABOUT THE NARVA TRADE NOWGORODFAHRER FROM LÜBECK: FEES ON GOODS EXPORTED FROM NARVA DURING THE LIVONIAN WAR

The article under scrutiny herein examines fragments from a handwritten merchant’s book stored in the archive of the Nowgorodfahrer merchant association, which is one of the funds of the Archive of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. The book chronicles the commercial activities of a trading corporation in Narva during the Livonian War, providing insights spanning the years 1563 to 1577. The study focuses on the commodity lists for 1563, 1564, 1568 and 1577, which detail the internal charges applied to all goods arriving from Narva in Lübeck. The financial proceeds received from these merchants were allocated towards the organisation of collective commercial activities on behalf of the entire trade association. These activities included the maintenance of warehouses and wharves, the chartering of merchant ships, the remuneration of seafarers, mercenaries, scribes and servants, and the settlement of numerous other expenses. Utilising these records, an analysis was conducted of the product range that was characteristic of Narva exports during the Livonian War. Furthermore, a correlation was identified between fluctuations in the amount charged for these goods and the prevailing political situation in the Baltic region. The appendix to the article presents transcriptions of the studied product lists.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — P. A. Avakov. THE ELDER BROTHER AND OTHER RELATIVES OF ST. PETERSBURG

Historiography has invariably placed significant emphasis on the distinctiveness of St. Petersburg as a city of a new type, which subsequently became synonymous with imperial Russia. Numerous scholars posit that the city had historical antecedents in the same geographical region. In recent years, however, a tendency has emerged to consider Taganrog, on the site of which the fortified town Troitsky (Holy Trinity’s Town) was founded in 1699, to be the elder brother of St. Petersburg. On initial consideration, there is ample evidence to support this assertion. Troitsky’s stablishment as the inaugural port city during the reign of Peter the Great, situated on a seashore and following a structured plan for a naval base, substantiates this assertion. Both cities’ origins as border outposts, as well as the location of their construction, being chosen by the Tsar himself, are further similarities. Nevertheless, the historical trajectories of the two cities diverge radically, and the circumstances surrounding their establishment are shrouded in mystery. In 1711, Peter the Great had to sacrifice the elder brother for the sake of the younger brother’s prosperity, since by that time the Baltic plans had become more important for the Tsar than the Black Sea ones. The fortress on Cape Tagan (Tagan Rog), which was revived by Catherine II in 1769, subsequently lost its former military-strategic significance and was transformed into a trading city. Consequently, Taganrog became one of the elements of the anti-Petersburg myth.

|

PHJ № 1 (33) 2022 — T. V. Andreeva. IN THE SERVICE OF RUSSIA: STATESMEN OF SWEDISH-FINNISH ORIGIN IN THE 19TH — EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article examines the political and official biographies of dignitaries — immigrants from Finland, who were in the 19th — early 20th centuries members of the State Council, studied the factors of their career growth in the structure of administrative institutions of the Russian Empire, identified the main principles of the personnel policy of the imperial government in the context of the highest Finnish bureaucracy, determined the socio-political rationale for its service in Russia. It has been demonstrated that the appointment of representatives of the highest bureaucracy of Finland in different periods of Russian history as members of the State Council, heads of the most important Russian ministries, was determined by both objective political processes associated with a special Finnish imperial policy and subjective preferences and personal relationships of representatives of the reigning dynasty.