Stalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945

by Steven Merritt Miner

Overview

Histories of the USSR during World War II generally portray the Kremlin's restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church as an attempt by an ideologically bankrupt regime to appeal to Russian nationalism in order to counter the mortal threat of Nazism. Here, Steven Merritt Miner argues that this version of events, while not wholly untrue, is incomplete. Using newly opened Soviet-era archives as well as neglected British and American sources, he examines the complex and profound role of religion, especially Russian Orthodoxy, in the policies of Stalin's government during World War II.

Miner demonstrates that Stalin decided to restore the Church to prominence not primarily as a means to stoke the fires of Russian nationalism but as a tool for restoring Soviet power to areas that the Red Army recovered from German occupation. The Kremlin also harnessed the Church for propaganda campaigns aimed at convincing the Western Allies that the USSR, far from being a source of religious repression, was a bastion of religious freedom. In his conclusion, Miner explores how Stalin's religious policy helped shape the postwar history of the USSR.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807862124
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	10/16/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
Lexile:	1500L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Steven Merritt Miner is professor of history at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He is author of Between Churchill and Stalin: The Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the Origins of the Grand Alliance.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
	Acknowledgments	xvii
	Glossary and Abbreviations	xxi
	Introduction	1
Part 1	The Church Redux
1	Religion and Nationality: The Soviet Dilemma, 1939-1941	27
2	Stalin's Holy War Begins, 1941-1943	51
Part 2	Fighting the Holy War
3	A Holy Hatred toward the Enemy: The Church as Servant of Soviet Foreign Policy, 1942-1943	93
4	A Vatican of Sorts	123
5	The Gatherer of the Ukrainian Lands: The Church and the Restoration of Soviet Power in the Western Borderlands	163
Part 3	Selling the Alliance
6	You Made Me Love You: Selling the Alliance Begins	205
7	Amplifying the Soviet Voice	245
8	Guardians of the Truth	279
	Conclusion	315
	Notes	337
	Bibliography of Works Cited	387
	Index	397

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A penetrating book on the complex and profound role of religion, especially Russian Orthodoxy, in the policies of Stalin's government during World War II. . . . His examination sheds light on the origins of the Cold War and of the Soviet Union's implosion in 1991. He is also able to refute some revisionist scholars, who argue that Stalin was not really an ideologue, but a 'Red Tsar' or a practitioner of realpolitik.—Catholic Historical Review



Steven Miner's book helps to explain why Soviet authorities never managed to stamp out religious belief among the peoples of the U.S.S.R. Focusing on the World War II experience, Miner documents a remarkable gap between decisions made at the top and policies implemented at lower levels, even under Stalin. The result is one of the most significant reassessments of Soviet history since the Cold War ended.—John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University