Религиозные репрессии в Украинской ССР: судьба православной церкви южной Бессарабии

Religious Repression in Ukrainian SSR: the Case of the Orthodox Church from Southern Bessarabia

Abstract

This paper analyses the repressive nature of the relationship between the Soviet Government and the clergy in the Ukrainian SSR in the postwar years. The most tragic period for the church and believers is shown in relation to the case of Southern Bessarabia. In this article the focus falls on the directions of the state policies during the period when the region was a part of the Romanian Kingdom. Scholars have determined that before 1940 and between 1941–1944 the Romanian authorities aimed to raise the authority of the Church. In subsequent years, however, the Soviet Government perceived the clergy and believers as a hotbed of dissent and opposition, subjecting them to persecution and repression. The persecution of the church contributed to the establishment of a new political situation, the characteristic features of which were a general atmosphere of fear, denunciations and espionage. This persecution resulted in the destruction of a significant part of local architectural monuments, cultural values, the reduction in the intellectual potential of society and – most importantly – millions of people were deprived of their lives and became prisoners in the Soviet GULAG.