ABSTRACT
In 1988, the Soviet authorities still considered Islam to be a brake on the social and economic development of traditionally Muslim areas of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in particular the Central Asian republics. The manner in which religious issues were treated in the Soviet press in 1987-88 dearly reflected Mikhail Gorbachev's style of leadership. Of the young people who responded to the questionnaire, more than a third said they found religion useful: 14.4 percent of the respondents found it useful because it preserved national culture and traditions; 10 percent because it provided solace at times of troubles. Many of the young kolkhozniks illustrated the moral quality of religion by relating the story of a kolkhoz family in their raion whose home burned during the cotton harvest. Gorbachev welcomed the Church leaders with a speech devoted mainly to a survey of the Church's history during the seven decades of Soviet power.
