ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to the activities of the authorities in the Krasnodar area who systematically set about blocking the repair and construction of churches, elicited a wide response. The development of relations between the Soviet government and religious communities has been far from simple and at times tragic. In the first years after the revolution, the Russian Orthodox church, like other religious groups, was counted among the forces of counterrevolution, and repressive political measures were taken against the church and the clergy. The Council for Orthodox Church Affairs was created under the Council of Ministers to regulate church state relations. The attitude toward church and religion from the late 1960s might be best characterized as "ostrich politics." The idea of serving God was precisely what gave rise to the Orthodox churches, and it preserved our culture. Ogonyok marshaled facts about other communities in the Krasnodar region and showed that what happened in Krasnoarmeiskaia was not the exception.
