The Soviet regime systematically destructed religious freedom in Ukraine. The Soviet government held a campaign to eradicate faith and replace it with state-mandated atheism. Through the destruction of churches, confiscation of parish property, mass arrests, property seizure, the prohibition of religious education, the Kremlin targeted Ukrainian national identity. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were dismantled through state decrees and forced “reorganizations.” Clergy were arrested in mass operations conducted by the NKVD, with many sentenced to labor camps or executed during the 1930s purges. The text details deportations of religious leaders and active believers to Siberia and Central Asia. Despite this repression, underground networks known as the “Catacomb Church” continued secret worship, distributing religious texts and conducting services in private homes.

Following the 1917 Revolution, the Bolsheviks established atheism as the official Soviet state ideology, viewing religion as an exploitative tool used by elites to control the masses. The regime aggressively nationalized church property, closed religious schools, and restricted theological publications. To fill this vacuum, the state produced extensive anti-religious media, notably the satirical journal Bezbozhnik u stanka (Atheist at the Workbench), which ran from 1923 to 1931. Led by Artistic Director Dmitrii Moor, prominent Soviet artists utilized accessible, figurative styles and subverted traditional religious motifs to reach a semi-literate working-class audience. The publication achieved an annual domestic circulation of 70,000 and was distributed abroad until it was banned in England in 1925. In 1927, over 150 popular illustrations from the journal were compiled into independent art portfolios for widespread public display.

State-mandated atheism was systematically implemented in Ukraine from the 1917 Revolution through the late Soviet era. In the 1930s, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was suppressed, with bishops arrested and church administration dismantled. In 1946, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was forced to “reunite” with the Moscow Patriarchate, which led to the broader “Sovietization” and mass arrests of bishops and priests who refused compliance, with thousands sent to Gulag camps. The Khrushchev-era anti-religious campaign of the 1960s, which closed approximately half of all functioning churches through administrative fines, tax pressure, and revocation of registration permits. Religious education was banned, and believers were monitored by the KGB. Despite this, underground “catacomb” communities continued to operate secret liturgies and baptisms, preserving religious traditions under surveillance and constant risk of arrest.

During the 1930s, the Bolshevik regime targeted Christian confessions, particularly Protestant groups, in Ukrainian Podilia. The research details the ideological warfare, propaganda, and state-driven repression that occurred during this Stalinist era, analysing the systemic destruction of religious life in Ukraine. State terror specifically targeted Protestants, viewing them as a “double evil” associated with a hostile, bourgeois lifestyle. Repressive policies included the widespread closure of churches, prohibition of religious rites, and the systematic arrest and exile of clergy members. The regime employed punitive taxation, economic strangulation, and propaganda to eliminate religious influence.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Western Ukraine underwent the post–World War II suppression. In 1946, Soviet authorities organized a pseudo-church council in Lviv that declared the “liquidation” of the Greek Catholic Church and its forced incorporation into the Russian Orthodox Church. Following this, hundreds of clergy who refused to accept the decision were arrested by the NKVD; bishops were imprisoned or sent to labor camps in Siberia. Seminaries and monasteries were closed, and church property, including churches, schools, and printing presses, was confiscated by the state. Lay believers who continued to practice their faith faced surveillance, job loss, and pressure to convert to Orthodoxy. The article emphasizes that this repression was concentrated in Western Ukraine, where the Greek Catholic Church had strong historical and cultural roots. The repression was anti-religious and politically motivated, aiming to eliminate an institution closely tied to Ukrainian national identity and resistance to Soviet control.

The 1946 Lviv pseudo-council was a pivotal moment in the Soviet repression of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). Organized under pressure from Soviet authorities, the council declared the liquidation of the UGCC and its forced “reunification” with the Russian Orthodox Church, despite lacking legitimate bishops and canonical authority. The articles emphasize that this act was a coordinated political operation aimed at eliminating a church closely tied to Ukrainian identity and Western traditions. The narrative highlights the broader campaign of persecution that followed: arrests, executions, and exile of clergy, along with the coercion of believers to convert. The UGCC was among the first religious institutions targeted by the Soviet regime. The pseudo-council was both a religious and geopolitical strategy aimed at suppressing faith communities, consolidating ideological control, and reshaping cultural allegiance in postwar Ukraine.

Following the Russian Civil War, the Soviet government launched a violent anti-religious campaign from 1917 to 1991 to completely eliminate religious institutions and enforce “scientific atheism” across society. Driven by the belief that communist ideology could not coexist with spiritual faith, the state systematically demolished churches, mosques, and synagogues, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 12 to 20 million people. Religious leaders faced relentless harassment, torture, and imprisonment, culminating in the slaughter of up to 100,000 clergy members during the Great Purge of 1936–1938. Although the authorities occasionally softened their approach with educational incentives, atheism remained a strict metric for political loyalty and intelligence. Remarkably, these extensive atrocities were heavily downplayed or ignored by sympathetic Western intellectuals and labour delegations, who chose to focus instead on praising Soviet economic reconstruction.

Stalinist repressions known as the Great Terror included mass executions of religious figures in Ukraine. Orthodox clergy were particularly targeted: bishops, priests, and monks were arrested in large numbers by the NKVD, accused of “counterrevolutionary activity,” and executed shortly after sentencing. The article provides evidence that entire dioceses were left without leadership, as church hierarchies were dismantled within months. Parish priests were often arrested at night and disappeared, leaving congregations without spiritual guidance. Monasteries were closed, and monastics were either executed or sent to Gulag labour camps. Lay believers who maintained ties to clergy were also at risk, sometimes arrested for supporting “enemy elements.” Religious victims were not random but deliberately selected as part of a campaign to eliminate independent moral authority. The result was the near-total destruction of organized church life during these years.

A large mass grave linked to Stalinist purges, containing the remains of thousands of victims executed by Soviet security services, was found near Odessa. Among those identified or believed to be buried there are clergy, monks, and active believers who were arrested during anti-religious campaigns. Many victims were detained on fabricated charges such as “anti-Soviet agitation” or “religious propaganda” and executed without fair trial. The graves include individuals from different religious backgrounds, reflecting the broad scope of repression. Families were often not informed of executions, and victims were buried secretly in forested areas. This concealment turned religious persecution into both physical and historical erasure. The discovery provides material evidence of the scale of violence against religious communities and highlights how clergy and believers became part of mass executions carried out during the Stalinist terror.

The Bykivnia forest near Kyiv is one of the largest burial sites of victims of Stalinist repression, including numerous religious figures and believers. During the 1930s, the NKVD executed thousands of people – among them Orthodox priests, members of other Christian denominations, and lay believers accused of religious or “anti-Soviet” activity. Victims were transported to the forest, shot, and buried in mass graves without identification. The site includes clergy who refused to renounce their faith, as well as ordinary parishioners arrested for participating in religious life. Many of those buried were falsely accused and received no formal trial. The Bykivnia graves hold the remains of an estimated 30,000 to over 100,000 victims of Soviet NKVD repressions between 1937 and 1941, including Ukrainian intelligentsia, religious leadership and active believers, Polish officers, and various ethnic minorities.