POGROMS AND LOOTING OF CHURCH PROPERTY IN THE INITIAL PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR

Abstract

The article explores the looting and pogroms of church property during the first year of the Russian Civil War. At that time, not only were monasteries plundered, but also some temples connected in one way or another with property owners became objects of pogroms. Witnesses of these events were often bewildered by the cruelty and indifference to their shrines that were demonstrated by Orthodox laity during these robberies and defeats. The perpetrators were mainly local peasants, often accompanied by soldiers. While sacrilegious acts sometimes occurred during these attacks, it is inaccurate to attribute them solely to the influence of Bolshevik agitation or anti-religious attitudes of the rioters. Peasants who committed a pogrom against a monastery or parish church could demand from a terrified priest to take less money for fulfilling their demands. Moreover, many of the clergy and the monk were local residents and the attackers knew them. Both wealthy and impoverished monasteries suffered significant losses during these attacks. At the same time, especially in urban areas, the broad masses of the people could stop the actions of the authorities directed against church property. For example, a huge number of the capital's population came to the defense of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, but pogrom sentiments still prevailed. Many, including church leaders, considered the events to be the collapse of the Slavophile doctrine of the “God-bearing people”, interpreting the population’s actions as a rebellion against the Church and a resurgence of pagan influences.