Stalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945

432 Pages·2003·2 MB·English

by  Steven Merritt Miner

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Stalin’s Holy War
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Stalin s
’
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H O LY WA R
Religion, Nationalism,
and Alliance Politics,
 
–
Steven Merritt Miner
The University ofNorth Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
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© 2003 The University ofNorth Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Designed by April Leidig-Higgins
Set in Minion by Copperline Book Services,Inc.
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability ofthe Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity ofthe
Council on Library Resources.
Publication ofthis book has been supported by a
generous grant from the L.J.and Mary C.Skaggs
Foundation.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miner,Steven Merritt,1956–
Stalin’s holy war:religion,nationalism,and alliance
politics,1941–1945 / by Steven Merritt Miner.
p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
0-8078-2736-3 (cloth:alk.paper)
1.World War,1939–1945—Religious aspects.
2.World War,1939–1945—Soviet Union.
3.Nationalism—Soviet Union. 4.Russkaëiı`a
pravoslavnaëiı`a ëtı`serkov§—History—20th
century. I.Title.
744.5.65 56 2002
940.54'78—dc21 2002002100
07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1
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To the memory of
Margaret F.Miner,
whose buoyant spirit
and intellectual curiosity
enriched the lives of all
those fortunate enough
to have known her
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Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Glossary and Abbreviations xxi
Introduction 1
Part One The Church Redux
1 Religion and Nationality:
The Soviet Dilemma,1939–1941 27
2 Stalin’s Holy War Begins,1941–1943 51
Part Two Fighting the Holy War
3 A Holy Hatred toward the Enemy:
The Church as Servant ofSoviet
Foreign Policy,1942–1943 93
4 A Vatican ofSorts 123
5 The Gatherer ofthe Ukrainian Lands:
The Church and the Restoration ofSoviet
Power in the Western Borderlands 163
Part Three Selling the Alliance
6 You Made Me Love You:
Selling the Alliance Begins 205
7 Amplifying the Soviet Voice 245
8 Guardians ofthe Truth 279
Conclusion 315
Notes 337
Bibliography ofWorks Cited 387
Index 397
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Maps and Illustrations
Maps
1.Soviet and Axis Annexations,1939–1941 37
2.Limit ofGerman Advance,1941–1942,and
Number ofOpen Churches,1945,by Republic 139
Illustrations
Metropolitan Aleksandr Vvedenskii,ofthe
Obnovlencheskii,or Renovationist,Church 281
Metropolitan Vvedenskii giving the benediction,
summer 1941 281
Soviet soldiers pose in front ofthe war-damaged
cathedral in Yelnia,near Smolensk 282
Worshipers in the Obnovlencheskaia Sobor’ 282
Orthodox bishops,including Acting Patriarch Sergii,
conduct a service,Bogoiavlenskaia Sobor’(Cathedral
ofthe Epiphany),Moscow,summer 1941 283