The situation of religious communities in the Omsk Region in the context of the state-confessional policy of the USSR in the 1950s

Based on archival materials, the article examines the relationship between religious communities and state authorities in the Omsk Region during the 1950s in the context of state-confessional policy. The broad anti-religious campaign that began during this period, carried out by the forces of the party and Soviet authorities, the management and collectives of enterprises and trade unions, was accompanied by the mass closure of churches, economic measures and criminal prosecution of believers and clergy. The active denial of registration of communities provoked the emergence of a large number of illegally functioning religious groups that gather in private homes and farm buildings owned by believers, which made it difficult or impossible for the Soviet authorities to control their daily activities. © 2021, Rossiiskaya Akademiya Nauk, Institut Istorii (Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General Hist). All rights reserved.