Storming the heavens

the long version

A member of the first generation of scholars allowed access to formerly closed Soviet archives, Daniel Peris offers a new perspective on the Bolshevik regime's antireligious policy from 1917 until 1941. He focuses on the activities of the League of the Militant Godless, the organization founded by the regime in 1925 to spearhead its efforts to promote atheism, and he presents the League's propaganda, activities, and personnel at both the central and the provincial levels. His book provides a framework for understanding secularization in revolutionary contexts as well as contributing to the ongoing reassessments of the Bolshevik era.