''Bezbozhnik'' (russian: Безбожник; "The Godless One") was an anti-religious and

atheistic Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

newspaper published in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

between 1922 and 1941 by the

League of Militant Atheists The League of Militant Atheists (), also Society of the Godless () or Union of the Godless (), was an atheistic and antireligious organization of workers and intelligentsia that developed in Soviet Russia under influence of the ideological and ...

. Its first issue was published in December 1922, with a print run of 15,000, but its circulation reached as much as 200,000 in 1932. Between 1923 and 1931, there was also a magazine called '' Bezbozhnik u Stanka'' (Безбожник у станка; "The Godless One at the Workbench").Anna Shternshis, ''Soviet and Kosher: Jewish Popular Culture in the Soviet Union,1923-1939.'' Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 150-155. From 1928 to 1932 a magazine for peasants Derevenskiy Bezbozhnik (Деревенский безбожник; "The Rural Godless One") was published. In 1928, one issue of the magazine Bezbozhnik za kul'turnuyu revolyutsiyu (Безбожник за культурную революцию; "The Godless One for the Cultural Revolution") was published.

History

Initially, the publication ridiculed all religious belief as being a sign of ignorance and superstition, while stating that religion was dying in the officially atheist Soviet Union, with reports of closing churches, unemployed priests and ignored religious holidays. Starting in the mid-1920s, the

Soviet government The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...

saw religion as an economic threat to the peasantry, whom, it said, were being oppressed by the clergy.Daniel Peris, ''Storming the Heavens: The Soviet League of the Militant Godless Ones.'' Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998; pp. 75-76. Its main targets were

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

, accusing

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s of collaborating with the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and other

counter-revolutionaries A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

(see White movement). The rabbis were accused of promoting hostility between

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and Gentiles. ''Bezbozhnik'' alleged that some rabbis in the tsarist government's pay had helped organize anti-Jewish

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

s, while claiming that such actions had sparked similar atrocities in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and other countries. Priests were attacked as being

parasites Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

who lived off the work of the peasants. It reported about priests it said had admitted deceiving peasants and priests it said had renounced their profession. For instance, it ran a story about a certain Sergei Tomilin, who claimed 150 kilograms (3 cwt) of wheat and 21 metres (23 yards) of linen for each marriage he conducted, performing over 30 marriages in just a few weeks and thus receiving the wage a schoolteacher would have earned in 10 years. The magazine criticized the Jewish holiday of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

as encouraging excessive drinking, because of the requirement of drinking four glasses of wine, while the Prophet

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

was accused of being an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

who got "drunk as a swine". Writer

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

once visited the offices of the ''Bezbozhnik'' and got a set of back numbers. He was shocked by its content, not only by what he called "boundless

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

", but also by its claims, such as that

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was a rogue and a scoundrel. Bulgakov said that this was "a crime beyond measure". Bezbozhnik used humour as part of its anti-religious atheist

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

, since humour was able to reach both educated and barely literate audiences. For example, in 1924, ''Bezbozhnik u Stanka'' issued a brochure called ''How to Build a Godless Corner'', a tongue-in-cheek reference to the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Icon Corner The icon corner, sacred corner or red corner, ( el, εικονοστάσι - meaning red, bright-shining, or beautiful corner) is a small worship space prepared in the homes of Eastern Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic Christians. It ...

. The brochure included a set of two big posters with anti-religious slogans, seven other smaller humoristic posters, six back issues from ''Bezbozhnik u Stanka'', from which to cut other images and instructions on how to assemble it. Such corners were suggested to be made at workplaces and their creator was encouraged to spend time at them and to try to convert other workers.

Decline and termination

In 1932, with the Soviet economy faltering from economic dislocation associated with the first five-year plan, the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

was halted and a less extreme approach towards religion and other aspects of Soviet life was initiated by the regime. Destabilizing campaigns in the economy, education, and social relations were halted and a move made towards the restoration of traditional values.Husband, ''"Godless Communists,"'' pg. 160. ''Bezbozhnik'' began to move away from its original subject, anti-religion and atheism, and began publishing more general political subjects. Membership in the League of the Militant Godless Ones, which had expanded during the Cultural Revolution to approximately 5 million plummeted to a few hundred thousand, bringing down the circulation of its newspaper in commensurate fashion. The newspaper's circulation fell rapidly beginning in 1932 and was terminated completely in 1935. The League of the Militant Godless Ones was closed down in 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Circulation

The newspaper ''Bezbozhnik'' launched on 21 December 1922.William B. Husband, ''"Godless Communists": Atheism and Society in Soviet Russia, 1917-1932.'' DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2000; pg. 60. During its first year of publication the paper's press run stood at 15,000 copies per issue.Husband, ''"Godless Communists,"'' pg. 61. The paper grew during the early years of the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

, hitting the 100,000 mark in the summer of 1924 and topping 200,000 a year later. A decline followed from this early peak, with the press run of the publication tailing off to 114,000 in October 1925 and attenuating further to 90,000 in the fall of 1926. This decline seems to have continued in subsequent months and the official press run was no longer publicized in the paper's pages from October 1926 through the first part of 1928, with a circulation of about 60,000 indicated by archival evidence. With the coming of the Cultural Revolution in 1929, ''Bezbozhnik'' was again the beneficiary of state promotion, with the circulation escalating to 400,000 in 1930. With the move towards stabilization, the fall in circulation beginning in 1932 proved just as precipitous, with the publication being terminated in 1935.

Bezbozhnyy Krokodil

Bezbozhnyy Krokodil (russian: Безбожный крокодил; "Godless crocodile") is a satirical magazine. It was published in Moscow from 1924–1925 as a free satirical supplement to the newspaper „Bezbozhnik”. The responsible editor is

Yemelyan Yaroslavsky Yemelyan Mikhailovich Yaroslavsky (russian: Емелья́н Миха́йлович Яросла́вский, born Minei Izrailevich Gubelman, Мине́й Изра́илевич Губельма́н; – 4 December 1943) was a Bolshevik revoluti ...

. “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” appeared for the first time on January 13, 1924 on the pages No. 2 (55) of the newspaper “Bezbozhnik” as a special satirical section of the newspaper. The section occupied the upper halves of all four bands, had a clichéd headline, filled with sharp and topical feuilleton, fables, satirical poems and cartoons on anti-religious themes. Beginning February 10, 1924, with 5 (58) issues of the newspaper “Bezbozhnik”, “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” is printed on a separate newspaper sheet, which is specially made up so that it can be folded into a notebook. The editors of “Bezbozhnik” invited their readers to cut out this sheet, fold it accordingly and stitch it together. In this form, “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” acquired the character of an independent satirical publication that had a permanent clichéd heading, serial number, date of its publication, page numbering, its permanent departments and headings, etc. The next 8 issues (No. 2–9) are published weekly starting February 10, along with regular issues of the newspaper “Bezbozhnik”. The publication of a special satirical supplement contributed to an even greater increase in the popularity of the newspaper among the masses, and led to a rapid increase in circulation. Within two months, the circulation of the newspaper and its satirical supplement grew from 34 to 210 thousand copies. The wide popularity of the “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” was due primarily to the fighting nature of anti-religious propaganda. Its popularity was greatly facilitated by the fact that the editorial staff skillfully used the various means of satire and humor. The pages of the magazine exposed the machinations of priests and churchmen, the fanaticism of sectarians, and a consistent struggle was conducted for the liberation of the working masses from religious durman. With no less merciless ridicule were the shortcomings in local anti-religious work, the tolerance of individual party and Soviet workers for clericalism, sectarianism, sorcery, prejudice and ignorance of part of the people, and especially the peasantry. Regularly published works in which the counter-revolutionary, reactionary role of the church was revealed, its connection with the exploiting classes, with capital. The editors involved such satirists as Demyan Bedny, A. Zorich, S. Gorodetsky and others to collaborate in “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil”. M. Cheremnykh was in charge of the art department, whose drawings and cartoons were particularly sharp and inventive. Such permanent satirical sections and headings of the magazine as “Pitchfork to the flank”, “Crocodile's Tooth”, “ Rayok”, “Readers Page”, were based, as a rule, on the materials of workers rural correspondents. Since April 1924, the magazine is planned as a two-weekly. However, such a frequency is not maintained by the editors. The next issue of “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” is only released on April 27, and the next on June 1. These issues no longer had serial numbers, although they were drawn up and printed, as before, on a single newspaper page. After the June issue, the publication of the “Bezbozhnyy Krokodil” is discontinued for more than a year.

Examples of issues

File:Bezhnoznik u stanka 19-1929.jpeg, " Anti-alcoholic" issue of ''Bezhbozhnik u stanka'' from 1929 portraying Jesus as a

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

r File:Bezbozhnik u stanka 15-1929.jpg, ''Bezhbozhnik u stanka'' issue from 1929 showing Jesus being dumped from a wheelbarrow by an industrial worker; the text suggests the Industrialization Day can be a replacement of the Christian Transfiguration Day.

References

Безбожник / Православная энциклопедия / Т. 4, С. 444-445