Michael Brooks
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union, committed a multitude of war crimes during and after World War II. These included mass rapes, looting, and the murder of civilians in occupied territories, particularly in Germany. The Red Army was also responsible for the persecution of religious groups, including Catholics, and the killing of clerics during the Russian Civil War. While the exact number of Catholic deaths at the hands of the Red Army is unknown, it is clear that they were targeted as part of the Soviet Union's efforts to eradicate organized religion in its occupied territories.
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What You'll Learn
Clerics killed during the Russian Civil War
During the Russian Civil War, the Red Army massacred a large number of clerics and believers, often on the grounds of alleged support for the Whites (anti-communist forces). While these killings were done on the initiative of local units of soldiers, they were later justified by high-ranking Soviet officials who claimed central responsibility. The violence was justified by declaring that the church had been actively fighting against them.
The church claimed that 322 bishops and priests were killed during the Revolution. Between June 1918 and January 1919, official church figures claimed that one metropolitan, eighteen bishops, one hundred and two priests, one hundred and fifty-four deacons, and ninety-four monks/nuns had been killed (not including the laity). The estimate of 330 clergy and monastics killed by 1921 may have been an underestimate, as 579 monasteries/convents had been liquidated during this period, with widespread mass executions of monks and nuns.
In April 1919, retreating Red soldiers killed twenty clerics in the Estonian university town of Tartu. Among those killed was Bishop Platon (Kulbusch) of Tallinn, two Orthodox priests, a Lutheran pastor, and sixteen laymen. In 1919, Bishop Leontius (von Wimpffen) was murdered after he made a sermon that quoted Jesus' words: "I was naked and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me". This quotation was interpreted as an attack against the Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks used the alleged support of the Russian Orthodox Church for the Whites as their justification for killing clergy in massive numbers. They also targeted the Eastern Orthodox Church and seized its assets, along with antireligious legislation meant to deprive the church of its capacity to function. The new government launched a campaign to seize church property, and churches were closed and converted to other uses. This order to seize property was carried out with ruthless violence by Red soldiers, who often opened fire on crowds that surrounded churches. Thousands were killed in this way, especially in the spring of 1918.
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Soviet anti-religious propaganda
The Soviet Union's anti-religious campaign, which began in 1921, targeted all religions, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which had been the state religion. The campaign involved the seizure of valuables from religious buildings, the closure of theological schools, the secularization of birth, marriage, and death registrations, and the termination of state financial support for Orthodox Christian clergy. The Soviet state also harassed, arrested, and exiled religious leaders, often on false charges of being saboteurs or spies.
The anti-religious propaganda of the time attacked the Orthodox Church and its clergy, claiming they were indifferent to the suffering of the people and only interested in maintaining their power. This propaganda was spread through journals such as Bezbozhnik (Godless or Atheist) and Atheist at the Workbench, which sought to undermine organized religion and promote the state's anti-religious beliefs. These journals featured contributions from major Soviet writers, artists, and scientists, as well as cartoon-like imagery by prominent Soviet caricaturist Dmitrii Moor.
The anti-religious campaign also included violent actions, with the murder of religious leaders and widespread violence against the church by the Red Army. While Lenin did not openly support this violence, high-ranking Soviet officials later claimed responsibility for the killings, arguing that the church had been actively fighting against them. The church, for its part, encouraged believers to resist the new state and even shed blood to preserve their religion.
The campaign against religion continued under Stalin, with the Central Committee issuing new resolutions in 1944 and 1945 calling for a renewal of anti-religious propaganda. This propaganda targeted the Vatican, with caricatures of Catholic bishops depicting them as warmongers and supporters of police brutality. The Soviet state also forcibly merged Uniate churches in Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania with the Orthodox Church.
Overall, the Soviet anti-religious campaign involved a combination of propaganda, persecution, and violence aimed at eliminating organized religion and promoting atheism as the official ideology.
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Liquidation of Uniate churches
The Red Army was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 to counter the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War.
The Soviet government sought to exterminate all forms of organized religion in its occupied territories, often persecuting the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, and Jewish communities present. The Soviet political police arrested numerous priests, with others being arrested and interrogated by the Soviet NKVD, deported, and sometimes even killed.
The liquidation of Uniate churches (Eastern-rite Catholic churches) in Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania were forcibly merged with the Orthodox Church. The term "Uniate" has been applied to Eastern Catholic churches and individual members whose church hierarchies were previously part of Eastern Orthodox churches but later unified with Rome. Opponents of the union called church members "Uniates", a term that is no longer used due to its negative overtones.
The Ruthenian Uniate Church, for instance, was suppressed in the Soviet Union from 1946 but survived to become the core of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1989. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's primate holds the title of Major Archbishop. The incumbent Major Archbishop of the Metropolis of Kyiv and Halych is Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
The Eastern Catholic Churches, being part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and act in response to the spiritual needs of their faithful. Oriental Catholic Churches, which desired to re-establish full communion with the See of Rome and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and obligations connected with this communion.
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Soviet war crimes and mass murder of POWs
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, or the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 to counter the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War. The Red Army provided the largest ground force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II.
During the Russian Civil War, many clerics were killed. Some died as a result of spontaneous violence and some were executed by state security services for supporting the White armies. The church claimed that 322 bishops and priests had been killed during the Revolution. Between June 1918 and January 1919, official church figures claimed that one metropolitan, eighteen bishops, one hundred and two priests, one hundred and fifty-four deacons, and ninety-four monks/nuns had been killed.
There was also widespread violence by members of the Red Army against the church. While this was not openly supported by Lenin, high-ranking Soviet officials later claimed central responsibility for these killings. They justified the violence by declaring that the church had been actively fighting against them.
During World War II, the Soviet Union committed various atrocities against prisoners of war (POWs). These actions were carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) and the Red Army. In some cases, the crimes were sanctioned or directly ordered by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet leadership. The Katyn massacre of 1940, for example, was a series of mass executions of over 20,000 Polish citizens, including 8,000 Polish Army officers. The massacre of Feodosia (1941-1942) involved the torture and murder of 160 wounded German soldiers. The torture, rape, and murder of 596 Axis POWs and civilians in the Grischino massacre of 1943 is another example of the mass murder of POWs.
In addition to the mass murder of POWs, the Red Army also committed mass rapes in occupied territories, especially in Germany. According to historian Antony Beevor, NKVD (Soviet secret police) files have revealed that the leadership knew what was happening but did little to stop it.
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Religious persecution in occupied territories
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, or simply the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The Red Army was involved in several armed conflicts, including the Islamic rebellion in Xinjiang in 1937 and the Second World War.
During the Russian Civil War, many clerics were killed. Some died as a result of spontaneous violence, while others were executed by state security services for supporting the White armies. The church claimed that 322 bishops and priests had been killed during the Revolution. Between June 1918 and January 1919, 1 metropolitan, 18 bishops, 102 priests, 154 deacons, and 94 monks/nuns were killed, according to official church figures.
The Red Army was responsible for widespread religious persecution in occupied territories. The Soviet government sought to exterminate all forms of organized religion, often persecuting Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, and Jewish communities. Soviet political police arrested numerous priests, who were then interrogated, deported, or even killed.
In addition to religious persecution, the Red Army also committed other war crimes, including mass rape, looting, and murder. These criminal acts occurred during and after World War II, targeting Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and German victims. The Soviet troops' actions were fueled by revenge and the abundance of alcohol in conquered territories.
The Soviet state also employed anti-religious propaganda, targeting the Vatican and forcibly merging Uniate churches with the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania.
Following World War II, war crimes trials in the Baltic states led to the prosecution of some Russians for crimes against humanity, including killings and deportations of civilians. However, the Russian government today engages in historical negationism, referring to Soviet crimes as a "Western myth" and altering or omitting these atrocities in history textbooks.
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Frequently asked questions
The Red Army, also known as the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The Red Army was responsible for the killing, looting, and raping of many civilians during and after World War II, particularly in Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Germany. While there is no specific mention of Catholics being killed, the Red Army did target religious groups, including Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The Soviet government sought to exterminate all forms of organized religion in its occupied territories, and the Red Army was complicit in this persecution.
The Red Army committed numerous war crimes, including mass rape, murder, and the deportation and execution of civilians. The exact number of deaths caused by the Red Army is unknown, but estimates range from 8.6 million to 11 million. In addition, the Red Army was responsible for the widespread destruction of property and cultural sites.
No, the Red Army's persecution was not limited to Catholics. The Soviet government, including the Red Army, sought to eradicate all forms of organized religion in the territories they occupied. This included the persecution and killing of Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Jews, in addition to Catholics.
The Red Army's actions were driven by a combination of factors, including revenge for the war waged against the Soviet Union, ideological atheism, and the influence of propaganda. The culture of shortage and deep sexual repression in Soviet Russia also contributed to the looting and sexual violence perpetrated by Red Army soldiers.
