Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency JPRS translation reproduces an interview published in the Soviet journal Sotsiologicheskiye Issledovaniya, signed to press on 8 July 1988. In it, deputy chief editor Gennadiy Batygin talks with Innokentiy, a teacher at the Leningrad seminary. The conversation takes place during the millennium of the Christianization of Russia. They discuss religion under glasnost and perestroyka, ideological prohibitions, the shortage of Bibles, preservation of church monuments and the position of believers in Soviet society. The document contains no UFO material.
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## Document 2 of 3 Page 8 Here: 'The fourth direction (for myself, let me add: I as a Christian and an Orthodox theologian follow this direction) unearths and restores the old Orthodox times. Not only what is artistically beautiful (on which there is no argument, it is essential) but everything Orthodox, 'sacred.' And for this we count from 1917. It really was a turning point, including for the 'sacred'; it really did 'cut the ground away' from under the 'sacred.' And if Orthodoxy is regarded as our history then, yes, this history was indeed cut away from under, and rightly so.' This was written not in the years of repression but today, in the period of perestroyka. 27. Forgive me for such an extensive quote, but I want to show you that the ''ideology of cutting the ground away'' is also well known to our generation. As if someone has a supreme prerogative to show people what can be ''unearthed'' in history and what cannot, a prerogative to sort out the historical past into the ''beautiful'' and the ''old Orthodox times.'' 28. Here is another example testifying at least to the lack of understanding of religious culture. Early this year the draft "'Provisions on Procedure for Publishing Books, Brochures and Publications by Authors'" was published. To some it seems a bold step in the direction of democratization. But see how deeply the stereotypes have eaten into the consciousness. The author cannot use his own facilities to publish books "'propagandizing war, violence, national dissension, racial or national exclusivity, or religious-mystical doctrines at variance with the principles of communist morality and ethics." This list speaks for itself through the commas. Religious-philosophical literature is set side by side with works at variance with constitutional principles. The present Constitution permits absolutely all citizens to confess their own faith and religious propaganda (despite a widely held opinion) is nowhere banned by present legislation. But freedom for atheistic propaganda has long since become the "'talk of the town." 29. [Batygin] Permit me, but various religious organizations have the opportunity to make use of state printing houses... 30. [Innokentiy] And have you seen many publications put out by religious organizations, or tried to acquire them? 31. [Batygin] I saw the church calendar in your office, but I have not tried to acquire a Bible, or rather ''get hold'' of one from a speculator. 32. [Innokentiy] Meanwhile the publishing section of the Moscow Patriarchy has no opportunity to provide Orthodox Christians even with a church calendar.
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 19 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.