- Supported and promoted by government until October revolution- Bolsheviks declared separation of church and state- 1st time the church did not have state backing- caught in crossfire of civil war, many church leaders supported the white army- soviet government viewed church as counter revolutionary- Soviet Union officially claimed religious tolerance but in practice the government discouraged religion and did much to remove it.- under communist rule orthodox, priests and believers were tortured, sent to prison camps, labor camps or mental hospitals the executed.- In the first 5 years of the Bolsheviks revolution 28 bishops and 120 priests died - After Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941 Joseph Stalin reestablished the church to create patriotism

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