Religion in the Soviet Union, by Walter Kolarz

[p051] Religion in the Soviet Union. By Walter Kolarz. Macmillan, 50/-. The wealth of information which this book contains about the history and present position of the churches and sects to be found in the territory of the Soviet Union makes it an invaluable reference book. Kolarz writes as a believer who holds that ‘there is a thirst in the human being for the supernatural’ and thus as an opponent of all forms of materialism. He is also an enemy of the Soviet regime, which he _ identifies with Communism or Marxism. The mass of information which he assembles has therefore been selected and inter- preted in line with these presupposi- tions. It is true, of course, that Stalinism LABOUR REVIEW—Summer 1963 was not able to put an end to religion, for the very good reason that it was unable to create the material conditions for its dis- appearance or provide a satisfactory way of breaking down the influence of religious teaching. Whether as persecuted or half-toterated sects or as accepted instituiions the old religions, as well as some recent ones, have survived and even flourished in the Soviet Union. In any case, the Stalinist bureaucracy came to under- stand that the churches could, under certain conditions, be made to serve its purpose. The restoration of a privileged position to the main branch of Orthodoxy was accom- panied by the rise of the Stalin cult which itself owed much to the imagery of the Church. At the same time, there was no more faithful votary of this cult than the Orthodox clergy itself. Relations between the state and particular churches, such as the Armenian, have been dictated exclusively by oppor- tunist political considerations. While official ideologists preach atheism, it has become part of the whole dead creed which the bureaucracy requires to maintain its social rule. Kolarz is broadly right in sug- gesting that the decline in religious observance in the Soviet Union is probably no greater than it has been in a number of other countries in which industrialisation has taken place. The general secularisation which has taken place is scarcely greater than in many countries in which the bourgeoisie still rules. The great strongholds of religious belief remain in the rural areas and particularly in the more backward parts of the USSR. But it also wins adherents from the urban proletariat whose lives seem to be governed by the arbitrary whims of fate. The faults of Stalinist nationality policy have likewise contributed to the continued hold of national churches or religions in many regions. The persecution of believers has followed a political pattern and the regime has always been ready to tolerate, or even support, religion when it has seemed in its interests to do so, In short, the rule of the bureau- cracy, its oppressive and arbitrary methods, the privations imposed by its policy and its lack of principle in dealing with religions and religious people have, in practice, proved propitious for the survival of religion rather than for its disappearance. These facts, and not the universal need for faith or the actual vitality of religion, as Kolarz believes, account for his being able to find such a wealth of material to fill his book, despite all the difficulties in the way of obtaining such informa- tion. When Marxism is applied to the analysis of Soviet society, as well as to the religious ideas and institutions it secretes, the conclu- sion must be that for millions of Soviet citizens religion still provides a consolation for the heartless world of the here and now. Kolarz thinks that the lessons of his study for believers is that ‘the inability of the West to live up to religious standards is the surest means of allowing Communism to spread to other parts of the globe before it has fully spent its force in its country of origin’. Rather can it be said that religion has only survived in the Soviet Union because it is not yet a socialist society and that the desperate attempt of the churches in the capitalist world to adopt high-sounding social reform objectives cannot conceal the fact that the roots of their influence lie in the alienations men experience in the class-divided society to which they are inextricably bound. J.C. A new Labour Review pamphlet By LEON TROTSKY Culture and Socialism and Art and Revolution In the USSR today, a storm rages over problems of realism and ‘bourgeois ideology’ in art and literature. For many years the legacy of Stalinism has weighed heavily on a Marxist criticism of these questions. We reprint here a brilliant exposition of the general problem in 1926, and an appeal to revolutionary artists in 1938. Two shillings and Sixpence from New Park Publications Ltd., Printed by Plough Press Ltd. (T.U.), r/o 180 Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4

[p052] LIMITED PUBLICATIONS PARK NEW 7029 MACaulay S.W.4 London, Street, High Clapham 186A List Book Free Write for The New Course By Leon Trotsky A collection of articles written in 1923 during the lull before the great storm of persecution which was later to overwhelm Russian Bolshevism. Here Trotsky, analyses the incipient stages of the degeneration of the Communist Party, uncovers its causes and proposes measures for combating its further decline. He here analyses the party in a historical, that is dialectical way, the relationships between generations, social strata, groups, factional forma- tions, tradition and the multitude of factors that go to make a revolutionary party. 111 pages, 3/6 This document is a landmark in the development of 20th century Marxism. It sums up the experience of an entire period of struggle against the Soviet bureaucracy. This Platform also represents the highest point in the fortunes of the Joint Opposition (Trotskyist-Zinovievite) to Stalin. It is the programme of the last of the Bolshevik-Leninists who insisted that they remained communists despite all the per- secution, jailings, violence and slander inflicted on them. But this document also represents a watershed—the end of one phase and the beginning of another—in the evolution of Trotskyist politics. 112 pages, 5/- The Draft Programme of the Communist International by Leon Trotsky This is part of the author’s criticism of the draft programme submitted by the Executive Committee of the Third (Communist) International to the 6th Congress of the Comintern which was held in July 1928. The manuscript of that criticism was written by Trotsky during his exile in Alma-Ata (Central Asia). It was sent to the Congress in Moscow together with an appeal for reinstatement into the party from which he had been expelled a few months before by the Stalinist faction in 1927. Stalin and his supporters had invented the theory of ‘Socialism in one country’, which was made party policy in 1925 and converted into an article of faith to be defended by the world institutions of Stalinism. It is this theory which Trotsky criticises in these pages. 64 pages, 1/- This is a polemic against Radek in 1928. Trotsky examines the arguments against his pre-war theory of the permanent revolution (as expounded in Results and Prospects) and takes up the history of his differences with Lenin before 1917, of which Stalin and his henchmen made so much. _ Trotsky shows that it was Lenin’s criticisms of his attitude to the centralised Marxist party, which he afterwards understood and accepted, that kept them apart, and not their differences on the permanent revolution. 254 pages, 15/- soft cover, 25/- hard cover This is the basic programmatic document of the world The death agony Mi «movement founded by Leon Trotsky and his comrades. By mee §6=6«1938 the revolutionary Marxists had found it necessary to capitalism weemmeem lay the foundations of the Fourth International in order to ‘ restore working-class leadership after the defeats prepared by and the ‘ the Stalinist bureaucracy in control of the Third (Communist) . International. The defeat of the German Revolution in tasks of the 1923, of the British General Strike in 1926, and of the Chinese Revolution in 1927, followed by Hitler’s victory over the German working class in 1933, finally ruled out the Ath Intervational wercmemmrcrmmcces perspective of transforming the Communist International : by internal opposition. 60 pages, 1/-

[p053] A es and long out of print arxist classic— REVOLUTION Injreprinting this book, which has become a rarity, a valuable servite is being rendered to the working-class movements and to students of politics. Need- — less {to say, while Morrow’s work has so well withstood the test of time there is not a single part jof the voluminous litera- ture [produced by the Stalinists which could be reprinted today = without courting ridicule. question of the forth- comihg Spanish revolution remains posed. The crisis of the leadership still has to be . solved. In the meantime, the Communist Party, still able to convince many that it is a revolutionary party, prepares new /betrayals. In keeping with the [policy of ‘peaceful co- exist¢nce’ and the parliamentary g roadt—as though there can be a peaceful path in totalitarian [ in Spain! —it preaches ‘national reconciliation’. in a| broad coalition to restore ‘dempcracy’ in Spain. It there- . fore| repeats, for the present b F. / M period, precisely the same role yy e IX or ro W that [it played in 1936-39. A study of this book can forearm against such a policy, a policy which can only lead the workers and peasants of Spain to fresh defeats. It |is willing to collaborate with| all and sundry, including r supporters of Franco, 238 pages, maps. Available in soft covers at 15/- and hard covers at 25/-. Orders to: New Park Publications Ltd, 186A Clapham High St, London $.W.4

[p054] A rare and long cut of prime arxist classic— REVOLUTION Injreprinting this book, which has become a rarity, a valuable servite is being rendered to the working-class movements and to students of politics. Need- to say, while Morrow’s work) has so well withstood the test of time there is not a single part |of the voluminous litera- ture [produced by the Stalinists which could be reprinted today = without courting ridicule. I question of the forth- comihg Spanish revolution remains posed. The crisis of the Jeadership still has to be solved. In the meantime, the Communist Party, still able tc convince many that it is a less revolutionary party, prepares new |betrayals. In keeping with the |policy of ‘peaceful co- a road{—as though there can be a pepeeful path in totalitarian Spain! it preaches ‘national reconciliation’. is willing to collaborate with] all and sundry, including former supporters of Franco, broad coalition to restore ‘dempcracy’ in Spain. It there- fore} repeats, for the present b F. lj M peridd, precisely the same role yy e 1X orrow that Jit played in 1936-39. A study of this book can forearm against such a policy, a policy which can only lead the workers and peasants of Spain to fresh defeats. 238 pages, maps. Available in soft covers at 15/- and hard covers at 25/-. Orders to: New Park Publications Ltd, 186A Clapham High St, London $.W.4