Sergienko V. Orthodox communities of Poltava region in the state policy and Soviet sociocultural environment (mid 1940s – mid 1960s)

The object of the study is the Soviet state policy in the sphere of state-confessional relations in the mid 1940s – mid 1960s. in relation to the Orthodox Church and religious communities. The subject of the study is the position of the Orthodox communities of Poltava region under the conditions of the shifting emphasis of the anti-religious strategy in the context of the transformation of state policy and ideological markers of the socio-cultural space of Soviet Ukraine. The aim of the work is a study and analysis of Orthodox religious communities` and believers` position through the prism of political-state policy and soviet sociocultural values about religion, religious organizations and believers in epoch of late Stalinism and Khrushchev's “thaw”. The results of the study: based on a wide range of sources, a comprehensive analysis of the situation of Orthodox communities in the context of the transformation of the model of state-confessional relations in the mid 1940s – mid 1960s was carried out. The theoretical foundations and practice of implementing a new course of party-state leadership in the field of state-confessional relations at the regional level were investigated. The process of establishing a system of control over the activities of religious communities through state and public bodies was reconstructed. The conclusion about the invariability of the Soviet state course to oust religion from the socio-cultural everyday life of the population of Poltava region was substantiated. The state of religiosity of the population of Poltava region and its socio-demographic, age, educational characteristics was analyzed. Scope of application: development of training courses, preparation of general works on the modern history of Ukraine, the history of the Poltava region; in historical and regional studies; creation and addition of museum expositions.