THE SITUATION CHANGES

After Lenin’s death, the government intensified its attack against all religions. The year 1926 saw the forming of the League of the Militant Godless​—a name that aptly defined its goals. The ever-present atheistic propaganda was intended to root faith in God completely out of the minds and hearts of the people. In a short time, the spirit of atheism spread throughout the Soviet Union’s vast realm. In a letter to world headquarters, one Bible Student in Russia noted: “The youth are absorbing this spirit, which undoubtedly is a great hindrance to learning the truth.”

The League of the Militant Godless published atheistic literature, including a magazine called Antireligioznik. In 1928 the magazine declared: “Voronezh Oblast is rife with sects.”a Among others, it mentioned 48 “Students of the Holy Scriptures” whose “leaders were Zinchenko and Mitrofan Bovin.”

Meanwhile, the newly formed Soviet State’s attitude toward religion was unclear. Several government documents expressed a hope that religious groups would be assimilated into the Soviet workforce. In the years that followed, this hope became policy. It is important to understand that the Soviet government did not wish to kill Jehovah’s people; it battled to win minds and hearts. It sought to convince God’s people to conform, to coerce them into being exclusively loyal to the State. The last thing it wanted was for people to give their allegiance to Jehovah.