THE HISTORY OF ORTHODOXY IN THE ARTICLES OF THE «YEARBOOK» OF THE STATE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGION AND ATHEISM OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR

Nowadays the theme of the scientist’s place in the situation of ideological restrictions and censorship is still relevant. So, from this point of view, it is very important to speak about humanities in the USSR and separate propaganda and scientific research. Despite the politicization of the discourse, not all religious studies of the Soviet period were the product of agitation and propaganda of atheism. Materials on the history of Orthodoxy in the «Yearbook» of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism are considered as an example of a scientific approach. The aim of this research is to determine the main topics and directions of research on the history of Orthodoxy in articles of periodical «Yearbook» of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. Being an important part of the scientific potential of the St. Petersburg school of religious studies, the «Yearbook» covered topical issues on the history of religion in articles by the classics of Russian religious studies. The author uses the method of analytical study of sources and the method of comparative historical analysis to study the problem. As a result, we can conclude that, 1) depending on the object of research, the articles can be divided into thematic groups, 2) and the «Yearbook» itself was the personification of the creative and scientific work of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This suggests that we can look at Soviet religious studies through the wall of propaganda and discover science itself.