Destruction of Church

A moving video of the destruction of a Church in the 1930s under Stalin's communist regime:



Here is the text accompanying the video: lest we forget:

Persecution of Christians in Atheist Soviet Union

The most oppressive and human-killing regime's have been when Atheists have taken over governments. Nevertheless, atheists claim that people of faith are to blame for mass amounts of people's lives being taken. This is not based on facts. In the past century, Atheism forced its beliefs on people of faith or simply slaughtered hundreds of millions of them.

Russian Atheist Government Atrocities:
The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools. The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the 1920s and 1930s was the Russian Orthodox Church, which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly all of its clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent to labor camps. Theological schools were closed, and church publications were prohibited.

The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools.

Actions against Orthodox priests and believers along with execution included torture being sent to prison camps, labour camps or mental hospitals. Christians were also subjected to psychological punishment or torture and mind control experimentation in order to force them give up their religious convictions.

Many Christian believers in the Soviet Union were imprisoned for no other reason than believing in God. Many have recently been canonized as saints following their death at the hands of Soviet authorities.

An intense ideological anti-Christian campaign was carried out throughout the history of the Soviet Union. An extensive education and propaganda campaign was undertaken to convince people, especially the children and youth, not to become believers. The role of the Christian religion and the Church was painted in black colors in school textbooks

School students were encouraged to taunt and use peer pressure against classmates wearing crosses or otherwise professing their faith. In the 1920s there were many "anti-God" publications and social clubs sponsored by the government, most notably the scathingly satirical "Godless at the Workbench" (безбожник).

Criticism of atheism in the Soviet Union was strictly forbidden and could lead to imprisonment. Anti-religious propaganda was openly sponsored and encouraged by the government, which the Church was not given an opportunity to publicly respond to. The government youth organization, the Komsomol, encouraged its members to vandalize Orthodox Churches and harass worshippers. Source: Википедия