[icheerthebull]

The images below are from the Soviet anti-religious magazine, Bezbozhnik, which translates to “Atheist” or “The Godless.” It ran from 1922 to 1941, and its daily edition, “The Godless at the Workplace,” ran from 1923 to 1931. The scathing publication was founded by the League of Militant Atheists, an organization of the Soviet Communist Party members, members of its youth league, workers and veterans, so while it was in many ways a party project, it was not state-sponsored satire.

The Soviet Union adopted a formal position of state-atheism after the revolution but it wasn’t a clean break. The expropriation of church property and the murder or persecution of clergy was certainly the most obvious supplantation of power, but the USSR was a giant mass of land, most of it rural and much of it pious, so the cultural crusade against religion was an ongoing campaign for the hearts and minds of citizens who might resist a sudden massive secularization. The monstrous, violent art you see below depicted religion as the enemy of the worker and footman to capitalism. You’ll notice a wide array of religions depicted, as the USSR was very religiously diverse.

Cover to Bezbozhnik, Godless (1923)

Depicting Muhammad, the Christian god, and a Jewish Kabbalist. Despite the ethnic cartoons, the founder and majority of staff were Jewish.

Mocking the “piety” of racist America with the title, “God’s country”


The Pope, with Jesus and the Bible astride a cannon, aimed at the 35 million European unemployed


Jesus, dumped like so much industrial waste


Deities getting smooshed by a Five Year Plan


Even Buddha gets his share of hate


God is responsible for plagues


the Union of the Tatar Godless chasting out the imams


Luring the people to church with music


A soldier literally skewering god. The books under his arm read “Lenin” and “Technology.”


Bolshevik depiction of the Prophet Mohammed slyly duping the Muslim populations of the Caucasus regions

[Feirefiz]

Apparently, not everything was bad in the USSR.

[Kanda444]

very good post!! state adopted atheism isnt something i support... it can lead to some horrific outcomes.

[30564U]

Interesting art style...much different than the style used for the more patriotic type posters and statutes.

[peema]

Originally Posted by Feirefiz ↗

Apparently, not everything was bad in the USSR.

Yes, killing people for their religious convictions was profoundly progressive! Sheesh....

[Kelseecat65]

Interesting!!

[Feirefiz]

Originally Posted by peema ↗

Yes, killing people for their religious convictions was profoundly progressive! Sheesh....

Of course it was (and still is).
Just think about a world without religious ignorance, terrorism, califates and...god!
I would like it much better.

[fapfapfap]

Originally Posted by Feirefiz ↗

Of course it was (and still is).
Just think about a world without religious ignorance, terrorism, califates and...god!
I would like it much better.

It must be nice to believe so simply about it. If you were to actually study the history of atheism in the last few hundred years, you'd find out that it's not that simple.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the new crowd of modern atheists, who all somehow think that anti-religiousness is some kind of new idea that they've all discovered because they're so much smarter than everyone else, have very little desire to study history. Because when they do, it makes it difficult to view things as so simplistically black and white, and makes it that much harder for them to be smug about how enlightened they feel.

[el_topo]

Excellent artwork, I dig this kind of stuff