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[YEAR RUN] Bezvirnyk [i.e. Non-Believer. Popular scientific anti-religious biweekly periodical of Central Committee of Militant Anti-Believers of Ukraine]. NN 1-24

Item #2635

Kharkiv: Persha drukarnia DVU, 1930. Typical issue - 48 pages. 26x17,5 cm. Later half-leather bindings. The 1930s stamp of the of party education office on wrapper of number 11. All wrappers,
front and rear, are preserved under bindings, except for front wrapper of number 12. Rear wrapper of number 11 is restored. Occasional foxing throughout, but overall in very good condition.

Year run of the main Ukrainian anti-religious magazine of interwar period, that existed between 1925 to 1935. The structure of the magazine is similar to its Russian counter-part ‘Bezhbozhnik’: the articles on socialpolitical topics included the news on forming of shock brigade for anti-religious propaganda, the articles of the activist on what went wrong (or right) in the last year’s anti-Christmas and anti-Easter campaigns, the role of the doctor in explaining the ‘truth’ about the religion to the masses. The articles on the historic and ethnographical topic inclined the interesting essays on anti-religious work in pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, for example how in revolution of 1905 in Poltava region the local priests told on the revolutionaries to the authorities. The articles on the history of islam and Baptists are also included, as well as on history of Jewish religious holidays. The scientific section offered the masses the chance to look at the problem from psychiatric and evolutional point of view. The section on the news from abroad showcased the bad examples of religious practices in the capitalist countries. The chronicle offered a valuable information which churches and monasteries throughout Ukraine were planned to be demolished, in the section ‘in the black camp’ articles were dedicated to the different sects in USSR and abroad. From this section one can learn a bit about the religious resistance in USSR in late 1920s.
Some of the most prolific authors of the periodical included Mariya Zhurakovskaya, with articles like ‘Woman is a slave of religious haze in USA’ and ‘Religious and anti-religious sport’; I.Gaibov, who has
written a number of articles on the essence of the soul from psychological point of view and L.Sarne, who has written on the church in Latin America, as well articles against Labour Party in UK, who was, according to the author, conspiring with the church against the working class.
The atheism was set as one of the key components of the Soviet man’s worldview. The period of the 1920s is characterized by relative freedom for atheist organizations. In 1929, a circular “On Measures
Strengthening Anti-religious Work” marked the moment when the propaganda had come under direction of the Communist Party. The existed godless editions were declared weak and insufficient for the mass campaign. The situation had reached the crisis point – the printed media had to change the content and style of texts. Bezvirnyk was one of the few atheistic periodicals from 1920s, that managed to make it into the 1930s.

Extremely rare. Apart from separate issues of this year held at Illinois University Library, no other issues from the year 1930 are found on the Worldcat.

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