{"product_id":"a-sacred-space-is-never-empty-a-history-of-soviet-atheism-9780691197234","title":"A Sacred Space Is Never Empty: A History of Soviet Atheism","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the Bolsheviks set out to build a new world in the wake of the Russian Revolution, they expected religion to die off. Soviet power used a variety of tools--from education to propaganda to terror--to turn its vision of a Communist world without religion into reality. Yet even with its monopoly on ideology and power, the Soviet Communist Party never succeeded in overcoming religion and creating an atheist society. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Sacred Space Is Never Empty\u003c\/i\u003e presents the first history of Soviet atheism from the 1917 revolution to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and in-depth interviews with those who were on the front lines of Communist ideological campaigns, Victoria Smolkin argues that to understand the Soviet experiment, we must make sense of Soviet atheism. Smolkin shows how atheism was reimagined as an alternative cosmology with its own set of positive beliefs, practices, and spiritual commitments. Through its engagements with religion, the Soviet leadership realized that removing religion from the \"sacred spaces\" of Soviet life was not enough. Then, in the final years of the Soviet experiment, Mikhail Gorbachev--in a stunning and unexpected reversal--abandoned atheism and reintroduced religion into Soviet public life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Sacred Space Is Never Empty\u003c\/i\u003e explores the meaning of atheism for religious life, for Communist ideology, and for Soviet politics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11383877\"\u003eVictoria Smolkin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/29\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 360\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.10w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691197234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691197237\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS032000\"\u003eRussia | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL004000\"\u003eAtheism\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL033000\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVictoria Smolkin\u003c\/b\u003e is assistant professor of history at Wesleyan University.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44300593987821,"sku":"9780691197234","price":58.58,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_53c0bf84-d0b6-4909-a2f0-9c28ef974d5d.jpg?v=1697389166","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/a-sacred-space-is-never-empty-a-history-of-soviet-atheism-9780691197234","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}