Religious buildings in Barnaul in the context of changes in State and Confessional policy in the XX — the early XXI Century

Abstract

The article deals with the state's policy towards religion in the XX — the early XX century in relation to the main churches of Barnaul belonging to religious organizations of various faiths, during the USSR and the Russian Federation. The list of objects considered is represented by churches and temples that existed at the beginning of the XX century, primarily based on the city map data from 1907. Comparing information about the subsequent use of religious buildings, in the context of the state-confessional policy of the XX — the early XX century, the number of churches that were purposefully destroyed during the anti-religious campaign was revealed, as well as options for using the buildings of former churches after their closure. The subsequent fate of the former buildings of religious worship after 1991 — the collapse of the USSR, when changing the state's policy towards religion, is considered separately.

According to the findings, most of the temple buildings were closed due to the inability of the communities to maintain them on their own, subsequently and by the decision of the authorities, being used for third-party needs. The very attitude to the objects in question in the Soviet period can be characterized as utilitarian. The buildings were not perceived as valuable cultural monuments until the end of the 80s of the XX century, when the process of including the buildings of former churches in the list of cultural objects begins and their transfer to the ownership of religious organizations, with the difficulties with which this restitution was carried out.