Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews eISSN: 2395-6518, Vol 7, No 4, 2019, pp 390-393 https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.7451 390 |www.hssr.in © Belyaeva et al. FROM CONFRONTATION TO A DIALOGUE: THE DYNAMICS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE STATE (1917-1980) Evguenia Belyaeva 1* , Lyubov Chumarova 2 , Bulat Fakhrutdinov 3 , Anastasia Fakhrutdinova 4 1 Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, 2 Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, 3 Postgraduate, 4 Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Kazan Federal University, Russia. Email: * zhenchum@gmail.com, chumarova@yandex.ru, avfach@mail.ru, avfach@mail.ru Article History: Received on 15 th July 2019, Revised on 30 th August 2019, Published on 18 th September 2019 Abstract Purpose of the Study: The aim of the research is to study the tendencies and potential of the church-state relationship at a critical juncture of the great political transformations. An objective need to analyze the past experience of church-state interrelations in Russia and to identify social and cultural role of church as the embodiment of religion served as the incentive for the present study. The article considers church-state relationship under the Soviet regime, the tragedy of their coexistence, reflected in a strong opposition, oppression and almost complete liquidation of the church, and, as a result, its accommodation in relations with the government within that period. Methodology: The authors used philosophical analysis of the church-state interaction, historicism and comparison principles enabling to consider its dynamics and evolution trends within the defined period. The researchers make the presumption that church-state relationship should be maintained on a cultural dialogue and cooperation basis in contrast with prior politicizing it. Result: The authors prove the provision that state performs not only external social function of organization and subjugation, but, in fact, defines moral criteria of living as a community of like-minded individuals. The conclusion about purely utilitarian and politicized perception of the social position of the church by Soviet state is drawn. Implications: Theoretical implication of the study is promotion of the further research and development in the direction due to the methods used in the study. The material can also be used within university courses on history, culture theory, cultural studies and sociology of religion, history of world religions. Novelty: The novelty of the study is manifested in introducing of expanded concepts of church and state in the context of their interaction into scientific circulation. Keywords: church-state relationship, freedom of faith, cooperation, separation, oppression, patriarch, Bolsheviks, religious, secular. INTRODUCTION In the following the Synod Era of Peter I 200 years of the church’s existence in the Russian state, it had been experiencing deepening pressure from the state power, and was almost deprived of self-government. However, Orthodoxy, as the religion and ideology of the Russian people, remained a leading force in the spiritual life (Fakhrutdinova, Mefodeva , Makhmutova, 2017 ), and Russian emperors served as its defenders and patrons. Despite the fact that the state authorities breached the principle of ‘symphony of powers’, Russian Orthodox Church sought to maintain and strengthen it. It is of crucial importance to understand the atmosphere of the break moment in church-state interaction and the implications leading to the reorientation in society’s thinking. By the end of the XIX – beginning of the ХХ century there had been various views on the issue of religion and freedom of faith in Russia. As S.I. Odintsov (Odintsov, 1991 ) points out in his monograph, liberal intellectuals argued in favour of the reformation of the church-state relationship, overcoming the feudal legacy (Arzhantseva, Gilmutdinova, Nikolaeva, Yamshanova, 2017 ) in the religious policy of the state, though not supporting a complete separation of church from the state. The Tzar Government and state Orthodox Church strived to continue the alliance, and, finally, Socialist movement, gaining power, especially the Bolsheviks, upholder the principle of separation of church from the state and school from church. The events that took place in 1917, turned around not only economical, political and cultural life in Russia, but also the existing order of church-state relations up to the end of the Soviet rule with a dominant ‘cuius regio, eius religio’ (subjects should follow the religion of their ruler) manifested in forcing the church be capitulating and consistent with the new state policy. According to A.N. Berdyaev in his work “The origins and meaning of the Russian communism” (Berdyaev, 2016 ), Soviet power was sacred and considered the church to be a dangerous competitor. The controversial issue of the church-state interaction attracts attention of historians, theologians, and philosophers. The greatest number of latest works are devoted to the history of church-state relationship: monographs by V.A. Alekseev, A. Nikolin, M.I. Odintsov (Alekseev, 1992 ; Nikolin,1997 ; Odintsov, 1989 ) and others. The Russian religious philosophers