Chernivtsi party apparatus and religious revival of Bukovyna at the end of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s

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Chernivtsi party apparatus and religious revival of Bukovyna at the end of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s

Vasyl Chura

PhD hab. (History), Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Historical Local Lore, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, 1 University Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Yurii KAHANOV

PhD hab. (History), Vice-Rector for Scientific and Academic Affairs, Professor of the Department of Modern History of Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia National University, 66 Zhukovskoho Street, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine

Abstract

The Purpose of the Research. Scientific research reconstructs little-known events related to the peculiarities of the religious "renaissance” of the northern part of Bukovyna in the second half of the 80s - at the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century, which was the part of the UkrSSR and the USSR from 1940 and 1944 till 1991. Reproduction of the religious revival dynamics is presented through the prism of its communist reception, based on the latent but sympathetic attitude of the pro- Russian Communist Party leadership of Chernivtsi region to the Russian Orthodox Church and the party leadership's complete rejection of the national Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCCh) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOCh). The Methodology of the Research. The verification of Chernivtsi Communist Party's negative reception of the religious revival of the national churches has been done in accordance with the principle of historical objectivity. Methods of critical and structural analysis and classification, systematization of unpublished archival sources have been used in the research. The conclusions have been drawn based on documents from three regional archives, as well as the pages of communist and national periodicals and interviews with participants. The novelty of the research is that for the first time in the Ukrainian historical science the analysis of the causes and consequences of a dual reception of Chernivtsi party apparatus of the religious situation in the region, due to the party apparatus subordination to Moscow Central Committee of the CPSU, which considered the Russian Orthodox Church (ROCh) as one of the tools for instilling the Russian mentality in the annexed Ukrainian lands. Such analysis made it possible to introduce into scientific circulation a new archival documentary base, which was not previously made public to a wide range of researchers. The Conclusions. In historical science, there is a hypothesis about the selectivity of the Soviet, and therefore Russian, communist doctrine of "militant atheism" as a complete and irrevocable denial of faith in God. Such double standards were evident for the Soviet power during critical period, when, in order to survive, it consciously deviatedfrom its own postulates and adapted them to the demands of time. The last in the "queue" of these manifestations was the period when the CPSU-CPU exhausted itself as the ideological core of the state and the USSR - as a geopolitical object. Then, on the instructions of Moscow, Chernivtsi local party apparatus illustrated the favourable attitude to the ROCh, subsidized magnificent celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus-Ukraine in the Orthodox- Russian format and exercised an uncompromising attitude towards the UGCCh and the UAOCh and the Protestant churches, guided not by religious but political circumstances.

Key words: religious revival, the CPSU-CPU, Chernivtsi party apparatus, national and democratic movement, statehood, Ukraine.

Василь ЧУРА

доктор історичних наук, доцент, професор кафедри історичного краєзнавства Львівського національного університету імені Івана Франка, вул. Університетська, 1, м. Львів, Україна

Юрій КАГАНОВ

доктор історичних наук, професор, проректор з науково-педагогічної роботи, професор кафедри новітньої історії України Запорізького національного університету, вул. Жуковського, 66, м. Запоріжжя, Україна

ЧЕРНІВЕЦЬКИЙ ПАРТАПАРАТ І РЕЛІГІЙНЕ ВІДРОДЖЕННЯ БУКОВИНИ НА ЗЛАМІ 80-90-х рр. ХХ ст.

Анотація

Мета дослідження. Наукова розвідка реконструює маловідомі події,пов'язані з особливостям релігійного "ренесансу" північної частини Буковини у другій половині 80 - початку 90-х рр. ХХ ст., яка входила до складу УРСР й СРСР від 1940 й 1944 рр. до 1991 р. Відтворення динаміки релігійного відродження подано крізь призму його комуністичної рецепції, що ґрунтувалась на хоча й латентному, але прихильному ставленні проросійського компартійного керівництва Чернівецької області до Російської Православної Церкви та його цілковитому несприйнятті національних Української Греко-КатолицькоїЦеркви та Української Автокефальної Православної Церкви. Методологія дослідження. Верифікація негативного сприймання компартійним керівництвом Чернівеччини релігійного відродження національних церков відбувалася із дотриманням принципу історичної об'єктивності. Під час здійснення дослідження було застосовано методи критичного й структурного аналізу й класифікації, систематизації неопублікованих архівних джерел. Висновки базувались на документах трьох обласних архівів, а також сторінках комуністичних і національних періодичних видань та матеріалах інтерв'ю із учасниками подій. Наукова новизна статті полягає у тому, що вперше в українській історичній науці здійснено аналіз причин та наслідків двоякого сприйняття чернівецьким партапаратом релігійного становища регіону, внаслідок його підпорядкованості московському ЦК КПРС, що розглядав РПЦ як один із інструментів насадження російської ментальності в анексованих ним українських землях. Такий розгляд уможливило уведення до наукового обігу нової архівної документальної бази, яка раніше не була оприлюдненою для широкого кола наукових дослідників. Висновки. В історичній науці існує гіпотеза про вибірковість радянської, а відтак російської комуністичної доктрини "войовничого атеїзму" як цілковитого і безповоротного заперечення віри у Бога. Такі подвійні стандарти помітно виявляли себе у критичні для радянської влади часи, коли з метою власного виживання вона свідомо відступала від власних постулатів й пристосовувала їх до вимог часу. Останнім у "черзі" цих проявів був період, коли КПРС-КПУ вичерпала себе як ідеологічний стрижень держави та СРСР - як геополітичний об'єкт. Тоді за московською вказівкою місцевий чернівецький партапарат ілюстрував прихильне ставлення до РПЦ, субсидіював пишне відзначення 1000-ліття хрещення Київської Русі-України у православно-російському форматі й здійснював непримиренне ставлення до УГКЦ й УАПЦ та протестантських церков, керуючись не релігійною, а політичною кон'юнктурою.

Ключові слова: релігійне відродження, КПРС-КПУ, чернівецький партапарат, національно- демократичний рух, державність, Україна.

The Problem Statement. One of the regions of Ukraine, where at the end of the Soviet Union, the religious situation was marked by a number of features was Bukovyna, as the Ukrainian territory, which was almost the last one to experience the Soviet annexation at the end of World War II. This northern part of the Ukrainian historical region became the part of the UkrSSR and the USSR twice: on June 28, 1940 and on August 7, 1944. It was named Chernivtsi region with the administrative center in Chernivtsi and was the smallest in territorial production complex of the western region of the Republic (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Encyclopedic reference book, 1986, р. 464).

In the second half of the 80s of the XXth century its area was 8,1 thousand square km., which was 1,6% of the national territory. Its administrative and territorial structure consisted of 11 districts, 10 cities (1 - republican subordination), 9 urban-type settlements and 207 villages (State Committee of the Ukrainian SSR for Statistics, 1989, p. 13). The largest districts were Storozhynetsky (1.2 thousand sq. km.), Vyzhnytsky (0.9 thousand sq. km.) and Putylskyi (0.8 thousand sq. km.) Districts. In Chernivtsi region 938 thousand people lived, which was 1,8% of the total population of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. 42% of urban residents and 58% of rural residents lived there. Quite interestingly, the share of the former was 20% in 1939, and in 1979 - 38%. Such dynamics was not always due to the expedient Soviet industrialization of the region, which resulted in the urbanization of this long-standing agrarian region.

It is noteworthy that since 1960 the number of inhabitants of the region increased irregularly. In 1960 - 1970 the natural increase was 71,000, in 1970 - 1980 - 135,000, and in 1980 - 1990 - 48,000. Such decline was motivated by a certain “provincialism” of Chernivtsi region. This smallest region was located on the outskirts of the Republic and fell behind concerning the pace of socio-economic development against its general background. In addition to it, the mass emigration of a fairly large Jewish population of the region was added, which was partially allowed by the communist leadership of the country in the 70s of the XXth century due to a significant pressure on it by the international Jewish community and Helsinki Declaration of 1975. (State Committee of the Ukrainian SSR for Statistics, 1989, pp. 14-15).

About 85 nationalities lived in the region. Naturally, the largest in number was the autochthonous Ukrainian population, which numbered 667 thousand people, or 70,8% of the population of the region. However, over the past ten years, its number increased by only 0,6%. The second largest nationality was represented by the Romanians - 100 thousand inhabitants, or 10,7% of the local population. The number of the Moldovans was 85 thousand inhabitants, or 9%, the Russians - 63 thousand people, or 6,7%, the Jews - 16 thousand, or 1,8%, the Poles - 5 thousand, or 0,5%, the Belarusians - 2 thousand (Ministry of Statistics of Ukraine. Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Department of Statistics, 1991, p. 14).

The city of Chernivtsi as a regional administrative centre occupied an area of 20 square meters km. There lived 257 thousand citizens, the number of which over the past ten years increased by 37 thousand inhabitants. 157,000 workers and employees were involved in its economic complex. They worked at such key industrial enterprises as VO “Bukovyna”, “Trembita”, “Quartz”, “Voskhod”, “Cheremosh”, “Electronmash”, “Construction Materials”, F. Dzerzhynskyi Machine-Building Plant, “Metalist”, “Industry”, Yu. Fedkovych Factory. There were 74 production associations, 505 retail outlets and 411 catering establishments in the city. The share of urban industry in the total regional industrial volume was 74%, which indicated a significant concentration of factories and plants in the regional center. The leading place was occupied by the food industry - 32% of the total and light - 26%.

The educational network of the city included 2 higher educational institutions with thousand students, 12 technical schools - 11 thousand, 16 vocational schools -thousand, 47 schools - 35 thousand students. The social infrastructure of the city consisted of 57 libraries, 12 hotels, 5 museums and 2 theaters. families. Medical institutions were represented by 18 hospitals with 6,000 beds and 60 clinics. In 1980 there were 16 thousand people enlisted in the queue for housing, in 1985 - 18 thousand, in 1988 - 25 thousand (State Statistics Committee of the USSR. Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Department of Statistics. City Department of Statistics, 1991, pp. 3-80).

The entire economic complex of Chernivtsi was controlled by the Russian Comunist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and its Ukrainian unit, the Comunist Party Of Ukraine (CPU). Chernivtsi regional party organization started its functioning on August 20, 1940 (Essays on the history of the Chernivtsi party organization, 1981, p. 38). Almost half a century later, in 1985 its number was 42 thousand party members in 1986 - 44 thousand, in 1987 - 45 thousand, in 1988 - 46 thousand, in 1989 - 45 thousand, in 1990 - 40 thousand in 1991 - 37 thousand communists. It comprised about 5% of the region's population. According to the national division, the Communist Party was divided into 69% of the Ukrainians, 15% of the Russians, 5% of the Romanians, 5% of the Moldovans, and 3% of the Jews. In terms of social composition, there were 36% of workers, 24% of peasants, 40% of employees. 34% of the CPSU members had higher education. They were united in 1,387 primary organizations, 960 guilds and 1,734 party groups. The administrative party structure was headed by 1 Regional Committee, 4 City Committees and 10 District Committees of the party (State Archives of Chernivtsi region - SAChR, f. 1, d. 5, c. 127, pp. 37-80).

The dominant status of Chernivtsi party nomenclature was due to its high financial level. The regional party budget amounted to 4 million karbovantsiv and consisted of 3 million karbovantsiv monthly party contributions, 300 thousand karbovantsiv revenues from party periodicals and 100 thousand karbovantsiv from other sources. If average Soviet citizen earned 100 to 200 karbovantsiv, the salary of the nomenklatura ranged from 300 to 600 karbovatsiv (SAChR, f. 1, d. 5, c. 322, p. 8).

The purpose of the research is to find out the features of the religious “renaissance” of Chernivtsi region of the Ukrainian SSR in the second half of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s of the XXth century and to identify the policy of the local communist party apparatus on religious issues during this period. It is known that the ideological core of the USSR was the communist doctrine adapted by the Bolsheviks, the social doctrine was invented by the dominant workers and peasants union, the national one was internationalism with a camouflaged Russian core, the economic one was unviable planned economy, and the religious one was militant atheism, as a complete denial of the faith of God in any of its formats. The synthesis of these components in symbiosis with the security forces ensured the total control of the Russian party apparatus over the country's polyethnic citizens - the residents of the neighbouring territories annexed by the Russians. It turned them into disenfranchised executors of the will of Moscow party nomenklatura, including at the level of religious affiliation.

However, the communist doctrine rejected the Christian doctrine, the party leaders supported the Russian Orthodox Church secretly because, in the Communist Party's vision, it was an expression of the spiritual unity of the Slavic peoples, and that suited Moscow government at critical stages of the Soviet rule. The activities of the always nationally oriented the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church were banned. In different years, but with the same result, the clergy and parishioners, as well as the churches and property of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCCh) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOCh), were subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROCh). Therefore, Bukovyna was considered the Russian-Orthodox, which naturally led to contradictions among believers of the Christian denominations, especially in the region where they clashed territorially against the background of a complex historical past.

The Analysis of Recent Researches and Publications. Due to the fact that this issue was not yet the subject of sufficient scientific analysis, previous historical research works mostly concerned the political, socio-economic and religious development of Bukovyna in the XIXth - the first half of the XXth century. Numerous eminent Bukovynian historians worked in this sphere such as: A. Zhukovskyi (Zhukovskyi, 1991, p. 127), T Bryndzan (Kvitkovskyi, Bryndzan & Zhukovskyi, 2021, p. 988), O. Dobrzhanskyi, V Staryk, (Dobrzhanskyi & Staryk, 1998, p. 416), V. Botushanskyi, H. Chaika (Botushanskyi & Chaika, 2009, p. 384). However, in the scientific research woks of the Ukrainian historians there was ignored such a crucial segment of the Bukovynian retrospective as the participation of the patriotic public in the anti-communist movement of the second half of the 80s - the beginning of the 90s of the XXth century. This issue caused the author's interest.

The Results of the Research. A selective attitude of the communists to the issue of religious freedom in the USSR was one of the reasons for the rapid and not always peaceful religious “renaissance” in Bukovyna at the end of the late 80s of the XXth century. By the way, Olha Kobylianska's nephew, secretary of the regional council of the People's Movement of Ukraine (NRU), Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor O. Panchuk stated that one of the factors reviving the state-building trains of the Bukovynians was the atheistic doctrine of the ruling party, which allowed the existence of one religion selectively or denomination by banning the others (O. Ranchuk's interview recorded in 2010 (author's personal archive).

It should be mentioned that the introduction of the foundations of the Russian Orthodox Church in Bukovyna after 1944 gave a green light for the long-term domination of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Bukovyna region as well as the remote location of the Greek Catholic or Autocephalous centers. Hence, during the Soviet power, the region was mostly the Orthodox, which suited both the Union and local party apparatus. The ROCh's loyalty to the CPSU, despite the number of communist crimes against the Orthodoxy in the past, was explained by the common Russian roots of both Moscow-based groups with the centre in Moscow. When it came to the subjugation of the occupied territories, the mass communist persecution of the Orthodox hierarchs and parishioners was quickly forgotten, and mistrust grew into parity. After the majority of the Greek Catholic and Autocephalous clergy of Bukovyna were under repression in 1944 or were forced to emigrate from the region, a wide field of activity opened up for the ROCh.

Furthermore, taking into account a diverse ethnic composition and difficult historical past, the peculiarity of the Bukovynian religious situation was marked by a prominent Protestant content and the presence of the Judaism. Despite the Soviet bans, there were numerous communities, for example, of the Jews, the Adventists, the Evangelicals, the Pentecostals, the Baptists, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. But their environment was deprived of the Ukrainian national-state manifestations, and, thus, did not pose a threat to the communist system in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Ukrainian SSR. What could not be said about the former believers of the UGCCh and the UAOCh, who always preserved in the people's memory the armed liberation past of the Ukrainian people. Hence, the UGCCh and the

UAOCh activities, which were in officially forbidden, i. e., in a “catacomb” state, provoked increased opposition from the local party apparatus.

As it was impossible to ignore the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus', which the UN General Assembly called to celebrate as the greatest event in the world history and culture, the Central Committee of the CPSU, led by Mikhail Gorbachev, decided to forget temporarily about atheism and to present its own favourable attitude to believers as an indisputable achievement of “perestroika”, “publicity” and “democracy”. As a result, the monastery of the Holy Kniaz (Prince) Danylo was transferred to Moscow Patriarchate, three theological conferences were organized with the participation of renowned scholars and it was allowed to convene Pomisnyi (Local Council), which from the XVIIth century was not related to the election of the patriarch. The premis of the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre were provided for the celebration, which was visited by the Secretary-General's wife, R. Gorbachova.

Quite naturally, such actions of the Union authorities led to the activation of the parishioners and hierarchs of forbidden churches. On December 17, 1987, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yu. Yelchenko emphasized the revival of the Greek Catholic communities activities towards the legalization of the church. Delivering a speech in front of the entire local party nomenklatura at the plenum of Chernivtsi Regional Committee, he said that in connection with the approaching celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus', the Catholic clergy in collusion with nationalist groups in the West were trying to increase influence among the Soviet citizens (State Archives of Transcarpathian region - SATR, f. 1, d. 30, c. 66, p. 11). L. Kravchuk, the head of the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, drew attention of the local party apparatus to the consolidation of Protestant communities in Kyiv, Volyn, Donetsk, Zakarpattia, Rivne, and Chernivtsi regions. He stated that among the Pentecostal community members of Rivne, Ternopil, Lviv, Volyn, Chernivtsi regions there was a fervent desire to leave the country (SAChR f. 1, d. 60, c. 80, pp. 53-55).

M. Nivalov, the First Secretary of the Regional Committee aimed at opposing the intensification of the Catholic communities by the Communist Party of Chernivtsi region, and organized their actions in the following way: “We must stand firm that the revival of the Uniate Church is politically harmful and impossible for Western Ukraine” (State Archives of Lviv region - SALR, f. 3, d. 62, c. 430, p. 23). In the context of obstructing the legalization of the UGCCh, the regional committee of the Communist Party obliged informants to record the number, social composition, degree of activity of believers and their leaders and to neutralize the distribution of religious literature. The media pledged to publish speeches by the Orthodox clergy condemning religious separatism. The party apparatus strongly recommended the widespread use of the anti-Catholic speeches by authoritative religious dignitaries of the ROCh, which were heard at the celebrations on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism in Moscow, Kyiv and Lviv (SALR, f. 3, d. 62, c. 301, p. 50). In order to strengthen the control over the observance of the legislation on cults, it was suggested carrying out surveillance of objects that may pose a special danger: inactive churches, monasteries, chapels, etc. In a written form it was recommended to warn every Greek Catholic priest about criminal liability for violating current legislation (SALR, f. 3, d. 62, c. 301, p. 51).

The analysis of secret party documents indicated that in 1988 in the territory of Chernivtsi region the cases of missionary activity of Jehovah's Witnesses from Khmelnytsky, Ternopil and Lviv regions became more frequent. Therefore, on March 19 and 20, the ideological activists of the village of Novosilky, Kitsman district, managed to neutralize Jehovah's Witnesses attempt to establish contacts with local believers (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 80, pp. 61-63). In August - July of 1988, mass gatherings of Evangelists and mass baptisms of their followers in the Prut River took place on Theater Square in Chernivtsi, which led to attempts to use force by the party apparatus (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 80, pp. 53-55). As a result, the region atheistic staff of 300 lecturers and 600 organizers (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 49, p. 46) was strengthened by the foundation of anti-religious clubs and 97 debates and the “Soviet Family Holidays” on the topic “Let's Think Together” (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 48, p. 52). On pages of the periodicals, in the section “On Atheistic Topics”, 11 articles were published, which dealt with the problems of sectarianism. One of them was published in the Novoselitska newspaper “Leninskym Shliakhom”. The author tried to determine the reasons and called to prevent the replenishment of Evangelical Baptist Christians' communities by the youth of the district (Leninskym shliakhom, 1988, p. 1).

However, this opposition of the party apparatus did not affect the ROCh. For example, when Bishop Anthony of Bukovyna asked the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, A. Prykhodniuk, on May 4, 1988, to initiate a programme to celebrate the Christian anniversary, his request was immediately granted. Furthermore, by levelling its own atheistic principles, Chernivtsi party apparatus made considerable efforts to help those whom it persecuted and advertised for decades as an ideological enemy. As a result of this understanding, the church hierarchs and their guests were served by 3 best hotels in Chernivtsi, 3 central restaurants, 10 comfortable buses, escorted by traffic police and the premis of Chernivtsi Drama Theater. The journalists of the Communist Party media forgot about the materialist and idealist contradictions, and covered the jubilee celebrations, bypassing former contradictions. Communal services of Chernivtsi and the region, directed by the party apparatus, cleared up the Orthodox churches, chapels and the city cemetery, leaving out the other churches (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 100, pp. 19-26).

Thus, the general democratic movement generated by “perestroika” naturally grew into a national one and brought with it a religious revival. Hence, the information from the ideological department of Chernivtsi Regional Committee dated March 10, 1989 reported that the fanatical Uniates under conditions of democracy and publicity recepted freedom of conscience as unregulated religious activity and as the right to reject any legal norms and disobey the Soviet laws (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 226, p. 2). On July 13, 1989, the ideological department of Chernivtsi Regional Committee distributed a secret KGB document entitled “On the Uniate Church”, warned the party about attempts by extremist emissaries from Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia oblasts with the support of Western and Vatican propaganda centers, to revive the activities of the UGCC both in Ukraine in general and in the region in particular.

The document pointed out that the Greek Catholicism was more of a political movement with a strong anti-Russian orientation. Attention was drawn to the actions of Cardinal M. Lyubachivsky, who tried to transform the Uniate Church into a banner of the struggle for independence of Ukraine. According to the authors, the subordination of the UGCCh to the Vatican gave grounds to claim that independent Ukraine would fall into the orbit of the interests of the United States and Western Europe - hostile to foreign and domestic policies of the Soviet Union.

Despite such warnings, attempts to legalize the UGCCh were supported by believers in Chernivtsi region and the clergy and monks, who did not recognize the decisions of Lviv

Church Council in 1946 or, being officially the Orthodox, secretly remained supporters of the Greek Catholicism. There were more than 30 such communities in Bukovyna. In particular, in Putylsky, Vyzhnytsky, Kitsmansky, Zastanivsky districts, bordering on Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions. In this regard, the party leadership warned that the legalization of the UGCCh was strictly unacceptable because it had a political colour, it consolidated nationalist, anti-Soviet, anti-Russian, pro-Western elements and striked at the loyal and peacekeeping positions of the ROCh. Hence, the Regional Committee obliged the local party apparatus not to allow the penetration of the Uniate sentiments in the region, especially through family ties with the residents of neighbouring regions and countries. It was planned to continue neutralizing attempts to hold secret Greek Catholic liturgies, to cease the activities of underground monasteries and churches, to prevent the sale of church paraphernalia, the Ukrainian national symbols, the distribution of literature and audio recordings from the Vatican, etc. (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 211, pp. 12-13).

However, according to the KGB, in January of 1989, when a 5,000-strong liturgy was held in Lviv on the occasion of the proclamation of the Ukrainian People's Republic, residents of more than 200 settlements in the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR were present, including 37 representatives from Chernivtsi region. In June, EBC Presbyter I. Danyliuk organized an unauthorized rally near Cheremosh Hotel in Chernivtsi, and in July, baptism on the Prut River, which was attended by more than 2,000 believers. At Chernivtsi State University, the 24-hour course “The Fundamentals of Scientific Atheism” was cancelled, and the Party Committee submitted a proposal to the administration to liquidate the department. In July sectarians from the village of Shyrivtsi, Khotyn district, held open meetings, appealing to the “Law on Freedom of Conscience” (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 226, pp. 2-6).

According to the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, the share of baptisms increased by 4.5% over the year, as did the wedding ceremony. 121 people became students of the Greek Catholic educational institutions, which is 54 more than it was the previous year (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 337, p. 81). In August - September of 1989, the hierarchs of the UGCCh Danyliuk, Kosteniuk, Bazeliuk and Priska attended liturgies in Chernivtsi, the villages of Velyka Kachuriv in Storozhynets district, Komarovo and Moshanets in Kelmenetsky district, openly called for an increase in the number of parishioners, confrontation with local communist authorities and seizure of inactive Catholic churches (SAChR, f. 1, d. 210, c. 337, p. 20). On November 26, Chernivtsi Initiative Committee for Legalization of the UGCCh, with the help of NRU activists, held a large-scale solemn liturgy near the Church of the Assumption on Rus'ka Street in Chernivtsi. There were raised 9 national flags (Bukovynskyi visnyk, 1989, p. 3).

There was the rise of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1990, which was the feature of the religious situation in Bukovyna and, as a result, its opposition to the Russian Orthodoxy of Moscow Patriarchate. Moreover, the movement for the legalization of the Greek Catholic communities was also added, which intensified the interfaith confrontation. The newspaper of Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Language Society “Chas” (Time) wrote in those days that the ROCh stood, stands and will stand on the platform of the CPSU because it stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Kozmych, 1990, p. 3). Formally promoting atheism, the party leadership in Chernivtsi Oblast repeatedly accused the leaders of the Ukrainian National Democratic Movement of the anti-people sentiment because they supported patriotic religious communities of the UGCC and UAOC.

Thus, on September 14, 1990, Regional Committee members complained that the already difficult religious situation in the region was exacerbated by intensifications among the Greek

Catholic and autocephalous communities. According to them, with the support of the NRU and the URP, false slanders were spread towards the ROCh, which led to confrontation between believers of these Christian denominations (SAСhR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 350, p. 60). And on July 21, clashes between believers of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church took place near the Cathedral in Chernivtsi, demanding that the church be handed over to Kyiv Patriarchate. Being a supporter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the party apparatus immediately accused the NRU of illegally assisting the UAOCh, calling such actions anti-state. However, the NRU's statement of July 30, 1990, signed by the head of its Chernivtsi regional branch, O. Panchuk, indicated different. The Rukh resolution stated the following: “The People's Movement appeals to all Orthodox Bukovynians - both those who recognize the spiritual jurisdiction of Moscow Patriarch Oleksiy and those who submit to the jurisdiction of Kyiv Patriarch Mstyslav - to resolve all issues peacefully, in a Christian way, avoiding confrontation and hatred (O. Ranchuk's interview recorded in 2010 (author's personal archive)).

Interestingly, the columns of Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Language Society newspaper emphasized that meals from the Kremlin's ROCh patriarch's distributor, official residence, private luxury dachas, personal state cars, and government awards were not like simple Christian loyalty. And the accusations of anti-Sovietism of UAOCh priests were expressed in the fact that they, dying in the clutches of the Bolshevik executioners, did not shout “Long live Stalin! Long live Stalin!” (Kozmych, 1990, p. 2).

In 1991, the legalization of the UGCCh and UAOCh in Chernivtsi region merged with the state-building deployment, which was the only front in the struggle to restore Ukraine's state independence. The movement can be expressed in the words of the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine S. Volkovetsky, expressed on February 23, 1991 at a rally in Chernivtsi. He said the following: “We must not stop at any sacrifice in the fight against Moscow for Ukraine's independence” (SAChR f. 1, d. 60, c. 410, p. 39). In January - August of 1991, 137 national demonstrations led by the anti-communist parties in Bukovyna took place in the region. There were 96 crowded Greek Catholic and autocephalous liturgies. Along with legalized communities of the UGCCh and the UAOCh, more than 20 national parties and public associations of anti-communist nature operated in the region. These were the branches of the NRU, URP, DPU, TUM, SNUM, SUMB, the “Green Movement of Bukovyna”, and etc. The number of active supporters of the latter reached more than 25 thousand people (SAChR f. 1, d. 60, c. 459, p. 31).

Owing to the support of the Catholic and autocephalous believers, on January 26, 1991, a large-scale rally in Chernivtsi, led by O. Panchuk, V Klim, and V Zhorin, opposed the union agreement. There was formed “Yednist'” (Unity), the coordination council of the democratic forces of Bukovyna. A day later, a meeting of the “Green Movement of Bukovyna” was held at the Philharmonic, where its leader L. Sanduliak warned that the counterrevolution raised its head in the region (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 451, pp. 8-10). Such kind of call was not unheard. During the first half of 1991, Chernivtsi region was “flooded” with massive anti-union actions of civil disobedience in Chernivtsi, Storozhynets, Kitsman, Khotyn, Kelmentsi, and Sokyriany, which were attended by more than 150,000 supporters (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 451, pp. 4-5).

It is noteworthy that on the national uplift's wave, on June 9, 1991 in Chernivtsi, the Eminescu Society of Moldovan-Romanian Culture held an anti-communist meeting under the slogan “For our National Rights”. The leitmotif of the meeting was the call of the Popular Front of Moldova to create the Democratic Romanian Republic of Bukovyna with the right to withdraw from the USSR (SAChR, f. 1, d. 60, c. 411, p. 97). It caused the rejection of the Ukrainian national democratic forces, the relations between which got worse in 1991. However, taking into consideration the small number of demands, these tendencies showed no signs of sharp Ukrainian-Romanian-Moldovan political confrontation, but rather had the anti-communist coloration and consolidated representatives of all national camps.

During the uprising of the SCNS on August 19, 1991 at Independence Square in Chernivtsi, the representatives of the NRU and URP, the SNUM and SUMB received a public blessing from the hierarchs of the UGCCh and UAOCh and launched an indefinite action with slogans “Shame on the Moscow Junta!” and “Will to a Man - Will to Ukraine!”. At about 6 p.m., “Zlahoda”, the union of Bukovyna's national democratic forces, issued a statement condemning the putschists' actions, saying that the new leaders of the State Committee for Emergency Situations threw out of the bath a democratic child born in agony (Kyiak, 1991, p. 1). Liturgies and prayers for Ukraine's independence continued in the churches at that time.

Thus, on August 21 and 22, a rally was held near Chernivtsi City Hall under the slogan “Democracy was Saved by the Democrats, and the Communists were Sitting in Burdock!” and “Send the Junta behind Bars!” (Kobevko, 1991, p. 1). Similar actions took place from August 20 to 27 in Putyla, Storozhynets, Novoselytsia, Kitsman, Khotyn, Vyzhnytsia, Sokyryany and Hlyboka (Chernivtsi, 1991, p. 1). On August 28, yellow and blue flags were hoisted over Chernivtsi Regional and City Councils, and a monument to Lenin was dismantled, symbolizing the overthrow of the Communist Party and the liberation of the region from Moscow-inspired Russian Orthodox Church (Chas, 1991, p. 1).

The above-mentioned process culminated in a natural result on December 15, 2018, together with the proclamation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It merged the UAOCh, expressed no conflict with the UGCCh, later on received the Tomos and became the canonical successor of Kyivan Metropolitanate, founded by Kniaz (Prince) of Kyivan Rus'-Ukraine Volodymyr the Great one thousand and thirty years ago.

The Conclusions

Hence, in the second half of the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, against the background of the Bukovynian National Liberation Movement, the duality of the communist ideological doctrine known as the “militant atheism” was quite vivid. It consisted in a secret and sympathetic attitude of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to the ROCh during the critical period for it, since the centers of both were located in Moscow. It was manifested both during the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus', and in the context of further religious revival of the region. As Chernivtsi Regional Committees forgot about their own atheistic attitude, and contributed to the magnificent celebration of the anniversary according to the Moscow scenario, the restoration of the Russian Orthodox churches, registration of communities, arrangement of cemeteries and chapels, etc.

The UGCCh and the UAOCh activities were banned because they expressed the liberating past ofthe Ukrainian people in the struggle against the Russian-Soviet rule. That is why, Chernivtsi party apparatus waged an uncompromising struggle against them, prevented legalization, refused to return churches and property, and sometimes even inspired opposition between the members of the Christian denominations. However, on the anti-communist movement's wave for the restoration of Ukraine's state independence, Chernivtsi party apparatus lost power, and, thus, the ability to support the ROC, the foundations of which were shaken significantly.

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