On the transfer of the premises of the church in the village of Polykovichi to the House of the Invalids

The official policy of the Soviet state towards the Russian Orthodox Church changed depending on the historical period. In 1943, on the personal initiative of I.V. Stalin, the Moscow Patriarchate is restored and the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR is formed, with authorized representatives in each region.

From 1944 to 1946, the commissioners carried out the registration of religious communities. This made it possible to legalize the activities of Orthodox believers. However, starting in 1948, the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church took a tougher stance regarding the registration of new church parishes. The plenipotentiaries were instructed to «thoroughly check» all applications for registration of parishes and to prevent the activities of unregistered priests.

An example of a changed religious policy is the submitted copy of the decision of the Mogilev city executive committee of August 4, 1949 «On the transfer of the church premises in the village. Polykovichi, Mogilev district, the House of the Disabled.

Alexey Ivanovich Shvyryov, archivist of the 1st qualification category of the Department for the Scientific Use of Documents and Information
List of sources used:
Institution «The State Archive of the Mogilev Region» (GAMOG), Fund 765, Op.1, D. 17, L. 73.