Can I just ask the same question about Poland, having just returned from a wonderful holiday there with lots of beautiful churches, many of which seem to have only been "properly" restored since 1989. On the other hand, Poles turned out to see Cracovian Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1982(?).

hi! you may be interested in a few of these earlier discussions

• What caused religion to be banned in the Soviet Union?

• It is well known and documented what happened to Russian churches and priests during the Soviet Union. But there were also many Muslim in the USSR - Azeris, Uzbeks, Turkmens... How was Islam, as an organization, treated by Soviet authorities, and how were Muslim students educated about religion?

• Religion in the Soviet Union

• How did Russian Orthodoxy survive during the Soviet era?

• Soviet Russia and the Orthodox Church.

• As a tenant of Marxist theory, how were atheist ideals spread throughout communist states (e.g. USSR, China)?