Criminal Offenses Against the Religious Rights of Citizens Under the Criminal Code of 1960: Historical and Legal Analysis

Abstract

The article conducts a historical and legal analysis of the elements of crimes provided for in Articles 138, 139 and 209 of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1960.
The authors draw attention to the fact that the relevance of the study of criminal offenses against the religious rights of citizens under the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1960 is due to the need for a deep rethinking of the Soviet legal heritage in the context of modern state building. Historical and legal analysis of this period allows us to reveal the contradictory nature of the legislation of that time, which formally declared freedom of conscience, but in fact served as an instrument of state control and repression against believers.
The article focuses on the specifics of criminal liability for “violation of the legislation on religious cults”, which helps to understand the mechanisms of ideological pressure on religious communities under a totalitarian regime. The study of the historical experience of combating religious intolerance contributes to the improvement of the current mechanisms for protecting freedom of worldview and religion in the context of Ukraine’s European integration.
The authors conclude that, firstly, Articles 138 and 139 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1960 became an instrument of the state’s struggle against dissent, primarily on religious grounds. State bodies received the right to terminate the activities of any religious association by closing houses of prayer or prohibiting religious ceremonies. Secondly, Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1960 during the last three decades of the USSR’s existence became one of the key instruments of the Soviet government to combat religious communities that refused to be controlled by the state. Certain formulations contained in the disposition of the specified norm were intentionally “blurred”, which allowed the punitive and repressive bodies to treat any activity as criminal. This provision, in combination with Article 62 “Anti-Soviet Agitation and Propaganda”, became an effective criminal law instrument for the Soviet regime to combat the human rights movement and dissent, and among Ukrainian dissidents, Article 209 became a symbol of religious repression.