Posts from How many Soviet republics were there?

In Europe, the population is also declining; this is not a genocide, but a degradation of the brain and public consciousness. Regarding the topic: the Soviet Union had its own advantages and disadvantages. Unconditional advantages: grandeur, strength, independence on the political arena, a unifying idea for people (even if it was fantastic, it still existed), a high level of science and production. Disadvantages: the state originated through a revolution, totalitarianism existed for many years of the country's life, persecution of intellectuals, persecution of religion, strict censorship in the press, and an iron curtain. P.S. The title of the topic is somewhat strange.

P.S. The title of the topic is a bit strange.

Well, perhaps the author wanted to know which period of the USSR's existence was the best, not just to find out their number.
So, here: Lenin (+ a citizen), Stalin, Khrushchev (+ someone there), Brezhnev, some crap (Chernenko, Andropov), Gorbachev.
Although it also depends on the place of residence. Therefore, dividing it so categorically is just "labeling."

Cons: this state originated through revolution, totalitarianism existed for many years of the country's life, persecution of intellectuals, persecution of faith, strict censorship in the press, the Iron Curtain.

I have nothing against religions, but this con is subjective. I would add a constant shortage, especially of food products, to this list >_< There was a real problem with agriculture.

This is a disadvantage for everyone, Homie, because when a person cannot have their own perspective on philosophy and must adhere to the generally accepted one, that's a drawback.

Yes, but I meant those who share the same views, regardless of whether they are widely accepted or not. In other words, judging from our current perspective: if all religions were banned in the country right now, I wouldn't even raise an eyebrow.

This is a disadvantage for everyone, Hommy, because when a person cannot have their own perspective on philosophy and must adhere to the generally accepted one, that is a disadvantage.

Religion forces adherence to the generally accepted just as much as its absence does.
It is better to never elevate any religion to the state level. But a state should have an ideology, even if it is generalized; otherwise, what kind of state is it? For example, in the USA, people believe in money. And the ideology is achieving the American Dream. But what does Russia have?... It is better to prohibit something for everyone, as they did with atheism in the USSR (different cultures simply cannot be united), than to reap the fruits of one's own stupidity later. Every person should have a Temple within themselves and never bring it to the state level. In the USSR, no one prevented people from believing in God in their own homes. Even now, icons remain in the corners of houses in villages. God must be carried within oneself. And taking everything out of everyday life is already a sect or just a show. All IMHO, but still...
Therefore, in the USSR, they did the right thing by imposing atheism, because those who truly believed could not be dissuaded in any way, and those who doubted were only helped to find a stable point of view

It is always better not to elevate any religion to the level of state policy.

Well, you're talking about one thing, and I'm talking about another. Okay, let's agree with that statement and say that in the USSR, the religion of "atheism" was elevated to the level of state policy, while in the Empire, no religion was imposed at all: if you want, be an atheist; if you want, be an agnostic; if you want, be Orthodox; if you want, be a Muslim. And also Catholics, Protestants, and many others. And although the official religion was Orthodoxy, it was just a document; there were representatives of a huge number of religions in the country, and everyone felt perfectly comfortable with the philosophy that was closest to them. And you know very well what it was like in the Soviet Union in this regard.
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different cultures simply cannot unite people

The Russian Empire existed for two hundred years, and it collapsed only due to the activities of our own Russian revolutionaries. What united them? A common idea? No. Culture? Definitely not. Common sense, the understanding that together we are stronger, a common sense of belonging to a great state that was stronger than petty national ambitions? Perhaps, at least I can't give any other explanation.

just like in the Empire, no religion was imposed at all:

What about faith, for the Tsar? And Orthodoxy was the dominant religion. And what happened to that Empire? And in the USSR, did no one believe in anything? And atheism is not a religion. A common faith destroyed the Empire, destroyed the USSR.
The Empire was held together only by an external threat. And only victories in wars could strengthen it. Defeats only weakened it. The revolution had already been brewing in the minds of the intelligentsia since the 19th century. But this idea was suppressed and then reintroduced later.
And did the Poles want to be together? Probably, they just dreamed...
And during the civil war, rampant nationalism flared up, which was suppressed by a book by Marx. And all this grew on the yeast of the Empire. The USSR only postponed the inevitable - the collapse of the country. You cannot live on multiculturalism. Sooner or later, it will lead to a collapse.
Religions should be gotten rid of - that's my opinion. A person should cultivate culture within himself, and not have religion dictate to him. Otherwise, it will be as usual: one person believes, forces others to believe, and it all starts... And the whole point is that it is easier to take something ready-made than to cultivate it yourself. Just dangle a golden apple in front of a person...

But what about faith, for the Tsar?

Oh, come on. It's all just slogans, pretty words, and nothing more. Few people actually believe in them. It's exactly the same stereotype as "For Stalin!" on the lips of dying Soviet soldiers. In reality, I listed only a small part of the religions that no one ever hindered in the Empire, and the list can be expanded.

And atheism is not a religion.

In the form it took in the Soviet Union, it was a very real religion and even fully satisfies your arguments about "one person believed, forced others to believe...", even more so than Orthodoxy, since it has a rather noticeable division of opinions on many issues, which is not observed at all in categorical atheism.

A person must cultivate culture within themselves, and religion should not dictate to them.

Religion is the backbone, the minimum set of laws for a believing person. And then it can be enriched with anything, choose any music, type of painting, and literature to your liking, develop culturally and intellectually as much as you like.

And where did this Empire go?

And where did the USSR go? And how long did it last?

The Empire was united only by the threat from outside.

We never had any problems with that.

When the revolution had already been living in the minds of the intelligentsia since the 19th century.

The intelligentsia is different. And I must say that under Stalin, the very intelligentsia that dreamed of realizing the revolution, socialism, and then communism, was simply taken and... On the one hand, you feel sorry for these intelligent people, but on the other hand, you understand that everything in this world has consequences.

Religion is the foundation, the minimum set of laws for a believing person. And from there, it can be embellished with anything, choose any music, type of painting, and literature to your liking, develop culturally and intellectually as much as you want.

Imposing religion? ;) I'll repeat again: atheism is not a religion. What existed in the Soviet Union was atheism + ideology.

And what happened to the USSR?

The "you're the idiot" principle? Or did you just not notice the answer? :)

A common belief destroyed the Empire, destroyed the USSR.

All I wanted to say is that the Empire is not a good example. And I'm not defending the USSR, but at least there was a common idea, which has become obsolete. The only idea that can be eternal is one that is close to human instincts (acquiring material goods, a better life, etc.). The time and people are different now. Look at Ancient Egypt, how long it existed...

And the best religion is its absence at the state level. Only the absence of religion allows you to fully believe in what you want. A religious person does not need religion; they have enough faith.

Only the absence of religion guarantees freedom of choice, because religion is both a set of laws and a spiritual (psychological) dependence.

We've gone off-topic :D