THE STRUGGLE FOR SOVIET COSMOLOGY: For the Soviet Union, atheism became more than the absence of religion. It was an ideology that had to fill the void of religion itself.

The article focuses on the Soviet Union's efforts to replace religion with atheism and the challenges that arose from these attempts. Topics include the Bolsheviks' early policies on religion, the contrasting approaches of Lenin and Stalin toward religious institutions, and the consequences of these policies on Soviet society and its religious landscape.