In order to "build socialism," Soviet Communists realized that it was essential to wean their fellow citizens from the bourgeois ideals of the past. In addition to reeducating the populace concerning the evils of the old way of thinking, Soviet Communists attacked the institutions and belief systems that propped up such ideals. Meanwhile, they worked to undermine nonproductive practices such as excessive drinking and gender discrimination.

For centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church, a branch of Christianity more closely related to Roman Catholicism than to Protestantism, had reaffirmed the tsar's right to rule Russia with near-absolute power. In order to rid Russia of the tsar's influence, it was necessary to do more than simply execute him and his family. The church that upheld his authority also had to be destroyed. To this end, the Soviet government worked assiduously to drive Orthodoxy into extinction. Priests were harassed...