{"product_id":"god-save-the-ussr-soviet-muslims-and-the-second-world-war-paperback-1","title":"God Save the USSR: Soviet Muslims and the Second World War - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJeff Eden\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the Second World War, as the Soviet Red Army was locked in brutal combat against the Nazis, Joseph Stalin ended the state's violent, decades-long persecution of religion. In a stunning reversal, priests, imams, rabbis, and other religious elites--many of them newly-released from the Gulag--were tasked with rallying Soviet citizens to a \"Holy War\" against Hitler. To the delight of some citizens, and to the horror of others, Stalin's reversal encouraged a widespread perception that his \"war on religion\" was over. A revolution in Soviet religious life ensued: soldiers prayed on the battlefield, entire villages celebrated once-banned holidays, and state-backed religious leaders used their new positions not only to consolidate power over their communities, but also to petition for further religious freedoms. Offering a window on this wartime \"religious revolution,\" \u003cem\u003eGod Save the USSR\u003c\/em\u003e focuses on the Soviet Union's Muslims, using sources in several languages (including Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Uzbek, and Persian). Drawing evidence from eyewitness accounts, interviews, soldiers' letters, frontline poetry, agents' reports, petitions, and the words of Soviet Muslim leaders, Jeff Eden argues that the religious revolution was fomented simultaneously by the state and by religious Soviet citizens: the state gave an inch, and many citizens took a mile, as atheist Soviet agents looked on in exasperation at the resurgence of unconcealed devotional life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeff Eden \u003c\/strong\u003eis Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University. His previous books include \u003cem\u003eSlavery and Empire in Central Asia \u003c\/em\u003e(2018) and \u003cem\u003eWarrior Saints of the Silk Road: Legends of the Qarakhanids \u003c\/em\u003e(2018).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 266\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.67 x 9.29 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47520938131677,"sku":"9780197803066","price":55.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/gsLLI2Uvpq9780197803066_60033685-3b8a-41e7-be27-b8a2084f841e.webp?v=1772249023","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/god-save-the-ussr-soviet-muslims-and-the-second-world-war-paperback-1","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}