Визуальная репрезентация антирелигиозной пропаганды  в СССР: «Чудотворец» Александра Пантелеева (1922)

E. I. Speshilova

E. I. Speshilova Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7859-3526

Keywords: Christianity, anti-religious propaganda in the USSR, atheism, visualization, Soviet silent film, The Wonder-worker, miracle, exposure of miracles

Abstract

The article examines one of the earliest Soviet anti-religious films, The Wonder-worker (1922), directed by A. P. Panteleev, as a unique example of agitation mass art of the “cultural revolution” period, which has not previously been subjected to detailed analysis in scholarly literature. The author employs visual-semiotic and historical-cultural approaches to analyze the ideas presented in the film, as well as the ideological and cultural context within which it was produced. The primary semiotic significance of the film lies in its critique of the Church and its representatives, achieved through the depiction of their disbelief in the possibility of a genuinely supernatural event and their efforts to construct a “miracle” guided solely by pragmatic considerations and the desire for financial gain. In addition, The Wonder-worker serves as an artistic justification for the Soviet campaign to confiscate church valuables carried out in the first half of 1922. Owing to its simple and easily comprehensible plot about the fabrication of religious miracles, the film enjoyed considerable popularity among Soviet audiences. The author demonstrates that the anti-religious thrust of The Wonder-worker, aimed at discrediting the actions of the clergy, neither touches upon nor refutes the fundamental foundations of the Christian faith. Moreover, it is shown that the film contains scenes highlighting the significance of religious belief in the life of the people, which are entirely devoid of a critical message. Despite the film’s certain contribution to the Soviet authorities’ struggle against the official Church, its impact on popular religiosity appears to have been negligible.

Author Biography

E. I. Speshilova, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2025-7-2-344-360

Elizaveta I. Speshilova
Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia;
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University,
Veliky Novgorod, Russia
e.speshilova@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7859-3526

Abstract
The article examines one of the earliest Soviet anti-religious films, The Wonder-worker (1922), directed by A. P. Panteleev, as a unique example of agitation mass art of the “cultural revolution” period, which has not previously been subjected to detailed analysis
in scholarly literature. The author employs visual-semiotic
and historical-cultural approaches to analyze the ideas presented
in the film, as well as the ideological and cultural context within which it was produced. The primary semiotic significance of the film lies in its critique of the Church and its representatives, achieved through the depiction of their disbelief in the possibility
of a genuinely supernatural event and their efforts to construct
a “miracle” guided solely by pragmatic considerations and the desire for financial gain. In addition, The Wonder-worker serves as
an artistic justification for the Soviet campaign to confiscate church valuables carried out in the first half of 1922. Owing to its simple
and easily comprehensible plot about the fabrication of religious miracles, the film enjoyed considerable popularity among Soviet audiences. The author demonstrates that the anti-religious thrust
of The Wonder-worker, aimed at discrediting the actions
of the clergy, neither touches upon nor refutes the fundamental foundations of the Christian faith. Moreover, it is shown that the film contains scenes highlighting the significance of religious belief
in the life of the people, which are entirely devoid of a critical message. Despite the film’s certain contribution to the Soviet authorities’ struggle against the official Church, its impact on popular religiosity appears to have been negligible.

Keywords: Christianity, anti-religious propaganda in the USSR, atheism, visualization, Soviet silent film, The Wonder-worker, miracle, exposure of miracles

Funding: the research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 25-28-00277 “Visual Atlas of Faiths: (anti)religious propaganda in the USSR in the 1920s–1930s”, in Saint Petersburg State University, https://rscf.ru/project/25-28-00277/

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About author

Elizaveta S. Speshilova
Junior Research Fellow
Saint Petersburg State University
1/3, Smolnogo St., Saint Petersburg, 191124, Russian Federation;
Senior Lecturer, Research Fellow
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University
41, Bolshaya Sankt-Peterburgskaya St., Veliky Novgorod, 173003, Russian Federation
E-mail: e.speshilova@yandex.ru

For citation:
Speshilova E. I. Visual representation of anti-religious propaganda
in the USSR: A. Panteleev’s “Wonder-worker” (1992). Journal of Visual Theology. 2025. Vol. 7. 2. Pp. 344–360. https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2025-7-2-344-360

Visual representation of anti-religious propaganda in the USSR: A. Panteleev’s “Wonder-worker” (1992)

Abstract

Author Biography