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The article examines the problem of visualizing religious groups in the USSR within the context of the development of religious studies and ethnographic research during the 1920–1930s. Particular attention is paid to the development of methods of the visual study of religion, which was carried out by a group of scientists from Leningrad and Moscow in the process of creating a Systematic Indication of Faiths and Antireligious Groups. This so-called “map of religion in the USSR is shown to have been the result of their work. It is demonstrated that the scientific group's activities on studying religion under the direction of N.M. Matorin during this period included not only comprehensive and comparative studies of religions in the country, but also methodological questions regarding the visualization of living religions”, as well as disseminating visual representations through museum and exhibition events, theatrical productions, and the press. Matorin's work on the visualization of religions relied on long-term regional studies and rich ethnographic materials. In collaboration with filmmakers, scientists conducted ethnographic expeditions and transferred significant research skills and knowledge. They conducted scientific and theoretical research in the field of producing and popularizing knowledge about the situations of religious groups. This unique material on the situation of these groups in the USSR during the 1920s and 30s made it possible for them to create anti-religious films, among other things.

Key words: history of science, national religious studies, visual ethnography, Soviet ideology, anti-religious propaganda in the USSR, “map of religions”, visualization of religions, N.M. Matorin

DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2025-3-91-97

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About the author

 Elena V. Golovneva – Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor, Professor at the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnic Sociology, St. Petersburg State University;
1/3 Smolny Str., St. Petersburg, 191124, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.