ROLE OF POLITICAL REPRESSIONS OF 1918 – THE 1930S IN SOCIETY SOCIAL STRUCTURE CHANGE (IN CONTEXT OF STATE-CHURCH RELATIONS IN MORDOVIA, CHUVASHIA AND MARI EL)
The clergy's state in new social-political conditions, which were formed after the Soviet power consolidation in the country, is considered in the article. Special attention is paid to punitive measures as the state confessional policy instrument. The reasons, stages, forms and methods, scale and consequences of repressions in relation to the clergy and monks in three national regions of Middle Volga region are shown on extensive source basis. Repressive actions role as one of the significant factors of society social structure change is estimated with the help of the data obtained during the research.