THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COUNCIL FOR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRSON THE LEADERSHIP OF MUSLIM RELIGIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO CREATE A POSITIVE IMAGE OF THE USSR AMONG FOREIGNERS IN 1953-1965
The article analyzes various aspects of the activities of the Council for Religious Affairs on the leadership of Muslim spiritual departments in order to create a positive image of the USSR among foreign citizens in 1954-1965. The article was based on the archival documents of the Council for Religious Cults at the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which were recently declassified. The chronological framework of the study is justified by several circumstances, the most important of which is the death of I.V. Stalin in 1953 and the coming to power of N.S. Khrushchev, as well as the creation in 1965 of a new body - the Council for Religious Affairs at the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which became the successor of the Council for Religious Cults at the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Council for Russian Orthodox Church Affairs at the Council of Ministers of the USSR.