Випадки фальсифікації слідчих справ пенітенціарної системи СРСР 1930-х років
свідчать про певну політику держави щодо формування свідомості народу в умовах
тоталітарного режиму. Слідча справа Чернігівського єпископа Стефана Проценка є
одним з прикладів використання фальсифікації документів у державних цілях.
The formation of the True Orthodox Church took place towards the end of the 1920’s, as a
result of the majority of the episcopate and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church refusing to
accept the political position of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodskyi), which would subjugate the
Church and place it under the control of the atheist government. The government’s campaign to
liquidate the TOC had many far-reaching aspects, as the KGB attempted to condemn as many
people as possible. This was the time of mass repressions, when the numbers of those arrested
meant more than who precisely these individuals were. We present the problem of forged and
falsified investigative reports in the USSR and Ukrainian SSR during the 1930’s, using case no.
37140, concerning «the Counterrevolutionary group of churchgoers» in Chernigov.
Bishop Stefan (Protsenko) was arrested in 1936, along with other active members of the
TOC. This bishop never broke with the church authorities in Moscow, was a member of the
episcopate of the Moscow Patriarchate, and received directives and accepted the appointments
of Metropolitan Sergius and the synod he headed. However, this did not save Bishop Stefan
from being arrested and even from being accused of belonging to the TOC. Bishop Stefan stated
that he denies the TOC and emphasized that he was a member of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Nevertheless, his case was included with the case against the TOC and he was condemned as a
member of the TOC. The investigation of this case presented many difficulties, and without a
doubt, we are dealing with a falsified report.
The real aim of such a falsification was to intimidate society and to confuse the issue of
where the limits lied in determining when something was «criminal» and when it was «just». The
news that someone innocent had been condemned was meant to force every single citizen of the
USSR to expect to be arrested and even to doubt his own innocence. Such falsification is one of
the most vivid examples of how a totalitarian system works, for the true aim of totalitarianism
is to change the consciousness of a person and to totally subjugate him to the system.
