Did the Soviets have abridged Bibles?

[McCristin]

I grew up w/the idea that the Soviet government's censorship of Bibles allowed for Bibles that were abridged and that missionaries that were smuggling in Bibles were just filling in the gaps, but now that I have Google, I'm having a hard time proving that Bibles were at all legal.

 

[blackribbon]

I was told that Bibles were not legal. Often people split Bibles so they could share and each own a piece of the Bible...but I never heard of abridged Bibles. If there were allowed, they would be cleaned of the Christian message so not really Bibles at all.

 

[blackribbon]

I was taught in school that the Soviet citizens were "just like us" but even as a child, I could see past the propaganda and see that their goal in life was plain survival and not pursuing happiness or meaning. The biographies of average citizens didn't look anything like the people I knew and finances was not the difference.

 

[FireDragon76]

From what I've heard, the Soviets strictly limited how many Bibles could be printed in the USSR. Few were allowed to be printed entirely. The Orthodox and other recognized religious groups were only allowed to have materials for their liturgies or worship services, and the government closely monitored and controlled the activities of those groups.

The Soviets did not just censor Bibles but also a wide variety of literature.

 

[McCristin]

From what I've heard, the Soviets strictly limited how many Bibles could be printed in the USSR. Few were allowed to be printed entirely.

So it sounds like what you're saying is they had some complete Bibles and a larger amount of abridged Bibles? Of course "abridged" can mean a few things. It can mean all un-Bolchevik passages are removed or it could mean large sections removed, which is what those little red Psalms/Proverbs/New Testaments were.

 

[FireDragon76]

No. Hardly any bibles were allowed to be circulated freely.