The Criticism of Abuse of Religion in the Novel of Animal Farm by George Orwell

After Tsarist Russia had come to an end as a result of the popular uprisings in Russia in 1917, when the First World War continued, a new state named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established by the Bolsheviks in a wide geography on the basis of communism. Before the establishment of the new state, the Russian Orthodox Church initially favoured the Tsarist Russia and made propaganda against the Bolsheviks by taking advantage of the influence of religion on masses. After the success of the Russian Revolution, the church was purged of the state, its activities were significantly banned, and lots of clergymen were punished by being arrested, exiled, or murdered. However, shortly before the start of the Second World War, the Stalin administration had felt the need for religion and gradually allowed the activities of the church again. The fact that the previously anti-revolutionary church was compatible with the new regime in line with political interests made George Orwell put the issue of religious abuse indirectly on the agenda of his novel Animal Farm. In this study through the example of the novel Animal Farm, how the Russian Orthodox Church used first by anti-revolutionists, then by revolutionists has been examined. Then, the causes of political exploitation of religion and its consequences have been discussed