In the atheistic [[communism|communist]] regime of the [[Soviet Union]], torture was frequently employed to extract false confessions which were subsequently used to establish that individuals were "enemies of the people" - particularly under the [[Militant atheism|militant atheist]] [[Joseph Stalin]]'s regime.<ref>[[Alexander Solzhenitsyn|Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr]] (1973). ''The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956'', trans. Thomas P. Whitney and Harry Willetts (New York: Harper & Row, 1985).</ref>
In the Soviet Union, many [[Orthodox Christianity|Orthodox]] priests and laymen experienced religious persecution in the form of torture and being sent to prison camps, [[Atheism and forced labor|labor camps]] or mental hospitals.<ref name="ReferenceA">Multiple references:*Father Arseny 1893-1973 Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father. Introduction pg. vi - 1. St Vladimir's Seminary Press ISBN 0-88141-180-9</ref><ref name="lalex">*Alexeyeva, Lyudmila (1984). [http://old.memo.ru/history/diss/books/alexeewa/index.htm ''History of Dissident Movement in the USSR'' [Russian language]] (Benson VT: Khronika Press). Reprinted at Memorial (society) [archival] website.</ref><ref name="gins">*Ginzburg, Alexander (November 2000). [http://www.index.org.ru/journal/11/ginzburg.html "Record of censorship/Only one year - 1976".] ''Index'' [Russian Language], republished at ''Index'' magazine website/Ginzburg.</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">*Sullivan, Patricia (November 26, 2006). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/25/ "Anti-Communist priest Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa".] ''The Washington Post'' website (Washington D.C.: unknown publisher), p. C09</ref>
=== Atheistic, Chinese communism and torture ===