The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of the «classical»
Soviet view of the genesis of Christianity in historical science. Appeal to the historiography of the Soviet era on various research topics is becoming relevant in connection with the questions that arose before the Russian historical science about research methods and about their own genealogy, the solution of which makes it possible to revise both long-standing historiographic stereotypes and those that arose in the process of adaptation to the global historical paradigm in 1990s. The author examines the main issues that were raised in the discussions of the 1930-40s
in Soviet historical science on the topic of the origin of the faith of Christ, and also considers the most significant works of the authors of this period in order to identify the reasons fo r the formation of views on early Christianity, which prevailed until the 1970s.