That was superb. I especially appreciated 2) and 4).

In 2),  I would've like to have read just a little bit more about the influence of

Grigori Rasputin rather than access a Wiki link. Really good stuff though, thanks.

Overall I liked your article it was very informative, my only critique is the inadequate coverage of any substantive proof that Hitler was an atheist.  I understand that your area of emphasis is centered in Russian History and Communist ideology and feel that you cannot comment authoritatively regarding the Hitler/Nazi regime, it might have been a better idea to omit the mention of Hitler altogether and focus on your specialty.  For casual readers who shall we say are possessed of an short attention span could get the wrong idea (the only comment stating he was not a atheist is 6 paragraphs into the article).  The only reason I mention this is from my casual research on the internet and love of history, Hitler has become a bit of a poster child for the evils of atheism because he garnered the highest body count of all of the atrocities in the twentieth century.  Outside that the article is well done and informative, well done.

Much appreciated Wonko. I'll consider adding more about Rasputin. But the real story, in my opinion, was the exceedingly close relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Russian tsars. Rasputin, who I don't believe was necessarily an official representative of the Church, was just a symptom of a much larger problem. When Lenin came to power, the Orthodox Church was especially brutalized, which I tend to think was a reaction to its former heavy influence.

Yep.  There are so many direct quotes from Hitler himself referring to his religion that it's absurd to call him an atheist.  The only reasonable argument I've ever heard is that there may be some evidence that he was distancing himself from the Catholic church towards the end of his life.  While this may be true, the only evidence I've ever seen is that this action was political, not philosophical.