To this effect, before the revolution Lenin’s faction devoted a significant portion of their meagre resources to antireligious propaganda, and even during the civil war, Lenin devoted much of his personal energy towards the anti-religious campaign. The influence of the Orthodox Church especially needed to be weakened in order to undermine the Tsarist régime. The populace also needed to be prepared in order to make a transition from religious beliefs to atheism, as Communism would require of them.[35]