"No they were always there, but their voices were silenced by the
Lenin-Stalin powers (and/or they escaped)."
Yes, I was joshing a bit.
I don't know about the scientist demographic...but I do recall reading
that Stalin was horrified when his operatives discretely took a gauge of
public opinion after a few decades of "workers' paradise".
It appeared that years of browbeating had just about a zero effect on
the average Russian's (Soviet) personal belief (or disbelief) in religion.
That was discussed in this book:
The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
by Alister Mcgrath
http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Atheism-Disbelief-Modern-World/dp/0385500610/sr=1-3/qid=1160188414/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-2346146-6554425?ie=UTF8&s=books