An old cathedral for a New Russia: The symbolic politics of the reconstituted church of Christ the Saviour

Abstract

Moscow today resounds with the noise of hammers and heavy equipment. Market oriented reforms, not surprisingly, have sparked a boom in the construction of private housing, modern office space and retail outlets. Meanwhile, political reform is driving another real estate trend - the return of prerevolutionary religious sites to believers. Under new laws protecting religious freedom and private property, religious communities are reclaiming and restoring their former places of worship.' In the hope of attracting tourist dollars some local governments are also investing in conservation or restoration of religious and secular architectural landmarks and historical sites. Businessmen have also recognised the potential value and prestige of historic buildings in city centres when their interiors are converted into modem office space. In Mm:cow the city government, the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy and the new rich all have a hand in the most massive restoration project in Russia today the rebuilding of the Church of Christ the Saviour from scratch. This cathedral, which once dominated the Moscow skyline, was completely demolished by the Bolsheviks in 1931 to make way for a planned 'Palace of Soviets' that would have commemorated Lenin and celebrated the Communist International. Ultimately the costs deterred the Soviet government from building much beyond the foundation. Today, however, at the cost of millions of dollars, the reconstruction of the cathedral is proceeding at a breakneck pace. Given Russia's dire economic situation, why is so much state and private money flowing into the rebuilding of a single cathedral? After all, federal and local authori­ ties must cope with the fact that 'even by official statistics one-third of the population lives in poverty, and one-quarter lives below the boundary of what is necessary for physical survival.'2 Meanwhile the Orthodox Church is struggling to find the means to restore or build parish churches for its faithful all across Russia. Industrial cities created during the Soviet period, for instance, have no church property to be reclaimed. 3 Even in Moscow, where many churches in the city centre have been reopened, not a single wholly new Orthodox church has been built to serve the vast dormitory communities surrounding the city .. Nor is the reconstruction of the Church of Christ the Saviour part of a general state programme of financial support for various religious confessions. The idea of reconstructing the cathedral was raised by religious believers and conservative Russian nationalists in 1989 to symbolise the rebirth of a strong, Orthodox Russia. Five years later the 'democratic' president of