The Pussy Riot Cathedral

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is a landmark in Moscow with a rich history.  The Pussy Riot trial, however, has propelled it (and Pussy Riot) onto the world-wide stage.  I have never heard of Pussy Riot or the church until early this year.  It is a feminist punk-rock band.  On February 12, 2012, 5 members of the band staged a performance, without prior permission, in the cathedral.  They urged Mary, mother of Christ, to get rid of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.  They were kicked out after less than a minute, arrested and are being prosecuted for insults at believers and churchmen.  The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia condemned Pussy Riot’s actions as blasphemous.  The band claimed that they were targeting Putin, not the church.


The Russian Orthodox church, like other religious establishments, were suppressed by the Communists in the days of the Soviet Union.  Many people found strength and hope in the church.  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in contrast, the church has prospered.

The history of the cathedral reflects the history of the church.  Napoleon invaded Russia and laid a siege against Moscow; but he was forced to retreat before he could capture Moscow.  Tsar Alexander I wanted to build a church to honor Christ, whom he believed to have saved Russia.  The church was eventually built on this site by his brother and successor Nicholas I, between 1839 and 1860, long before there were Communists.


In the 1930s the cathedral was demolished by the Communist Soviet Union, and the site was turned into the world’s largest open air swimming pool.  In 1990, in post-Soviet Union Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church received permission to rebuild the church, and the church was completed in 2000.  Before I went to Moscow in August, I tried to locate the church on a map I found on the Internet.  At the location where the church is supposed to be, it was still marked as a swimming pool.

Another map, presumably newer, clearly marked the cathedral.  It is very close to the Kremlin.


It is ironic that the church, which used to be suppressed but proved a bulwark against a totalitarian government, is again prosperous but so friendly with another autocratic government.  It seems, as history has demonstrated so many times, it is not so healthy for the sake of sanity of the church, to be too comfortable and powerful.