RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Controversy in Russia over church of the military

R.P.Ts. CONFIRMS THAT CHIEF CHURCH OF ARMED FORCES DECORATED WITH MOSAIC WITH IMAGES OF PUTIN AND STALIN

Echo of Moscow, 24 April 2020

 

The frescos also include speakers of both chambers of parliament, the current and former head of the F.S.B., and also the commander of the General Staff. Archpriest Leonid Kalinin explained for Echo of Moscow why such images have been placed in the church.

 

"There are depicted those persons who participated immediately in the decision about the annexation of Crimea. At the same time, they are depicted among a crowd of people, since they represented the opinion of the nation and the wish of the people of Crimea, which is not disputed even by opponents of the annexation of Crimea," he said.

 

Archpriest Leonid Kalinin noted that the decision to depict the first persons of the state was made by the artistic council.

 

"But the composition 'Parade of Victory' was created authentically on the basis of historical photographs, where in the background one of the soldiers is holding in his hands a portrait of the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Army in 1941-1945. That was Joseph Stalin, and thus he is depicted there exclusively in the background and as only one of the portraits," he explained.

 

Also included in these frescoes are the chair of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko; the chair of the State Duma, Viacheslav Volodin; the secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrishev; the director of the F.S.B., Alexander Bortnikov; and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov.

 

The chief church of the armed forces in the suburban Moscow park "Patriot" is supposed to open on 9 May. (tr. by PDS, posted 24 April 2020)

 

CHIEF CHURCH OF DEFENSE MINISTRY DECORATED WITH MOSAICS WITH PUTIN, SHOIGU, AND STALIN

Meduza, 24 April 2020

 

The publication "MBKh Media" published photographs of unfinished mosaics that will be applied to the walls of the chief church of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kubinka suburb of Moscow. The pictures were sent by an anonymous subscriber of the publication's Telegram account.

 

In particular, in one of the photos it is possible to make out the images of Russian President Vladimir Putin; the minister of defense, Sergei Shoigu; the head of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko; the chair of the State Duma, Viacheslav Volodin; the secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrishev; and the director of the F.S.B., Alexander Bortnikov.

 

Another mosaic depicts the Parade of Victory on Red Square in 1945. In it, along with officers and soldiers, is seen a portrait of Joseph Stalin. Also on one of the panels is visible the slogan "Crimea is Ours."

 

The chief church of the Russian Armed Forces will be located on the territory of the park "Patriot" in Kubinka. Its opening is planned for 9 May 2020. The building is 95 meters tall, which will make it the third tallest Orthodox church building in the world.

 

Construction of the church cost almost six billion rubles. Half of this sum consists of donations, and the remaining funds were allocated by the governments of Moscow and the Moscow region.


Update: a member of the patriarchal Council on Culture, Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, confirmed that the compositions "Bloodless Unification of Crimea" and "Parade of Victory" will be on the walls of the church of the Ministry of Defense. The former will include "persons who were immediately involved in the decision on the unification of Crimea," and the second will include Stalin. "The Artistic Council considers these images absolutely appropriate, representing historical truth, from which one cannot tear out pages arbitrarily as it is impossible to dismantle the history of our state," Kalinin declared in a conversation with radio station "Moscow Speaking."

(tr. by PDS, posted 24 April 2020)


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