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1 pm Moscow time, Guanguanpig arrived at Sheremetyevo air port, started her first adventure of Russia, a nostalgic dream world for her. Natasha, her Russian friend meeting in Beijing 2 years ago, drove to the airport and picked her up. After 3 hours traffic jams, they reached the heart of Moscow center. Bathing the winter sunset along the embankment of Moscow River after painful congestion made them completely released. ‘Look at that white church! How beautiful in the sunset! I am truly in Russia, incredible!’ ‘That’s Christ the Sav-iour Cathedral, one of our canteen.’
14 of April. 2011Guanguanpig’s Adventure
‘What? I mean that church.’ ‘Yes, I know, I also wash my car there, I have a golden membership, much cheaper than another places in Moscow.’ ‘What… I am totally confused, isn’t it a church? ’ ‘It is, but not only a church. It’s a complex built 10 years ago of Cathedral, canteen, laundry, car parking and washing, museum, etc… there is a brilliant story about it.’ Natasha told the legendary life of Christ the Saviour to Guanguanpig. ‘Superplace of Ghosts! It sems like a Disneyland then, but anyway, I like it. It composed a strong feeling of Russia as I imagined in my dream.’
METEMPSYCHOSIS
The passage of a soul from one body to another.Rebirth of the soul at death in another body, either human or animal.
CONTENTS:
History of the Cathedral 9
Introduction 1
New Landmark 35
Glorification 41
Sham Replica 59
Hybridization 71
Conclusion 75
Christ the Saviour
Skyline
LANDMARK
SHAM REPLICA
Political intentionsSocio-Economic need
communist beliefs collapsed rich-poor divide destroy communist ideology way for social solidarity
Reasons of Re-construction
Symbolism
HYBRIDIZATION
GLORIFICATION
Cases in Moscow Mayor Luzhkov
Commerce
Orthodox Church
Culture
Christ the Saviour
Skyline
LANDMARK
SHAM REPLICA
Political intentionsSocio-Economic need
communist beliefs collapsed rich-poor divide destroy communist ideology way for social solidarity
Reasons of Re-construction
Symbolism
HYBRIDIZATION
GLORIFICATION
Cases in Moscow Mayor Luzhkov
Commerce
Orthodox Church
Culture
The cathedral was considered as a symbol of the autocratic leadership characteristic to Rus-sia, setting the region apart from the west.
9
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is on the bank of the Mosk-va River, a few blocks west of the Kremlin. With an overall height of 103 metres, it is the tallest Orthodox church in the world. When Napoleon retreated from Moscow, Emperor Alexander I signed a manifest, 25 December 1812, declaring his intention to build a Cathedral in honor of Christ the Saviour “to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her” and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people. The cathedral was finished in 1883. Ton’s cathedral was an imposing monument to Russian victory and strength, dominating the Moscow cityscape into the Soviet era.
View of the cathedral and the Great Stone Bridge in 1905
10
Russian Imperial Ideology
Embodying the most prominent expression of Russian imperial ideology, the Cathedral was too provocative a symbol to resist socialist rule. It was demolished in 1931 by Stalin, who intended to build there the vast Palace of the Soviets.
11
14
The newspapers wrote ‘ The Ca-thedral is grotesque and totally inartistic’. ‘The Cathedral is a poisonous mushroom on Mos-cow’s face’ and that it was ‘a source of slothfulness’ .
In 1958, under Nikita Khrushchev, the site turned over to become an open-air swimming pool, the largest in the world, which was kept at a temperature of 27°C all year round. The result was a thick covering of fog that shrouded a number of gruesome deaths (and murders) among the swimmers. The swimming pool that used to attract 15,000 bathers a day.
21
Moskva Pool in 1980
In 1993, 207 Moscow churches were attended by 500,000 people, but, beginning in 1960, more than five million people used the pool annually.
24
View of the cathedral in 1996
Moscow City Government estimates the reconstruc-tion costs $360-million and most of the amount was given by the 20 largest companies operating in Moscow, such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Soci-ete Generale. “Our Mayor said to the companies; you make money out of the people of Moscow, so you give something back for them and our city”.
Boris Yel’tsin signed the July 1992 decree, “On the creation of a Foundation for Moscow’s Rebirth,” in which restoration of the Cathedral was listed as the very first project.
27
The reconstruction ompleted in 2000, the new ca-thedral is loosely based on Ton’s original designs, but constructed with modern building materials in-cluding air conditioning, telecommunications facili-ties, elevators and underground parking.
33
The Cathedral became the national card
Lebanese President
Patriarch taught primatial blessing to Bagapsh and his wife and hoped to develop good relations of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia.
40
46
People felt vacuous after loosing the faith of Communism, Orthodoxy fulfilled the emptiness. Believers are booming after Soviet Union collapsed, reached 60% of Russian population.
48
After the fall of Soviet Union, new econo-my policy lead to a striking gap between the rich and the poor, in 2009, there were 2 million unemployment and one sixth people live below poverty bottom line. Religion became their port both physical-ly and psycologically, which has already led to the renovation of appoximately 300 churches in Moscow. Christ the Sav-iour is the leading power of all the Ortho-dox churches in Russia.
49
Reconstruction was undertaken by a special Committee, headed by Patri-arch Alexy II and the Mayor of Moscow. This collaboration seems to be more the product of political aspirations than a real response to the spontaneous reli-gious feeling of Muscovites. It was the need to establish ‘Religion As a Symbol’, rather than ‘Religion As a Living Tradi-tion And Practice’, that was the prime motivation of this project.
Yeltsin, ‘national sacred place must be reborn.’ ‘it will be easier to find the path to social accord, the creation of goodness, and a life in which there will be less room for sin.
Putin, ‘Our country need Orthodox’s cooperation to help drugger, vagrant problems and assist elder ,disabled in order to strengthen national unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’
Luzhkov declared at the official opening of the cathedral in October, 2000, that the site would help generate Orthodoxy and spirituality inRussia. The overall goal of the project was officially proclaimed as being ‘to break with the Soviet past, with its antireligious and an-tinational practices, and to re-establish connection with the lost cultural heritage of the country.’
Reconstructing the cathedral with a design faithful to the original would imply that the Soviet past could be easily erased.
51
Reconstructing the cathedral with a design faithful to the original would imply that the Soviet past could be easily erased.
52
There are 23,000 Russian Orthodox churches have been rebuilt in the post-Soviet era. Till 2010, the total number of churches and chapels in Moscow is 837. Yet, 19 churches have not been transferred to the Church; 90 churches and chapels are under construction. Approxi-mately 300 churches were renovat-ed and constructed in Moscow. In 2010 and 2011, at least 200 ortho-dox churches are to be built .
56
constructed 1620-1636demolished 1936
constructed 1837-1883demolished 1931
constructed 1932-1938demolished 2003
constructed eighteenth centurynever finished
reconstructed 1992-1993 reconstructed 1995-2002 reconstructed 2005-2009 reconstruct started from 2005
Cathedral of Kazan
A trend for sham replicas has flourished during this 20 years
Christ the Saviour Moskva Hotel Tsaritsino Palace
61
A Trend For Sham Replicas Has Flourished During This 20 Years
constructed 1620-1636demolished 1936
constructed 1837-1883demolished 1931
constructed 1932-1938demolished 2003
constructed eighteenth centurynever finished
reconstructed 1992-1993 reconstructed 1995-2002 reconstructed 2005-2009 reconstruct started from 2005
Cathedral of Kazan
A trend for sham replicas has flourished during this 20 years
Christ the Saviour Moskva Hotel Tsaritsino Palace
62
Luzhkov’s personal tastes and business interests have left a strong mark on the city since he became Mayor in 1992.
I perceive the city entirely in terms of facades. So why in-deed not destroy a building, replace all its innards and then recreate the facades? In Moscow’s culture the notion of a copy sometimes has no less bearing than that of an origi-nal. This is because the conceptual, historical and cultural ‘baggage’ that such a copy carries can often be richer and more profound than the original design.
65
The Mayor once claimed that he was righting histori-cal wrongs by reconstructing architectural monuments destroyed by the Soviets. However, today’s political and business landscape indicates that a prime motivation is profit and convenience. Soon we will have the youngest heritage of any city in the world !!!
66
Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855)
Luzhkov only spent 5 years to complete the project which Tsar used to spend 50 years.
67
First, the 850th anniversary of the founding of Moscow was to be celebrated in September 1997 “as a nationwide holiday,” providing Moscow authorities with a chance to display their achievements, of which the crowning one was to be the restored Cathedral. Second, the Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 1995 and 1996 were seen as likely to result in political destabi-lization, and personal attachment to this significant construction project would allow Luzhkov to stabilize his position.
The reconstruction need to be finished as soon as possible
Luzhkov only spent 5 years to complete the project which Tsar used to spend 50 years.
68
A proposal for reconstruction of Christ the Saviour, not built. Yu.I.Seliverstov 1994
A proposal in Tsaristsyno, not built. 1988
Designed by Mospromstroy office 1995
1 2
3
69
Arguing that exact re-construction of the Cathedral would recall only one period of the place’s history, Seliverstov suggested an original way to invoke the past through the erection of a steel-contour outline of the lost building, with just the original chapel-altar inside. This inexpensive project had the advantage of re-storing the architectural scale of the original Cathedral, arguably its most famous feature, and leaving empty space for broader interpretations
As soon as Gorbachev’s new policy of openness in the late 1980s allowed some religious freedom, the idea of restoring the lost Cathedral began to gain popularity. The intelligentsia of the country was at the forefront. Using various media, prominent artists and writers criticized the Communist regime and cam-paigned for restoration of the Cathedral.
To celebrate the 1988 millennium of the Russian conversion to Christianity, the state agreed to allow construction of a new Trin-ity Cathedral inTsaritsyno. Designed as a reminder of the lost Cathedral, the project nevertheless was to signify the new policy of separation of Church and state, and therefore to be located not in the center but rather in the residential outskirts of the city.
While Seliverstov’s arch project and the Millennium Cathedral in Tsaritsyno responded to the growing criticism of “grand scale” architectural thinking, the state-led restoration was to continue the tsarist and Soviet tastes for grandiose structures
(Malinin 1994, 1995)
70
HYBRIDIZATION
The reconstruction is made from reinforced concrete on a steel frame; bronze casts were used instead of carved stone for the reliefs on the exterior of the ca-thedral. A raised ground floor was added, raising the building up and changing its original proportions. While the total floor area of the Cathedral is only 3,980 m2, the three-level basement has floorspace of 66,000 m2, more than fifteen times the upper level. The new func-tions added in this space are even more significant.
71
Underground car parking and car washing
book sale and gallery
technical support
Laudry Congress hall
Cathedral Canteen
Church of Transfiguration
The basement reflects a political compromise between Moscow govrnment and Patriarchate
The city authorities initially wanted only the garages and the Church of the Transfiguration in the base-ment. The underground parking garage alone was regarded as worth the effort
(Semenov 1994)
73
Underground car parking and car washing
book sale and gallery
technical support
Laudry Congress hall
Cathedral Canteen
Church of Transfiguration
The basement reflects a political compromise between Moscow govrnment and Patriarchate
Restored Convent of Alex-ius the Man of God, with its Church of the Transfiguration and halls for the Church’s Councils. Another idea is to increase the seating capacity for the conference-hall, build theological center and spa-cious lobby halls for exhibi-tions and book sales.
74
75
Summary of Use and Historical Context of the Sites of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Use
Convent of Alexiusthe Man of God
Vitberg’s cathedral
Ton’s cathedral
Palace of the Soviets
Swimming pool
Restored cathedral 1997-present Luzhkov Mayor of Moscow Strong position of Moscow power goupin post-Soviet Russia
formally independent;depends on state support
main cathedral historical memorial;headquarters of the Russian orthodox church; gathering/retial/parking
1960-1994 Khrushchev
1881-1931
1937-1941 Stalin Leader of USSR
Leader of USSR Strong USSR
Global communist union subject to harsh repressions
marginalized, subject to repressions
recreation
gathering and monument to the USSR
Nicholas I
1817-1825 Alexander I Russian Emperor
Russian Emperor Strong empire
Spritual leadership in post- Napoleonic Europe
department of the state
department of the state
war memorialchurch comlex
war memorialmajor cathedral
abandoned
abandoned
1514-1837 Alexii Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia
Orthodox Christendom
Primary political power religious completed
completed
completed
completed
Dates Founder Political Status Ideology Position of Orthodox Functions Status of construction
76
Use
Convent of Alexiusthe Man of God
Vitberg’s cathedral
Ton’s cathedral
Palace of the Soviets
Swimming pool
Restored cathedral 1997-present Luzhkov Mayor of Moscow Strong position of Moscow power goupin post-Soviet Russia
formally independent;depends on state support
main cathedral historical memorial;headquarters of the Russian orthodox church; gathering/retial/parking
1960-1994 Khrushchev
1881-1931
1937-1941 Stalin Leader of USSR
Leader of USSR Strong USSR
Global communist union subject to harsh repressions
marginalized, subject to repressions
recreation
gathering and monument to the USSR
Nicholas I
1817-1825 Alexander I Russian Emperor
Russian Emperor Strong empire
Spritual leadership in post- Napoleonic Europe
department of the state
department of the state
war memorialchurch comlex
war memorialmajor cathedral
abandoned
abandoned
1514-1837 Alexii Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia
Orthodox Christendom
Primary political power religious completed
completed
completed
completed
Dates Founder Political Status Ideology Position of Orthodox Functions Status of construction
Desire
powerambition
president electionsocial solidarity
profit
propaganda
self-representationpurge communism
ideology
taste
welfare substitution
corruption
brandingnew social value
77
“Ne
w o
ld c
hu
rch
”Ca
thed
ral o
f Chr
ist t
he S
avio
r is
a ve
ry im
pres
sive
bui
ldin
g. It
is a
n ex
ampl
e of
Rus
sian
relig
ios
arch
itect
ure.
But
this
cat
hedr
al w
as e
xplo
ded
by S
ovie
t gov
ernm
ent i
n 30
-s a
nd it
was
bui
lt ag
ain
in 9
0-s.
So y
ou s
houl
d un
ders
tand
that
it is
a n
ew b
uild
ing.
I di
d no
t com
e in
side
bec
ause
the
wer
e to
muc
h pe
ople
in q
ueue
. The
re is
a v
ery
butif
ull v
iew
from
the
brid
ge n
ear t
he c
athe
dral
“Ca
n't
mis
s!!”
The
queu
e to
go
insi
de w
asn'
t lon
g, e
ntry
is fr
ee. T
here
is s
ecur
ity c
heck
as
you
ente
r, ba
g ch
ecki
ng. N
o ph
otog
raph
s an
d m
obile
pho
nes
are
allo
wed
to u
se in
side
. Don
't fo
rget
to g
o do
wns
tairs
whe
re is
mor
e to
see
(qui
te a
few
sta
irs b
ut th
ere
is a
n ex
it, s
o yo
u do
n't h
ave
to g
o up
). If
you
can,
try
to g
o du
ring
a m
ass.
I was
ther
e ju
st b
efor
e an
d I h
eard
the
choi
r pra
ctis
ing.
.. It
soun
ded
amaz
ing!
Als
o,en
tran
ce to
the
met
ro s
tatio
n Kr
opot
insk
aya
is d
irect
ly fr
om th
e pa
rk s
urro
undi
ng th
e ca
thed
ral.
“B
reat
hta
kin
g..
.”
A p
lace
you
MU
ST h
ave
been
whe
n vi
sit M
osco
w. A
n at
mos
pher
e w
hich
is u
ndes
crib
able
.
“Blin
g”
“Big
”
“Gh
ost
”“We
dd
ing
ca
ke”
No
othe
r wor
d ca
n de
scrib
e th
is c
athe
dral
bet
ter.
Ther
e is
gol
d, s
ilver
, bro
nze
and
bras
s ev
eryw
here
. Thi
s ca
thed
ral i
s in
tere
stin
g...
“A p
lea
san
t b
reat
h o
f fr
esh
air
” A
fter
the
hust
le a
nd b
ustle
of t
he K
rem
lin, i
t was
gre
at to
arr
ive
at th
e ga
rden
s ar
ound
this
cat
hedr
al. T
he g
roun
ds a
re v
ery
wel
l mai
ntai
ned
and
on a
sun
ny a
nd w
arm
day
an
exc
elle
nt p
lace
to g
o fo
r a b
it of
a re
st. T
he c
athe
dral
sits
righ
t nex
t to
a bu
sy h
ighw
ay th
at ru
ns a
long
the
river
, but
this
is n
ot p
artic
ular
ly n
otic
eabl
e w
hen
you
are
insi
de th
e ca
thed
ral g
roun
ds. A
brid
ge c
onne
cts
the
area
aro
und
the
cath
edra
l with
the
othe
r sid
e of
the
river
. The
who
le a
rea
is lo
vely
and
a g
reat
pla
ce to
go
for a
litt
le
stro
ll. P
ay a
tten
tion
to th
e ra
iling
s w
hen
cros
sing
the
brid
ge. T
his
loca
tion
is o
bvio
ulsy
a p
opul
ar s
pot f
or w
eddi
ng c
oupl
es to
com
e to
hav
e th
eir p
hoto
s ta
ken.
As
a re
min
der o
f the
ir vi
sit a
nd a
sym
bol o
f the
ir un
ion,
man
y of
the
coup
les
lock
pad
lock
s m
arke
d w
ith th
eir n
ames
and
wed
ding
dat
es to
the
raili
ng. I
n ad
ditio
n to
a g
reat
vi
ew o
f the
cat
hedr
al th
ere
is a
lso
a ni
ce v
iew
of t
he ri
ver a
nd th
e Kr
emlin
from
the
brid
ge a
s w
ell a
s a
huge
sta
tue
of P
eter
the
Gre
at w
ith a
nav
al th
eme.
“My
favo
rite
Mo
sco
w C
ath
ed
ral”
Th
is C
athe
dral
is m
y fa
vorit
e in
Mos
cow
. The
cat
hedr
al w
as re
built
dur
ing
the
90's,
but
it h
ouse
s so
me
of th
e ol
dest
icon
s in
Rus
sia
in th
e lo
wer
leve
l. A
lthou
gh n
ot
requ
ired,
all
Russ
ian
wom
en c
over
thei
r hea
ds in
cat
hedr
als.
It is
a c
ourt
esy,
but
not
a re
quire
men
t to
do s
o.
78
Christ the Saviour
Skyline
LANDMARK
REPLICA
Political intentionsSocio-Economic need
communist beliefs collapsed rich-poor divide destroy communist ideology way for social solidarity
Rebuilt national recognition
Tourism
HYBRIDIZATION
GLORIFICATION
Cases in Moscow Mayor Luzhkov
Commerce
Orthodox Church
Culture
Tool
Key intervention
Side ef
fect
Christ the Saviour
Skyline
LANDMARK
REPLICA
Political intentionsSocio-Economic need
communist beliefs collapsed rich-poor divide destroy communist ideology way for social solidarity
Rebuilt national recognition
Tourism
HYBRIDIZATION
GLORIFICATION
Cases in Moscow Mayor Luzhkov
Commerce
Orthodox Church
Culture
Tool
Key intervention
Side ef
fect
SUPERPLACE OF GHOSTS
A replica of a past monument.
An alternance of symbols in the same place.
A real Superplace, a crucial point in Moscow geopolitics, capable to absorb, in sequence, different presences and symbols.
LEGITIMATION
How long can Moscow, as Capital of Russia, legitimate its National Identity through an old repertoire of symbols?
Will images of the past continue to represent Russian Character?
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