Moscow’s famous cathedrals prompt an unholy row

The gaudily-coloured onion domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral are one of Moscow’s defining symbols – but now those hallowed towers are on the frontline of an unholy row.

It’s a battleground between church and state which dates back to the immediate aftermath of the 1917 revolution, and pits Russia’s soul against its heritage.

In the bookish, academic corner, Russia’s museums are determined to keep playing a leading role in the preservation of the nation’s religious heritage. They argue this is a role that they have carried out for almost a century, and one that they are ideally equipped to continue.

But in the incense-fragranced corner the Orthodox Church is determined to get back everything that was lost when the Communists ruled that there was no God, and therefore no need for organised religion.

And St. Basil’s, the view that launched a thousand souvenirs, is at the heart of the debate.

Since 1917 the ancient place of worship has been in state hands, first as a museum of atheism and now as an architectural monument owned and cared for by the State Historical Museum.

But new legislation is set to change all that by allowing the church – and other religious groups - to apply for permission to regain control of buildings that were once theirs.

As well as St. Basil’s, this could also see the Kremlin’s cathedrals and St. Petersburg’s Peter and Paul church handed back to Patriarch Kirill and his colleagues.

And for the director of the State Historical Museum Alexander Shkurko, this is not acceptable.

“We cannot give away the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, St. Basil’s or St. Peter and St. Paul because these are national facilities,” he told Kommersant. And he has financial concerns too, since St. Basil’s raises 30 million roubles for his museum. Without this cash, he said, there would be staffing cuts or increased ticket prices.

But the church was not impressed with this “monstrous” stance, added the newspaper.

“We cannot work with this kind of monster who wants first pick of everything,” said the Patriarch’s press spokesman Vladimir Vigilyansky. “The church may not take everything, but we need to build a working relationship that takes into account the interests of churches and cultural institutions.”

United Russia, which is pushing through the legislation after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised Patriarch Kirill that progress was being made at a meeting earlier this year, is playing the role of peacemaker, with Sergei Popov taking the lead.

His statement on the party’s website on Monday afternoon said: “The museum community can be calm. Property which is part of the museums’ archive collection is not subject to the transfer.

“However there are many other items which are not historically valuable but which are necessary to carry out religious rites.”

Russian tower plans cause alarm

The UN's cultural watchdog has called on Russia to stop a 400m (1,312 ft) skyscraper being built in historic St Petersburg's city centre.
Unesco said the planned $2.4bn (£1.5bn) Okhta business centre tower would "damage the image of Russia".
Local authorities this week approved construction of the building, which will house offices of the state-controlled energy giant Gazprom.
St Petersburg's city centre is listed by Unesco as a world heritage site.
Unesco has warned the building of the skyscraper, which would tower over the city's Neva river and surrounding low-level buildings, could mean St Petersburg is added to the agency's list of endangered world heritage sites.
"We're hoping the (federal) decision to build it won't be taken," said Grigory Ordzhonikidze, the secretary-general of Unesco's Russian commission.
Twisting glass needle
The building's British designers describe the planned five-sided structure as a "396m-high twisting glass needle which echoes the spires across the city of St Petersburg".
St Petersburg usually has planning restrictions for buildings which are over 100m tall.
Announcing a relaxing of these rules for the skyscraper, Saint Petersburg Mayor Valentina Matviyenko said the Okhta project would bring more jobs and building projects to the city.

Gazprom, a key export earner for Russia, sees construction of the business centre and skyscraper as a prestige project that would boost the international image of Russia's second city, which was founded by Peter the Great in 1703.
But conservationists say the glass and metal structure - which would be three times as tall as St Petersburg's current tallest building, the St Peter and Paul Cathedral - would ruin the city's ambience.
Opponents have taken legal action to block the project and clashed with police at consultation sessions held by city authorities.
It remains unclear whether Moscow's central government could intervene to veto the skyscraper, which would take several years to build.
St Petersburg is the home city of President Vladimir Putin and Prsident Dmitry Medvedev, but has lagged behind Moscow in capitalising from the country's post-Soviet economic transformation.

British architectural company RMJM, which was appointed to design the building in December 2006, welcomed St Petersburg's decision to relax its building height limitations for the project, which it called "a major step forward for the city".
RMJM says the tower's design was inspired by the concept of energy in water, "with the form of the building deriving its shape from the changing nature of water, ever-changing light, reflections and refraction".
Unesco's national commissions are set up by member states to co-ordinate the organisation's work with national governments and NGOs.
Russia's Hermitage Museum and the St Petersburg Union of Architects had previously voiced opposition to Gazprom's plan.