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Stalin and church

Discussion in 'Free Fire Zone' started by Kai-Petri, Dec 26, 2005.

  1. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Church of Christ the Savior -
    destroyed and rebuilt

    http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/xram.html

    The largest structure in Moscow, the church was built between 1839 and 1883 as a memorial to Russian soldiers killed in 1812. In 1931 Stalin had it blown up to make way for a huge Palace of Soviets:

    [​IMG]

    A sketch of the massive Place of Soviets

    The Palace of Soviets was to be the tallest building in the world--8 meters higher than the Empire State Building, with a 6000 ton statue of Lenin on top.

    But the land was too damp to support such a structure. The area remained abandoned until 1958, when the Moscow Swimming Pool was erected here, the largest open-air pool in the world. In 1994 the pool was closed and reconstruction of the mammoth church began anew.

    [​IMG]

    The reconstructed church in 1996
     
  2. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

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    Bah, one church more, one church less, as if there weren't enough churches in Moscow!

    Now a 6000 ton statue of Lenin is something you don't see every day, or is it?

    :D
     
  3. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    And in 1989 or 1990 it would have been a sight to see that Lenin being pulled down...
     
  4. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

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    I agree, I did everything I could to undo everything he did. I even put his corpse in a glass coffin to keep an eye on him and be sure he wasn't coming back :D
     
  5. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    One example how much Stalin thought of the church and priests.
     
  6. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Stalin was a sorta " clever" man. Once the Barbarossa started he started calling the country Mother Russia and let the priests get out of prison because the Soviet people were very religious.He would have lost the war without the country´s full defence.
     
  7. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Not necessarily about the church, but equating the war with fighting for "Mother Russia" was even symbolized later.
    images(1).jpg

    I remember seeing a film when I was teaching that showed this statue and others in Volgagrad. The procession of people in the hall was almost religious.
     
  8. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    How many Icons do the US have? In The USSR/Russia the were icons everywhere.
     

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