Moscow Guide
The Beliy Gorod
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Price: Daily 6.30am–10pm; closed last Mon of each month
One of the most prominent features of Moscow's skyline is the gigantic Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (khram Khrista Spasitela), near the Pushkin Museum, whose gilt onion domes are visible from Manezhnaya ploshchad. Clad in marble and granite, with colossal bronze doors covered in repoussé saints, the cathedral is an awesome statement of the refound power and prestige of the Orthodox Church – and Mayor Luzhkov's intention to leave his mark on Moscow as surely as Stalin did. It was Stalin who was responsible for destroying the original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour that Luzhkov rebuilt, in tandem with the erection of an equally vast monument to Peter the Great (visible across the river.
Beneath the cathedral is a museum (daily 10am–6pm; free), which is accessible from Soimonovskiy proezd, if not directly by a stairway from the enfilades. This exhibits relics and plans of the original cathedral and a gouache of the Palace of Soviets, plus many pictures on religious themes.