Russia, Moscow, Kazan Cathedral on Red Square

Russia 2007

The original church was erected as a shrine in the early 1630s to mark the city's liberation from the Polish aggressors by the Russian people's volunteer army at the close of the Time of Troubles.
Upon clearing Moscow from the Poles in 1612, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky attributed his success to the divine help of the icon Theotokos of Kazan, to whom he had prayed on several occasions. From his private funds, he financed construction of a wooden church to the Virgin of Kazan on Red Square in Moscow.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Kazan Cathedral was the first church to be completely rebuilt after having been destroyed by the Communists. The cathedral's restoration (1990–1993) was based on the detailed measurements and photographs of the original church Peter Baranovsky made before its destruction in 1936.

Pierwotnie cerkiew ta była votum dziękczynnym księcia Dymitra Pożarskiego za zwycięstwo nad Polakami w 1612 roku i za ich przepędzenie. Tak więc mamy poza samym Kremlem, drugi już 'zabytek' związany z Polska (Obejrzyjcie nowy film rosyjski, "1612" ,w którym zagrał m.in. Michał Zebrowski, a który budzi sporo kontrowersji, opowiada właśnie (nieco basniowo i nijak historycznie o okresie wielkiej smuty, Dymitrach Samozwańcach i masakrze polskich panów).
Aha! No i jeszcze jedno - bardzo zaangażowany w odbudowę tej cerkwi był Mer Moskwy Łużkow.