Russia: controversy over mosaics of Putin and Stalin in a church

The new Orthodox cathedral dedicated to the Russian Armed Forces during construction work outside Moscow, Russia, April 28, 2020. Sergei Kiselyov / Moscow News Agency / Handout via REUTERS

Text by: Etienne Bouche

Russia is finalizing the construction of a huge Orthodox church near Moscow. Located in a military park of the Ministry of Defense, this 95 meter high building is dedicated to the Russian armed forces. It was originally to be completed for the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, but its inauguration has been postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The church is talked about because of two controversial mosaics representing Vladimir Putin and Joseph Stalin.

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From our correspondent in Moscow

The face of Vladimir Putin will not finally be reproduced, "in  accordance with the wish of the Head of State  ", this was affirmed this week by the bishop in charge of the church. This mosaic celebrated "the return of Crimea without bloodshed". The Russian president was surrounded by the country's highest officials. An initiative which had embarrassed until the Kremlin.

The installation of the second mosaic also aroused divisions within the Church itself. It represents the parade of victory at the end of the Second World War. In Red Square, a portrait of Stalin stands out from the crowd. For Vladimir Legoïda, spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, the face of the dictator has no place in a church. "  His name is associated with many misfortunes that cannot be erased from history,  " remarks made on the radio on May 1.

This Saturday, however, the head of the artistic council of the Church defended the installation of this mosaic. According to Leonid Kalinin, the representation of Stalin here has no religious value. The Soviet leader appears on a poster brandished by a soldier of the Red Army. And not to make it appear would amount to "  tearing apart pages of history  ". Two opposing visions which illustrate the impossible memory consensus in Russia.

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