Moscow church decorated with mosaics featuring Putin and Stalin
The walls of the main temple of the Russian Armed Forces near Moscow (Patriot Park) have been decorated with mosaics depicting the President of Russia and other government officials.
MBX Media was the first to report the find, publishing photos of the unfinished mosaics. They were sent by an unknown subscriber – no one is allowed into the church itself.
Later, Novaya Gazeta managed to find complete images of these panels.
A large panel next to President Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also shows: Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matvienko, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
A separate panel is dedicated to the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014 (which Ukraine and the international community consider illegal annexation) – there you can also see the top leaders of Russia along with the jubilant residents of the Crimea and the Russian military.
Joseph Stalin appeared on the walls of the temple – on a fresco dedicated to the victory in World War II. It depicts Soviet marshals and soldiers on Red Square, who are holding a poster with the image of the Soviet leader.
As explained to Novaya Gazeta, the appearance of Stalin on a fresco by the national artist of Russia Vasily Nesterenko,
“The thought was the following – that this is a significant figure during the Great Patriotic War, and other generations, not ours, will give him a historical assessment.”
And the artist explained the image on the wall of the temple of Putin and other Russian officials to the “Christian tradition”, when the frescoes of the temple depict people who donated their personal funds for the construction of the temple.
The opening of the main temple of the Armed Forces of Russia is scheduled for May 9, 2020, to the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. According to the Ministry of Defense, the temple was built on collected donations.
