Inside Moscow's New Military Megachurch

An aerial view of work under way on the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral, the main cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, which is due to be completed in time for the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany on May 9.

The main facade of the cathedral, located some 60 kilometers from central Moscow in Patriot Park.
 

A replica of a crashed German Luftwaffe fighter plane on the grounds of the cathedral. A depiction of the 1941 battle for Moscow is being made near the cathedral's main entrance. 

Nazi tanks and a minefield in the recreated battlefield on the cathedral grounds. 

A glitzy interior room of the cathedral under construction. Most of these pictures were made available by the Russian Defense Ministry in late April.
 

A pool in the cathedral that will be used for baptisms. The church was supposed to be paid for entirely through donations, but according to Russian reports some 2.95 billion rubles (about $40 million) came from the Kremlin's budget for the project.

A worker pushes open an entrance to the cathedral on April 27. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (right) visits the cathedral on April 22. The decorative reliefs in the background mark the start and finish of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War, which began for Soviets in 1941 with the Nazi invasion of the U.S.S.R. and ended with Germany's defeat in Europe in 1945.

The main dome inside the cathedral includes Jesus looking down on worshippers. Many details of the cathedral reference the 1941-45 war with Nazi Germany. The diameter of the main dome is 19.45 meters, while the belfry will be 75 meters above the ground in honor of the upcoming 75th anniversary.
 

A shot of the interior of the church under the main dome shows a stained-glass emblem in the top right that features the communist hammer and sickle.

A close-up of the emblem with the words “for personal courage” and a partially obscured communist insignia.
 

One of the numerous mosaics inside the cathedral shows Jesus being held by his mother, Mary. On April 24, the Russian news outlet MBK published leaked photos of unfinished mosaics inside the cathedral depicting Soviet leader Josef Stalin, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and scenes from Russia’s 2014 takeover and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

One of the leaked images showing work under way on a mosaic representing Putin, Shoigu, and other Russian politicians. Russian media later reported that the image of Putin was taken down. A Kremlin spokesman said that the Russian leader was aware of the mosaic but felt it was early to evaluate his work with such a depiction.
 

Another of the images leaked to MBK shows a banner of Stalin (top right). A church spokesman later confirmed the authenticity of the images, addressing the inclusion of a man responsible for the deaths of millions of Soviets and the closure or demolition of hundreds of churches and monasteries by telling state media: "Not everyone likes [the image of Stalin], maybe many of our relatives were unjustly repressed [under his rule], including mine. But we can’t tear this page out of history."
 

Some of the bells that have since been installed in the church belfry being tested by a priest in August 2019. The largest bell (center) weighs around 10 tons.

An interior view of the church reminiscent of some of Moscow’s Stalin-era subway stations.

Builders at work on the exterior of the cathedral. The main building is 95 meters high, making it the third-tallest Orthodox cathedral in Russia.

The foundation stone of the cathedral reads: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, this main shrine of the armed forces of the Russian Federation was laid down in honor of Christ's resurrection by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill, Russian Federation President V.V. Putin, and Russian Defense Minister S.K. Shoigu on September 19, 2018."