MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis The Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Russia’s Self-perception verfasst von / submitted by Karolina Foletti, BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2016 / Vienna 2016 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 687 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Osteuropäische Geschichte degree programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: a.o. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marija Wakounig, MAS 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Research Questions, Methodological Approach ............................................................................................. 7 2. State of Research ................................................................................................................................................11 3. Note on Transliteration, Dates, Footnotes and Text Structure ..................................................................14 Chapter 1.......................................................................................................................................................................16 Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Russian Identity in Tsarist Russia ...............................................................16 1.1. Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a National Church ................................................................................17 1.2. First Plan of the Cathedral .............................................................................................................................19 1.3. Second Plan for the Cathedral.......................................................................................................................22 1.3.1. Description ...............................................................................................................................................22 1.3.2. National Style ...........................................................................................................................................24 1.3.3. National Style and National Identity – Byzantine Heritage or Russian Sovereignty? ..................27 1.3.4. Reception of Ton’s Cathedral and the Legacy of Russian-Byzantine Style in the Context of Russian “National Self-perception” ................................................................................................................33 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................36 Chapter 2.......................................................................................................................................................................38 Palace of the Soviets: Rupture and Continuity. ......................................................................................................38 2.1. The Cathedral from its Consecration to the Revolution ..........................................................................38 2.2. Destruction .......................................................................................................................................................39 2.3. Search for a New Symbol of Soviet Identity ...............................................................................................40 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................44 Chapter 3.......................................................................................................................................................................46 Reconstructing the Cathedral. The Search for Post-Soviet Russian Identity. ...................................................46 3.1. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a Symbol of New Russia .............................................................47 3.1.1. Coming to Terms with Soviet Past and Proposals for New Russian Identity ...............................47 3.1.2. El’cin’s Speech and its Analysis .............................................................................................................49 3.2. Orthodoxy in the New Russian Identity, Cathedral as a Sign of Desecularization ..............................52 3.3. Project of the Construction. Public Debate between its Opponents and Defenders. .........................57 Concluding Remarks ..............................................................................................................................................62 Chapter 4.......................................................................................................................................................................64 The Cathedral as a Stage for Protest. Re-formulation of Russian Identity. .......................................................64 3 4.1. Description of the Incident ...........................................................................................................................65 4.2. Orthodox Hierarchy and Russian Government .........................................................................................67 4.3. Official Discourse............................................................................................................................................72 4.4. Reaction of the Public ....................................................................................................................................76 4.5. Participants’ Comments .................................................................................................................................78 As a Conclusion: ..........................................................................................................................................................83 Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the longue durée Approach .................................................................................83 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................87 General Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................87 Sources ......................................................................................................................................................................94 Sources Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................................94 Sources Chapter 2 ..............................................................................................................................................95 Sources Chapter 3 ..............................................................................................................................................96 Sources Chapter 4 ..............................................................................................................................................99 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................................... 103 Zusammenfassung .................................................................................................................................................... 105 Annex ......................................................................................................................................................................... 106 Tables ..................................................................................................................................................................... 106 Texts ....................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Illustrations ........................................................................................................................................................... 115 4 Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank a.o. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marija Wakounig, MAS for the direction of this Master’s thesis. I am grateful not only for precious comments but also for the understanding and care to grant me the best conditions for my work. My thanks go to Philippe Luisier for introducing me into the rich library of Pontificio Instituto Orientale. I would like to thank Adrien Palladino and Rachel Moland for their help with language corrections. I also thank Pavel Rakitin, Pavel Boček and Nicolas Bock for their kind encouragements, comments and their help with obtaining source materials. Special thanks go