The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is a great monument to Russian military glory and a superb example of Russian architecture, painting and sculpture. It had been under construction for almost 40 years (1839-1883).
On May 26, 1883, on the day of the Ascension, in an atmosphere of utmost solemnity, The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was consecrated by the Metropolitan Ioanniky in the presence of the Emperor Alexander III and members of the royal family.
It was destroyed in one day, in December 5th, 1931, by Stalin's order the communists explored this famous cathedral, which was built on the money of Russian people from many regions of Great Russia. Yes, it was times of USSR, when the religion became "the drug (narcotic) for work class". On the site of destoyed cathedral they started to build the Palace of Soviets, but the Great Patriotic War stopped this construction...
The Cathedral was recovered during 1995 - 2000.