The special committee decided the removal of the mosaic with Vladimir Putin from the Church of the Russian Armed Forces at the instigation of the President of Russia himself.
Bishop Stefan of Klin stated to Russian media that the committee responsible for the interior decoration of the church “decided to remove the mosaic with the image of the Russian president, which was his wish.” The Bishop also pointed out that the mosaic was still under construction and that it was very likely that its composition would change.
It is recalled that a few days ago it became known that the Experts’ Council for Church Art, Architecture and Restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church considers that the leaders of the state and Joseph Stalin will be included in the mosaics that will decorate the walls of the church dedicated to the Armed Forces of Russia.
The statement was made by the Chair of the experts’ council, Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, in the TASS Russian News Agency. According to Leonid Kalinin, Joseph Stalin as the supreme military commander of the Soviet army in the period 1941-1945 will be included in the mosaic entitled “The Victory Parade,” which was created based on photographs. “The council considers these images to be absolutely appropriate, reflecting historical truth from pages that cannot be torn out arbitrarily,” said Archpriest Leonid Kalinin.
However, he said that some members of the council of the Russian Orthodox Church did not agree with this position. “Not everyone likes it, not all members of the council like it, maybe because their relatives were unjustly persecuted, something that I don’t like either. We cannot tear out this page from history nor did we celebrate the memory of a man who contributed greatly to this Victory. Therefore, reluctantly, we did it,” added Archpriest Leonid Kalinin.
