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>>photo and video
Putin's War Cathedral
Putin’s cathedral of war embodies his civilisation state
The mesmerising building is a glimpse into the country's neo-traditionalist turn
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Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow consecrated Russia’s new Cathedral of the Armed Forces in a forest 40 miles outside the capital. Travelling beyond kitsch into archaeofuturism, the building is spectacular, genuinely like nothing else on earth. Indeed, its mesmerising scale and steampunk ornamentation is almost like a glimpse of an alien civilisation (an impression only amplified by the Warhammer 40k video game music an anonymous Twitter wag added to its launch video).
Archaeofuturism in Russia. Mesmerising video, almost like a glimpse of an alien civilisation. pic.twitter.com/QsYDBK6e1m
The cathedral itself is riveted together like a weapon of war. Clad in bronze and iron, its towers soar skywards like an array of ballistic missiles. Inside, a huge mosaic of Christ’s stern and all-seeing visage looms down into a gloomy interior with the verdigris hue of a time-worn cannon. Glittering mosaics portray the Holy Virgin and the martial saints keeping watch over Moscow’s World War II defenders, and Russian soldiers in modern uniforms proudly bearing their Kalashnikovs like modern martyrs. With steel steps leading to the cathedral cast from melted-down Nazi tanks, its gilded domes surrounded by a vast museum to Russia’s military history containing relics like Hitler’s personal uniform, it is a temple to martial glory that goes far beyond Christianity, the architectural equivalent of a steppe khan drinking wine from the skull of a conquered foe.
The cathedral is the brainchild of Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu (more…)
https://unherd.com/thepost/putins-cathedral-of-war-embodies-his-civilisation-state/