The Fall of 1997 marks several anniversaries in Russia: the 850th anniversary of the founding of Moscow and 80 years after the October Revolution. The first has stimulated cultural and architectural renewal and the latter is a cause for political reflection. As part of the physical changes in the capitol city, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is being reconstructed.
To Stalin, the Cathedral was a symbol of the old czarist regime; he had it destroyed in the 1930s. Now the new administration of Russia and Moscow are working to reconstruct the Cathedral based on the original plans. These images from the UCR/California Museum of Photography's Keystone-Mast Collection, taken at the turn of the century, provide stereoscopic evidence of its original condition. Additionally, visitors can take a tour of the Kremlin from the same time period.