Thelma outside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow

The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built during the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build, and was the scene of the 1882 world premiere of the "1812 Overture" composed by Tchaikovsky. It was destroyed in 1931 on the order of Stalin. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets. Construction started in 1937 but was halted in 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. The Palace was never built. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the current church was rebuilt on the site between 1995 and 2000.