Panoramas: The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (or Khram Khrista Spasitelya) is an impossible-to-miss structure on the banks of the Moskva River, just a few blocks west of the Kremlin. Originally erected in the 19th century to commemorate the Russian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Russo-French war of 1812, it is the tallest Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1931, the building was demolished to pave the way for The Palace of Soviets. But the project never got off the ground, and for many decades a swimming pool named after Lenin dominated the site. In 1997, the massive building was restored and returned to the Orthodox Church.