The main facade of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow has been solemnly unveiled after five years of restoration and being covered by scaffolding.

Now the site of the traditional gatherings of WWII veterans is ready to accept guests with its new “old” face.

The doors of the legendary music and ballet theatre have been shut since 2005. After almost six years of repair works the capital’s Bolshoi has finally got its face back. Following the order of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the works on the theatre building’s façade were finished in time – right before the Russian May holidays and the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism and the end of World War II (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War) celebrated on May 9.

“Today on the eve of the great celebration… we are re-opening this square, which was after 1945 the gathering point for veterans,” Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Muscovites and guests of the capital will now get a chance to see the façade of the theatre building as it was before by architect Albert Cavos, who chose to rebuild the 18th-century theatre to its modern-day form based on Osip Bove's original design after a fire in 1953. The restorers have kept the original colors of paint of all the details of the restored façade.

At the Thursday ceremony officials again proved the reconstruction works would be completed in time by the new 2011 deadline. “Construction on the old Bolshoi Theatre has passed its crisis point, building is moving ahead normally,” Culture Minister Aleksandr Avdeyev said.

However the whole reconstruction project and its constantly delayed deadlines have turned out to be troublesome for Moscow's city and culture authorities as many investigators, journalists, and culture activists believe that a significant part of the funds was embezzled.

Reconstruction of the Bolshoi began in 2005. Repair termination dates were repeatedly postponed. Now the theatre is planned to be re-opened in October, 2011. According to Avdeyev, an additional 130 million roubles are needed to finish the reconstruction termination in time.