Translated material
On the eve of the 1000th anniversary
In the fall of 2000, Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev conveyed a message to the Pope asking him to return the icon. Catholics insisted for some time that this should happen during a personal meeting between the pope and the patriarch. But the Moscow Patriarchate invariably responded that if the Vatican wants to give it away, let it give it away without any conditions. Which is what happened as a result. However, the Mother of God Monastery, where the icon was kept before the revolution, is not ready to accept the Vatican list. A tobacco factory has just moved out of it.