Protests began in St. Petersburg against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church

Residents of St. Petersburg and the museum community are protesting against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Church.

In January 2017, after the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko announced on January 10, 2017 that the issue of transferring St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church had already been resolved , protests began in the city.

The petition created in July 2015, “We demand to stop the transfer of St. Isaac’s Cathedral to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church,” has become relevant again. Currently, it has 165 thousand followers on the Change.org platform. In parallel, signatures are collected on another platform.

On January 11, representatives of the “Spring” movement hoisted a banner “Not the Russian Orthodox Church” on the Colonnade of Isaac.

On January 13, single communist pickets took place near the cathedral building. They held posters: “We demand that the St. Isaac’s Cathedral Museum not be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church” and “No to the Middle Ages!”

On the same day, a statement in support of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum-monument appeared on the website of the Union of Museums of Russia. “ This is a unique museum ,” the text says, “ which not only does not receive a penny from the budget for current expenses, but also carries out all restoration work at the expense of its own income .” Museum workers are concerned not only about the safety of the building and objects of the museum fund, but also about the fate of their colleagues - 400 employees of a state cultural institution who are losing their jobs.

On January 14, the initiative group “Witnesses of Foucault's Pendulum” planned a series of single pickets near the cathedral building.

On January 28, 2017, a protest rally took place on the Champ de Mars in St. Petersburg against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church. Several thousand people took part in the action (from 2 to 5 thousand - according to various estimates). Many held balloons with the words “Not the Russian Orthodox Church” in their hands.

On February 12, a second major protest took place against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the diocese. About 2 thousand people took part in it, standing in a tight ring around the cathedral.

After the rally, several people continued their protest in the cathedral building. In response to this unplanned action, the organizers of the rally published a statement in which they asked to stop the actions inside the cathedral and not to discredit “thoughtful actions to protect the museum with random PR outbursts.”

On February 20, 2017, it became known that the initiative group for holding a referendum on the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral included in its project questions about the possible transfer of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood to the diocese.

On March 3, 2017, it became known that the order of the St. Petersburg Property Relations Committee regarding the status of St. Isaac's Cathedral (Order No. 160-r “On the use of real estate at the address: St. Petersburg, St. Isaac's Square, 4 a”) was signed on December 30, 2016 . It assumes the possibility of removing the cathedral from the operational management of the museum without providing the museum with new premises. City residentsare challenging the legality of this order in court.

On May 1, 2017, another protest took place on the Champ de Mars against the transfer of the St. Isaac's Cathedral building to the diocese. Participants of the action walked along Nevsky Prospekt from Ligovsky Prospekt to the Champ de Mars, holding white balloons and signs with the inscription “St. Isaac’s Museum” and an image of the temple-monument.

Sources

• A petition against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Church was signed by 155 thousand people // Interfax-religion. 2016. January 13.
• A banner “Not the Russian Orthodox Church” appeared on St. Isaac’s Cathedral // Fontanka. 2017. January 11.
• The Union of Museum Workers of St. Petersburg criticized the transfer of Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church // Fontanka. ru. 2017. January 13.
• “Witnesses of Foucault’s pendulum” will picket Isaac // ZaKS. 2017. January 13.
• Communists picket Isaac, while the Cossacks “protect” him from them from the inside (photo) // Rosbalt. 2017. January 13.
• It’s too early to call it a day // Public campaign #Isaac to the City. 2017. January 30.
• About 2 thousand people in St. Petersburg took part in the action against the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Church // Interfax-religion. 2017. January 30.
• Opponents of the transfer of Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church protected him with a living ring // NevaToday. 2017. February 13.
• Opponents of the transfer of Isaac to the Church spoke out against actions inside the cathedral // Interfax-religion. 2017. February 14.
• Activists want to hold a referendum on the issue of transferring cathedrals to the Russian Orthodox Church // RIA-Novosti. 2017. February 20.
• The Ministry of Culture asked the Russian Orthodox Church for advice on the transfer of monuments // RIA-Novosti. 2017. February 21.
• The protest against the transfer of Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church took place without serious incidents // RIA-Novosti. 2017. May 2.
• An action against the transfer of Isaac to the Russian Orthodox Church began in St. Petersburg // RIA-Novosti. 2017. May 1.