Translated material
Does the seat upholstery of Moscow transport offend the feelings of believers?
The Forty Sorokov movement ordered an examination, the purpose of which is to check whether the image of churches and crosses on the seat upholstery of Moscow transport offends the feelings of believers.
In March 2021, we became aware that in July 2020 the Forty Sorokov movement ordered a linguoculturological and art criticism examination to Tatyana Aleksandrovna Troitskaya. The main question of interest to Orthodox activists was " the design of the fabric used to upholster the seats of public transport in Moscow, its pictorial component, as well as the context in which it is used." The expert examined images of the "object of study" - photographs of the fabric - and pointed conclusion that “ the design is a generalized architectural landscape with a view of modern Moscow ”, and “ domes of Orthodox churches topped with crosses are clearly visible on the controversial fragments ” (the expert calls the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye, St. Basil’s Cathedral and “a more generalized image of another of Moscow churches). The conclusion to which the expert comes is this: “ The created design, if considered abstractly, in isolation from the scope and purpose of the fabric, should be recognized as successful and fully consistent with the purpose ”, but at the same time, “ achieving maximum realism and plausibility, the artist crowns each painted temple with a cross - as a result, during use, an everyday situation arises in which the image of the cross is trampled down, since it is on the seat of a passenger transport seat» .
Consequently, “ the material provided for research contains information, and is also performed using visual means that, in the specified context, offend the religious beliefs and feelings of believers (Orthodox Christians) .”
Activists of the Forty Sorokov movement sent the data of the expert opinion to the Moscow Government.
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