Mosaic representing Putin removed from Russian Orthodox military church
An enormous new military church was set to feature mosaics of Vladimir Putin as a tribute to the annexation of Crimea and to the Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The Russian President has now intervened to have his own image removed.
Intricate mosaics depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials will not be put on display in a new Russian military church, officials confirmed. Objections about the grandiose wall decorations were received from the Kremlin.
An image of the mosaic, which showed Putin alongside Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, was first made public in the Russian media last week. While the Kremlin has not publicly commented on the mosaic, the decision to remove it apparently came from Putin himself.
The Bishop of the church in question denied reports that the mosaic had been dismantled, but told Russian media that it had indeed been removed from display “in accordance with the wishes of the head of state.”
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that when Putin learned of the mosaic he smiled and said: “Someday grateful future generations will appreciate our achievements, but it’s too early to do this now,” the Moscow Times reported.
Source: dw.com
Image: themoscowtimes.com
