The original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was designed by Konstantin Ton and commissioned by Nicholas I, the Emperor of Russia (1825 to 1855). After 44 years of construction, the Russian Orthodox cathedral was finished in 1883. In 1931, it was destroyed on the order of Joseph Stalin. The ruler of the Soviet Union wanted the building’s riches and to use the land for a new Palace of the Soviets. Those plans never materialized. A reproduction of the cathedral was built from 1994 through 2000. The tip of the cross atop the gilded onion dome has a height of 339 feet. This qualifies Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as the world’s tallest Orthodox Christian church.
