Church of the Great Ascension (Tserkov Bolshovo Vozneseniya)

Church of the Great Ascension (Tserkov Bolshovo Vozneseniya) Review

Like Moscow State University, this classical church was designed by Matvei Kazakov and built in the 1820s. For years it stood empty and abandoned, but after major repair, religious services have resumed here. The church is most famous as the site where the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin married the younger Natalya Goncharova; Pushkin died outside St. Petersburg six years after their wedding, in a duel defending her honor. There is a much despised (for its kitschyness) statue of the couple on the square outside the church. (History has judged Natalya harshly; she was probably not guilty of adultery, although she did enjoy flirting.) The statue in the park to the left of the church as you face it is of Alexey Tolstoy, a relative of Leo's and a well-known Soviet writer of historical novels. A house museum dedicated to him is next to the Ryabushinsky Mansion.