The last decade of the Chudov Monastery history: from the October Revolution to demolition.

Mironenko Maxim Learning support specialist, Historical Information Science Department, History Faculty, interfaculty scientific and educational center Mathematical and software support for virtual and mixed reality technologies. Lomonosov Moscow State University  119991, Russia, Moskva oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Gsp-1, lomonosovskii prospekt, 27 k.4, of. istoricheskii fakul'tet mm@vrmsu.ru Other publications by this author

The Chudov Monastery occupied a special place in the hierarchy of Moscow monasteries, it was the sovereign patronage of Russian metropolitans and Patriarchs.  A lot of historical events took place within its walls, which played an important role for the history of our country ^[1].

The historical and cultural significance of the Chudov Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin throughout its six-century history has been great. It has always remained an integral part of the image of the Kremlin and was perceived as a shrine.

The monastery perfectly met the needs of people for a "miracle". The very name of the monastery contains a double recollection of the miracle: this is the legend about the healing of the khan of Taidula, the wife of the khan of the Golden Horde of Uzbekistan, through the prayers of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, and the foundation by him of a monastery with a cathedral in the name of the Miracle of Michael the Archangel in Honeh on the territory of the former khan's yard.

The location of the monastery in the Kremlin, the preservation of the relics of St. Alexy, regular processions – all this made the monastery a place of special attraction and veneration. The entire monastery complex was a kind of "chronicle in stone", the first plot of which was the memory of the miraculous ignition of a candle "by itself" during a prayer service at the tomb of Metropolitan Peter, from the remains of which Alexy made a small candle, and with it he went to the Horde.

Unfortunately, in the 20s and early 30s, the Chudov Monastery was completely destroyed, but its image has been preserved in historical memory - most people, even professionally far from studying history, are still familiar with its name.

This article discusses the process of preparing the Chudov Monastery for the eviction of its inhabitants and the events preceding the demolition.  On the basis of documents from the funds of the Glavnauki Narkompros and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, stored in the GA of the Russian Federation, together with the involvement of diary entries of participants in the events, it was possible to present a holistic picture of the last stage of the monastery's existence.

* * *

The Chudov Monastery was located in the northeastern part of the Moscow Kremlin, not far from the Spassky Gate between the former Senate building and the Maly Nikolaevsky Palace, bordered by the Ascension Monastery in the east and Ivanovskaya (Tsarskaya) Square in the west. Now the Museum of archeology of the Chudov Monastery is located on this site.

Six centuries of the history of the Chudov Monastery are so eventful that their detailed presentation would take us far away from the specific topic that is the subject of this work. This article will examine the last decade of its existence – from the summer of 1918 to the beginning of its destruction in December 1929 – partly because it was possible to find interesting archival data about this last decade of the existence of the complex of monastic buildings. The scarcity and fragmentary nature of materials about the last period of the monastery's history, which was completely destroyed, give any information and evidence a special value.

At the beginning of November 1917, the walls of the Maly Nikolaevsky Palace, the Metropolitan Chambers, the facade of the Chudov Monastery on the south side were pierced by shells of heavy artillery pieces that the Red Guards had installed on the Sparrow Hills. This was perceived as a bad sign ^[2]. There are testimonies of how the brethren, led by their abbot Arseny Zhadanovsky, "day and night" prayed for the salvation of the monastery and the cessation of the troubles ^[2]. The misgivings soon began to be justified.

1918 is probably the most difficult year in the history of the monastery, when the inhabitants and servants become witnesses and participants in a real drama – the closure of the monastery. In March 1918, the government moved from Petrograd to Moscow and settled in the Kremlin, as a result of which it ceased to be publicly accessible and became a regime object. The displacement of all other inhabitants of the Kremlin, first of all the clergy, begins. Together with the government, the commandant of Smolny, and now the Kremlin, a former Baltic sailor P.D. Malkov, is moving to Moscow. His personal role in the closure of monasteries and the final eviction of monastics and clergy is clearly visible both from archival materials and from his own memoirs: "... but the monks and nuns who scurried around the Kremlin in their black cassocks gave me the most trouble and trouble. They lived in the cells of the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries, tucked near the Spassky Gate... This is where you guard and provide the Kremlin from the penetration of alien elements" ^[3]. And further: "... until the monks are removed from the Kremlin, I cannot vouch for anything" ^[3]. Ya. M. Sverdlov, in whose subordination the Kremlin commandant was, immediately agreed that "it is high time to clear the Kremlin of this public," and Lenin did not object. "Well," the commandant quotes him as saying, "I don't mind. Come on, evict. Only politely, without rudeness." Malkov went to the rector: "There is, I say, an instruction from Lenin and Sverdlov to relocate you all from the Kremlin, so get ready."^[3]

In the GA of the Russian Federation, in the fund of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, a unique case has been preserved, from which we learn how the monks experienced these events. Basically, this is a correspondence conducted by the vicar and the brethren of the Chudov Monastery with the Council of People's Commissars through a member of the All-Russian Church Council, professor of church law, known for his human rights activities, Nikolai Dmitrievich Kuznetsov ^[4]. At first (the first letter is dated July 21, 1918), the monks do not pose any threat at all and turn to Kuznetsov with a request to inform the SNK of the undesirability, or rather, the impossibility (referring to the previous experience of settling Latvian shooters in the monastery) of placing institutions alien to them on their territory: "This fundamentally violates and upsets the entire monastic system... This will put the brethren in need of eviction from the Chudov Monastery" ^{[5, l. 6]}. This is exactly what Commandant Malkov is seeking – the speedy eviction of the brethren from the monastery, in connection with which he addresses the Managing Director of the Council of People's Commissars V.D. Bonch–Bruevich on July 22, 1918 with a letter as follows: "In order to to find out which staff should be left at the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries in connection with the eviction of those living there, I need to talk to you, and therefore, I ask you to appoint a time and place to clarify with you the issues outlined above" ^{[5, L. 5]} (given in the spelling of the original - M.M.). Further events are developing rapidly. On July 23, the vicar of the Chudov Monastery, Bishop Arseny of Serpukhov, submits "a list of persons living in the Chudov Monastery WHO are NECESSARY for carrying out church services, duty at the shrines of the monastery, watchmen and janitors" ^{[5, l. 7]}. And already on July 31, the SNK Affairs Department registers the statement of the same Kuznetsov in connection with the forced eviction of monks and nuns who were forbidden to take any personal belongings with them, except for porters, if they did not have receipts from stores, which began at the request of the Kremlin commandant. Therefore, he asks "... to allow the nuns to take all their property. In view of the extreme difficulty in transportation and the complete lack of money from the nuns, as well as the weakness of many of them, I ask you to provide one or two large cars at the disposal of the monasteries. After all, eviction takes place at the request of the authorities, and not at the request of monks and nuns. Finally, I ask you to take into account that the issue of the eviction of monks and nuns from the Voznesensky and Chudov monasteries arose completely unexpectedly and the Supreme Church Administration has to take care of the placement of monks and nuns somewhere. For some reason, the deadline for eviction is very short on July 25 of this year... Therefore, it is extremely necessary to continue the eviction period for at least another week, (i.e. until August 2, 1918, - MM), which I ask the Council of People's Commissars to make an order to the Commandant of the Kremlin. Moscow, July 27, 1918".^{[5, l. 8 vol.]} The course of further correspondence shows that neither the monks nor the Kuznetsov protecting their interests fully represent the size of the impending disaster. They are going to seek to keep as many monks at the monasteries as possible, hope to settle this issue and continue to appeal to the authorities, trying to explain to them that they do not adhere to their own decisions. Kuznetsov's attempt to prevent the resettlement of soldiers in monasteries by explaining that this would make the life of monks and nuns impossible looks naive. He writes: "It will only be in another form the same eviction of all the inhabitants of the monasteries, which, however, did not mean either the Council of People's Commissars or the Central Executive Committee, as is clearly evident from the response of the Council of People's Commissars to my statement of July 19, 1918 Moscow, July 24/11, 1918 N. Kuznetsov" ^{[5, l. 9 vol.]}.

As can be seen from the above passage, he does not believe or does not want to believe that the decision to close the monastery has already been made, and finally, and is not subject to appeal. Kuznetsov continues to give new arguments against the placement of outsiders in monasteries, not realizing that the authorities consider the clergy, monks and nuns to be outsiders in monasteries, and soldiers who "stand in hats and smoke" in churches during worship, and respond to comments with a "threat of execution". ^{[5, l. 11 vol.]}. Some hope, apparently, was inspired by the intercession of V.D. Bonch-Bruevich, who openly opposed the rudeness of the guards under the command of Malkov in relation to monastics. But Malkov himself was subordinate to the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, and they had a complete understanding with Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov.

The monks continue to make lists and ask to leave them at least 20 people to perform the most necessary services. For those who have already been evicted, new trials begin – many of them are already elderly and sick, have spent their whole lives in a monastery, and have no property, housing or funds; in addition, no district of Moscow accepts them for registration ^{[5, l. 21]}.

It is unknown whether they knew that a political decision had already been made and the final eviction of the brotherhood was a matter of a couple of months. But they are concerned about the safety of the relics in the sacristy of the Chudov Monastery, and Kuznetsov, on behalf of the monks and the Supreme Church Administration, asks "... to immediately make a detailed inventory of all things in duplicate, and the most valuable and historical things ... to be transferred to the patriarchal sacristy, which is stored in the Kremlin in the Armory on July 26/13, 1918" ^{[5, L. 11 vol.]}.

 The inventory was compiled, and part of the shrines from the sacristy of the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries turned out to be hidden on the territory of the Trinity farmstead. Most likely, the items were hidden in the relatively protected territory of Patriarch Tikhon out of a desire to save them from the danger of looting. However, it turned out differently. One of Chudov's former novices named Grigory, as Malkov recalls, asked to work for him and, as proof of his need, gave him a place of hiding. The case was given an immediate move, and Malkov and the chekists descended on the patriarchal compound and confiscated the valuables hidden there on the basis of a CHEKA warrant. An inventory of these items deposited in the Armory Chamber has been preserved in the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the Glavnauki Narkompros Fund ^{[6, l. 4-6]}. For the most part, these are precious mitres, panagia, crosses, diskos, chalices and other liturgical items, as well as a precious veil, the contribution of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, three gospels of the XVII century, one by Fyodor Alekseevich.

In October 1918, contrary to the agreements reached earlier, all monks and clergy were removed from the Kremlin by the commandant. All churches, not only monastic ones, are closed, even left without guards: "... worship has stopped in all Kremlin cathedrals, not excluding the main Russian Cathedral of the Assumption" ^{[6, l. 23 vol.]}. Kuznetsov's last letter to the SNK, dated October 22/9, 1918, ends with a request to be allowed to "take out of the Kremlin relics and the most revered icons to other churches in Moscow outside the walls of the Kremlin" ^{[6, p. 24]}.

            Thus ends the first stage of the struggle of the new Kremlin residents with ideologically alien, according to their concept, elements, carriers of the obsolete past. Everything happened quite quietly, one cannot say with approval, but definitely with the "alienation" and indifference of the public, including the museum, to the lawlessness that is happening. There was no one to protect the lay monks, the flock was stopped even earlier.

The rapid decline of the monastery complex begins, left without proper care and care.

When the Chudov Monastery was finally closed and the monks were taken out of Moscow, some of its premises were adapted for housing. Kremlin cadets were also housed there instead of Latvian riflemen who went to the front, then, at Sverdlov's suggestion, machine-gun courses were transferred there from the Lefortovo barracks, which were soon transformed into the VTSIK School of Red Commanders. In 1919, part of the premises were occupied by the cooperative "Communist" and the hut-reading room. In 1923, the Kremlin administration decided to transfer a part of the monastery's premises to the Kremlin doctor, who was responsible for the health of high-ranking officials from the Soviet government, although he never settled there. But there is no longer the human force that the monks were capable of supporting this whole complex. From now on, the main defender of Chudov, already only as a monument of architecture and culture, becomes the Department for Museums and the Protection of Monuments of Art and Antiquity (later became a sub-department of the Main Science of the People's Commissariat of Education), created by Igor Emmanuelovich Grabar. Soon Grabar was replaced as head by Natalia Ivanovna Sedova-Trotskaya, which strengthened the position of the department. At that time, her husband, L.D. Trotsky, a powerful People's Commissar of the Military, had enormous power and influence, which often helped her in saving cultural monuments. The policy of the Soviet government in relation to cultural heritage was ambiguous. On the one hand, a law on the protection of monuments was adopted, on the other, for the sake of gold to save the cause of the revolution – and this, of course, was a priority – antiquities of exceptional value were constantly seized, sold and melted down. Surprisingly, these two mutually exclusive lines got along in the Trotsky family. Natalia Ivanovna personally was able to do a lot to preserve cultural monuments. What kind of work it cost is evident from the correspondence and protocols of the Glavnauki preserved in the funds of the GA of the Russian Federation. It should also be noted that the discussion about what the proletariat needs and what is alien was not yet over at that time, and the Proletcult was still strong with the idea of building a new culture completely freed from the "trash of the past". In those years, it was not so much a theoretical question as a practical one: what to protect and what to destroy; it was often decided depending on the possibility of "museification" of cultural objects. Immediately after the October Revolution, the People's Commissariat sought to "cover" almost all branches of culture with its leadership. The idea of "museification" of the entire historical heritage, whatever it was expressed in, was very popular at that time. It was possible to exhibit something that "withstood" the substitution of "meanings" and assignments. So. Kremlin palaces turned into "people's palaces" and were managed by the Moscow Administration of People's palaces; manors from residential could become "museums of noble life", or literary museums like Muranovo, Yasnaya Polyana, Abramtsevo and many others. The most "pure" example is when the church turned into a museum of atheism. Monasteries did not respond well to "museification". The territory fenced off from the "world", intended for a meeting with God, could not easily be transformed either into a "museum of monastic life" or into a "people's monastery". In part, this rule still applies today – it makes it possible to preserve, "museify" an object, include it in the register of protected monuments – still the most effective tool in the struggle to save it from physical destruction.

In 1917-1918 there was a kind of struggle between the Main Science of the People's Commissariat of Education, which included the sub-department for the protection of museums and monuments of antiquity, and the Commissariat of Property of the Republic (the former Administration of Palaces, "later the Moscow Administration of People's Palaces") for whose sphere of responsibility the monuments and museums of the Kremlin belong to. In the end, Lunacharsky's department managed to prove that this is their area. And since then, the Armory, Cathedrals, monastery complexes and for some time palaces have come under the supervision of the Chief Science of the People's Commissariat of Education. Formally, the People's Commissariat of Property was still independent for some time, but the staff of the Kremlin Restoration Commission, for example, received a salary in the People's Commissariat. ^{[7, p. 431]}. There was a lot of work to do. Urgent restoration of the buildings affected by the shelling was necessary. Among the priority tasks is the restoration of the tiled roof of the Kremlin's Beklemishevskaya Tower and the repair of the buildings of the Chudov Monastery and the Maly Nikolaevsky Palace. It is amazing with what care the issue of repairing the western portal of the Chudov Monastery was worked out. There were so many disputes and worries among the restorers. The executors of the order also understood their responsibility well. The contract of October 12, 1918 between architects I.V. Rylsky (future academician of architecture) and V.V. Sheiman (on behalf of the Kremlin restoration commission) and stonemasons of the former Zakharov firm has been preserved. And, in accordance with this agreement, the "College of Workers" undertakes:

"1. Disassemble the destroyed part of the main arch carefully, renumber the stones, fold the ones recognized as suitable, replace the broken ones with new ones and fold the arch again according to the instructions of the work manufacturer, being careful, in view of the archaeological value, so as not to damage the parts, and so that everything from the old that is recognized as suitable is laid in its former places. 2. With the same precautions, disassemble the left corner column in its destroyed part somehow: the capital, the entire corner to the cornice, with the renumbering of the stones and also disassemble half of the arch next to it to the suspension and half of the other arch, with a careful selection of the preserved stones and then lay out all these parts again, while maintaining the exact dimensions stones, as they were before, with the laying of old suitable stones in their former places and with the carving of ornaments on the capitals and missing parts of the arches according to old samples and the indication of the manufacturer of the works ..." ^{[7, p. 390]}.

All this took place in an environment of acute shortage of material, shortage of everything - nails, wood, gypsum, cement, bricks, lack of transport, and the presence of theft, which was the subject of separate consideration at the meeting of the commission for the restoration of the Kremlin on October 23, 1918. That's what is recorded in the protocol. "... ABOUT the PULLING APART BY LATVIAN SOLDIERS BUILDS. MATERIALS DIRECTLY FROM SCAFFOLDING STRUCTURES FOR FUEL.

M. M. Novosadov is resurrected. he detained one soldier who was tearing the fence from the scaffolding of the Portal of the Chudov Monastery, moreover, the detained soldier even threatened with a revolver, but eventually ran away. Another foreman, N. I. Somov, discovered the disappearance from the passage of the Nikolskaya Tower of a whole new frame intended for mounting on the tower. In addition, zagotov disappears. p. material that also goes to fuel. I. V. asks to note that this not only threatens the disappearance of the stored material in winter, but is also very dangerous for the strength of the forests, which during the winter may lose the most important constructs, parts" ^{[7, p. 449]}.

            It is amazing that despite extreme difficulties, including hunger and cold, restorers continue their work and do everything to protect the Kremlin buildings from further destruction, which they eventually succeed in. But the most striking thing is that in the absence of any definite perspective, when the Proletcult is unusually strong with the idea of breaking everything old, work continues to develop scientific principles and approaches to restoration. A new structure is being formed under the Department of Monument Protection – the State Central Restoration Workshops, abbreviated GCRM; Grabar was again at the head. It is this department that is preparing to carry out major restoration work in the Kremlin in 1924. Back in 1917, Grabar dreamed of turning the Kremlin into a museum town; under his leadership, a report was prepared that contained a justification for the possibility and a concrete plan for these transformations. The project of adaptation of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin for the Kremlin museum town, presented by the members of the commission consisting of Klein R., Langov A., Kuznetsov I., Grabar I., Vishnevsky E. ^[7]. However, everything went very differently. It is unknown who first came up with the seemingly ridiculous idea to build a modern building for the VTSIK cadet school on the territory of the ancient Kremlin, for which it was supposed to demolish the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries. In fact, it is not so ridiculous, from the position of the authorities. No attempts to adapt the buildings to any needs other than monastic ones have been successful. No new institutions took root there, and in the "cultural memory" of contemporaries, the monastery remained a monastery, moreover, a special one – a Miracle, where the sacred and the miraculous were combined in a special way. No matter how much they placed there, then a hut-reading room, then housing, then a cooperative "Communist", they could not do anything about the past "meanings" of these places – they were too strong in the historical memory of the people. A possible "museification" would not be able to overcome the symbolic significance of the monastery of the patriarchs and metropolitans. For example, it would not be possible to make the Chudov Monastery a "museum of monks' life". Fortunately, it was possible to "museify" the priceless monuments of Cathedral Square, but this is a separate topic.

            The complex of buildings of the Chudov Monastery was doomed to destruction. Looking ahead, we note that by erasing the monastery from the face of the earth, it was not possible to erase the memory of it; on the contrary, the barbaric destruction turned it for many into a ghost of a past "ancient" life full of righteousness and miracles. This ghost is still alive.

None of this could have been assumed in the autumn of 1929. Museum workers, amazed by the impending demolition, begin to write letters to all authorities. And, like the monks in 1918, when they were evicted from their beloved home, the monastery, museum workers fall into a kind of "exclusion zone" when those on whom the decision depends, and not only them, simply do not hear them. «No arguments about the historical significance of monasteries, or that it is unprecedented to build a military school in the heart of the country's residence, that a military school should be built on a bare spot, only then everything will be functionally justified, that in two, three decades the school will have to be withdrawn anyway ... were not taken into account" ^{[8, p. 22-25]}, - recalls Vladimir Nikolaevich Ivanov, who at that time worked in the department of monuments of the Kremlin. And further: "A.V. Shchusev, N.V. Zholtovsky, V.L. Vesnin appealed to A.V. Lunacharsky with an appeal for help. N.N. Pomerantsev told me that they were accepted by A.S. Enukidze, had a conversation with them, and still the decision to break down and build remained in force. The leading architects refused to design a new building on the site of the historical structures being broken, N.A. Ivanov-Shits agreed" ^{[8, p. 22-25]} As can be seen from the above passage, the museum workers did not understand that the complex of buildings of the Miracle Monastery was not demolished in order to clear the territory for a military school - they could have found another The place is because monasteries, even former ones, should not be on the territory of the New Soviet Kremlin. And, of course, the outcome of this case does not depend in any way on the number and reasonableness of protest letters (recall that in order to implement the idea of building the future Palace of Soviets, it was necessary to demolish the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. No other sites were satisfied. As a result, we were able to build a swimming pool).

Let's return to the events of 1929. On November 12, the Kremlin Monuments Department receives an attitude from the Special Directorate of Military Construction Works of the Kremlin that the demolition of the Church of Michael the Archangel of the former Chudov Monastery is scheduled for December 5. This letter also states that "... for photographing, fixing measurements, disassembling the iconostasis, etc., that the Department of Monuments will find it necessary and possible to do ..." ^{[6, l. 24]} time is allocated from November 12 to 30. Thus, 19 days were allotted for this. The employees of the department understand that the deadlines are unrealistic – it is impossible to have time, and without wasting a day, they start looking for partners. They inform the Armory Chamber about what is happening with a letter of the following content: "In view of the absolutely exceptional significance of this monument, if there are frescoes of the 16th century and an ancient iconostasis in it, the Department raises the question of extending the period necessary for the removal of frescoes, disassembly of the iconostasis, excavation of architectural fragments, decorative decoration of the cathedral and measurements, because this work requires the working period is about 10 months.

The frescoes of the cathedral are of such exceptional interest that they must be preserved for museums.

Appropriate means for removing frescoes can be obtained from the antiques of Gostorg.

The specified period of work will not cause much difficulty during construction work, because the measurement is not included in the outline of the building, and its foundation is located at great depth in the presence of two white-stone basements" ^{[6, l. 25]} A hand-drawn drawing has been preserved in the case, which illustrates this statement ^{[6, l. 26 vol.]}. On it, indeed, the Archangel Temple does not fall into the zone of the original development. But what is important for us is that this drawing is colored. This document turned out to be the only one from which we learn what color the temple was before its death. All the surviving photographs of the cathedral are black and white and were taken much earlier. There is an opinion that the cathedral was white before the demolition. The drawing found in the case suggests that the St. Michael's Cathedral was red, possibly pink, before the demolition.

An estimate is immediately made for the necessary work during the disassembly of the cathedral, which includes photographing outside and inside, scientific measurements of the monument, disassembly and transfer of the iconostasis, disassembly of individual architectural fragments, production of plaster casts, inspection and removal of frescoes, and then the compiler of the list could not resist adding, "made by the best masters in the 16th century" ^{[6, L. 23]}. Emotions rarely break out in estimates – another genre, but here is a special case! A real threat is hanging over the ancient monastery, and the Kremlin Museum department is asking its colleagues whether they will be ready to accept as exhibits what can be saved. The letters go to the Historical Museum, the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery. It is in these institutions that the little that remains of the cathedral's decoration is kept today.

On December 17, 1929, the Cathedral Church in honor of the Miracle of Archangel Michael was blown up. Before the demolition of the church, the Kremlin administration summoned the artist P.I. Yukin (according to other sources, P.D. Korin) to dismantle the most valuable frescoes, but he did not have time to complete the work, because the monastery was destroyed so hastily that the restorers did not even have time to make full measurements of the monastery and photograph the monastery frescoes and murals. On the ruins of the ancient Archangel temple , they managed to collect only two dozen small fragments with traces of painting of the XVII century . Striking evidence of this barbarism is given by L.E. Kolodny:

"Moscow. On December 17, 1929, we, the undersigned employees of the Center. state restoration workshops, researcher G.O. Chirikov, photographer A.V. Lyadov, trainee restorer S. S. Churakov, carpenter A. E. Shlensky and specialists in fresco plaster photography, restorers P. Ya. Epanechnikov, N. N. Dubkov and A. I. Popov, who were sent to continue the work in the Moscow Kremlin in the former Church of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael Chudov monastery to shoot frescoes, have drawn up a real act that we, having come to work at 9 o'clock, found the temple blown up and representing a pile of construction debris. Left on the scaffolding the day before, i.e. on December 16, the two frescoes of the saints just removed in circles from the altar apse and covered with plywood were not found, and the said plywood without frescoes turned out to be lying near the ruins among the boards" ^{[9, p. 20]}.

As we can see, despite all the efforts of the employees of the Central State Workshops and the entire museum department, the cathedral was destroyed along with the frescoes. On the day of the demolition, the architect-restorer Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky only managed to remove the shrine of St. Alexy from the building. The relics of St. Alexy were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral, and later to the Elokhovsky Epiphany. The famous necropolis of the Chudov Monastery was also destroyed.

"With a great miracle, it was possible to remove the ceramic portal. He stayed in the basement of the Rizpolozhensky Cathedral until 1963, when together with V. I. Fedorov we assembled him at the entrance to the first tier of the bell tower of Ivan the Great" ^[8], the same V. N. Ivanov recalls. Let us add that fragments of friezes of the Chudov Monastery are also placed there.

A building with a club was built on the site of the monastery in the early 30s for the school of Red commanders named after the VTSIK. The question of the author of this project remains debatable. Traditionally, it was believed that the building was built according to the project of I. I. Rerberg.  A different point of view is held by V. Kiprin, who considers V. P. Apyshkov to be the author ^[10].

From 1955 to 1993, the building was occupied by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, until recently, the 14th Kremlin Building, belonging to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, was located on this site (dismantled in 2016). The new Museum of Archeology of the Chudov Monastery, created on the site of the dismantled 14th Kremlin building, opened on November 4, 2020.

The lost appearance of the Chudov Monastery can be reconstructed virtually, using 3D modeling technologies ^[11] and visualized using the capabilities of virtual and augmented reality technologies ^[12]. This will create a good opportunity to get acquainted with this unique lost monument in an interactive environment.