Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2018 January 21

= January 21 =

DDT song
2 questions about the song "Khram" ("Temple") by the band DDT: (1) Am I right that it's about the destruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1931? (2) If so, who was the "fearsome commander oprichnik Yegor" mentioned in the song, and was there actually such a person involved -- I thought it was Lazar Kaganovich himself who personally supervised the razing of the church? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:C81D:59C2:9A63:53DF (talk) 05:52, 21 January 2018 (UTC)


 * Arising from my reading the articles linked in the query, can someone explain who or what the "Zemschina" were? The word is used only a few times in Wikipedia, including in Oprichnik, and I cannot fully understand it from context (the most extensive description is in Oprichnina). Ought we to have an article? [FWIW, I have no knowledge of Russian or related languages.] {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.41.3 (talk) 21:01, 21 January 2018 (UTC)


 * Here you go:, . --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:08, 21 January 2018 (UTC)


 * Some clarification seems to be in order: the person in question is obviously NOT an oprichnik in the literal sense of the word, but only in a figurative sense (the reference in the song to "Tsar Joseph" makes it clear). So, any info re. the original question(s)? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:64DA (talk) 07:25, 22 January 2018 (UTC)


 * I couldn't find any definitive connection between the specific Cathedral and song. There were plenty of churches, etc. destroyed during USSR anti-religious campaign (1928–1941), and other Soviet anti-religious campaigns: (1917–1921),  (1958–1964) &  (1970s–1990) -- perhaps the song refers to some other event (or simply a fictitious amalgam). The only "commander Yegor" I could find is Yegor Solyankin, who was around at the time of that Cathedral's destruction (but not yet a commander). There might be a Russian music forum or something discussing the song -- but all I could find were lyric sites.  Sorry that I couldn't be more helpful. 107.15.152.93 (talk) 02:22, 24 January 2018 (UTC)


 * And it's unlikely he was actually present at the site -- he was in the Red Army, whereas the razing of the cathedral was done by civilian contractors under NKVD supervision. So it's more likely that "commander Yegor" was a made-up person -- a stereotypical Russian peasant turned Communist Party hack, with a stereotypically Russian peasant name.  Thanks! 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:74C3:7370:860B:6AA5 (talk) 05:38, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
When rebuilding the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, what were the reasons Zurab Tsereteli decided to replace the original marble reliefs with bronze ones? Could it have been because of cost? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:64DA (talk) 09:51, 21 January 2018 (UTC)
 * According to reference no 10 in that article, that was what the mayor's office wanted - so presumably the architect went along with it because he wanted the work. The first architect appears to have objected, and lost the job. Wymspen (talk) 15:32, 21 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks! And did the mayor's office give any reason?  (BTW, I posted this question here by mistake -- feel free to move it to the appropriate ref desk if you want.) 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:64DA (talk) 07:36, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
 * The link quotes the first architect - but the only thing I can see in it which suggests what the mayor's office was thinking is a phrase about them wanting to be "modern" Wymspen (talk) 15:15, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the info! I guess the mayor of Moscow doesn't comprehend the concept of historical restoration -- when you restore a historical building, you're not supposed to build a historically authentic outer shell and then put modern art inside, but to rebuild the whole building (both inside and out) as it was (or as close to it as you can!)  :-/ 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:74C3:7370:860B:6AA5 (talk) 09:36, 25 January 2018 (UTC)
 * He who pays the piper calls the tune I suppose. The concept of faithful restoration is a fairly recent one in the West, see Victorian restoration for the 19th century paradigm which consisted of pulling down the medieval fabric and replacing it with the architect's fantasy version. Alansplodge (talk) 11:14, 25 January 2018 (UTC)