If all goes as planned, a golden-domed Russian Orthodox Church will flank the Seine River two years from now, a glittering symbol of Moscow’s growing spiritual and political presence abroad.
Construction is expected to begin shortly on the complex, which will include a primary school and a cultural center. For the Moscow Patriarchate, it represents the latest in a string of high-profile buildings erected in such places as Spain, Thailand and Dubai that burnish not only the church’s image but that of the Russian government, which picks up the construction costs.
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