The Cathedral was erected in honour of the war of 1812 and fallen soldiers (by architect K. Thon). The construction began in 1839, and in 1883, the Cathedral was dedicated. The Prechistenka district was one of Bulgakov’s favourites – part of his life is linked with the area. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is often mentioned in Bulgakov’s prose (The Fatal Eggs, Heart of a Dog). It is also mentioned in the writer’s diary for December 1924: ‘Today it’s the 23rd according to the new style, so tomorrow its Christmas Eve. Christmas trees are being sold beside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is mentioned in Bulgakov’s short novel The Fatal Eggs and not far from the cathedral, Zina walks Sharik in Heart of a Dog. The main character in the autobiographical tale Memoirs spends the night under the shadow of the great dome on Prechistensky Boulevard: ‘On the sixth night, I went to spend the night on Prechistensky Boulevard. It’s a very beautiful boulevard in the month of November, but at that time you can’t spend longer than one night there. You can be sure of that. Early in the morning, just as the sky above the enormous domes had started to turn pale, I took my little suitcase covered in silver hoarfrost and set off towards Bryansky Station. Naturally, what I wanted after a night on the boulevard was to get out of Moscow’.