The cathedral was originally built by decree of Alexander I as a thanksgiving to God for saving Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812, and in commemoration of the Russian army's victory over Napoleon. It was built in Moscow for it was this city which had borne the greatest burden of the French army's attacks, and had become the fiery grave of Napoleon's ambition. Alexander I personally reviewed all the competing designs for the cathedral, and selected the project submitted by Karl Vitberg. This called for the construction of a three-tiered cathedral with three altars dedicated to Christ's Nativity, Transfiguration and Ascension, In Vitberg's design, the lower level church of Christ's Nativity was to be a burial vault for Russian soldiers. On seeing the design, the Emperor exclaimed in great excitement: 'You have made the stones speak!' and he gave the order that construction work be commenced.

From 1989, the idea of restoring the old cathedral slowly grew from the depths of the national consciousness and pushing through the apparently impenetrable layers of many years of atheist education, like a piece of grass pushing up through asphalt. The proposal was immediately met with an avalanche of objections, but in the square near the swimming baths a collecting box and a wooden cross appeared in the early 1990s for donations to the project. The idea still seemed Utopian when in November 1994 the senior assembly of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to rebuild the cathedral. The foundation stone of the new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was laid on 7 January 1995, which is Russian Christmas Day. The fantastic dream was about to become reality.

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