After years of divisions, Russia has managed to recover much of the property lost after the 1917 Revolution. Only a small possession still escapes Vladimir Putin himself.
By Samuel Forey
VShis is perhaps one of the most mysterious places in Jerusalem – and yet there are so many of them. A building right next to the Holy Sepulchre, or almost, whose classic lines contrast with the stones of the old town. As if a vast 19th century bourgeois house had been planted there, between souks, churches and mosques. A double iron door, both solid and rusty, is topped with the words “Hospice d’Alexandre”. Inside, the whole place exudes nostalgia for Tsarist and Orthodox Russia.
After losing the Crimean War and failing to obtain a right of access to the Holy Sepulchre, the empire bought this land in 1859. Excavations were carried out, which were fruitful. We found the remains of a wall and the Gate of Judgment, the one that Jesus would have passed through to reach Golgotha. The wall would therefore be that of the basilica of Constantine, the first building built on the site of the death and resurrection of Christ.
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