the original cathedral had been built by order of tsar alexander i of russia, in honor of christ the savior, stating on december 25, 1812: "to express our gratitude to divine providence for saving russia from the ruin that overshadowed it" (due to the napoleonic wars), the design of the cathedral was in charge of the architect aleksandr lavrentyevich vitberg in 1817, who designed it with a neoclassical design in the style of masonic symbolism, after the succession of alexander i by his brother, nicholas i, he would not like the architecture of the previous design and would hire his trusted architect konstantin thon.