St. Nicholas Cathedral (Almaty)

In 1918, Bishop Pimen [ru] of Vernensk and Semirechensk [ru] was shot, after which the post of bishop of Alma-Ata remained vacant until 1927.^[2]

Simultaneously with the arrest of Bishop Aleksandr [ru] in February 1936, St. Nicholas Church was closed. Its premises were used as a museum of atheism.

On 5 July 1945, the post of bishop of Alma-Ata, which had been vacant since 1937, was replaced by a decision of the Holy Synod. On 8 December 1946 Bishop Nikolai [ru] consecrated the first renovated chapel in honor of Saint Barbara, and a week later, on 15 December the main chapel was consecrated, in honor of Saint Nicholas. St. Nicholas Church was made the cathedral of the diocese.^[3]

In 1995, the cathedra of the bishop of Kazakhstan diocese [ru] was transferred from St. Nicholas Cathedral to the restored Ascension Cathedral. As per the decision of the akim of Almaty on 28 November 1995 № 63 "On inclusion in the state list of historical and cultural monuments of local importance of the Almaty St. Nicholas Cathedral" the building was included in the list of sites protected by the state.^[4]

The first Sunday School enrollment was organized in 1991. In 2010 the new Sunday School building was consecrated.^[5]

In 2012, a monument to St. Nicholas was placed in front of the cathedral.^[6]