100 years old shell found in the dome of the church.

A shell, released by the Bolsheviks at Kiev-Pechersk Lavra 100 years ago, was found in Church of the Saviour at Berestove, which is currently undergoing reconstruction. The church was built in 12 century.
Restorers found a strange "piece of iron" that plunged into the wooden rafters in the left dome in a remote place which was never noticed by previous restorers.

In January 1918, the army of Bolshevik Russia led by the infamous Mikhail Muravyov shelled Kyiv for three days from the left bank of the Dnieper - from Darnitsa. The monks kept a diary in which they made notes about each artillery attack on the Kyiv Lavra. One day they wrote: the shells began to blow up on the territory of the monastery, when the priests, headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr, had their service. Entering Kyiv, the "revolutionary" Russian sailors killed the Metropolitan. For a short time, while the capital of Ukraine was in the hands of the Red Army, they killed thousands of people for the slightest suspicion of sympathy for the Central Rada (Ukrainian government) - often they were shot simply because a person spoke Ukrainian on the street.

After the Ukrainian and German troops kicked Russians out of Kyiv, the Central Commission for the Protection of Antiquities and Arts of Ukraine conducted a survey of streets and buildings to reveal what destruction was caused to the capital's by artillery bombarded of the Russian Bolsheviks. The Commission compiled a report that has survived to the present day.

According to various estimates, from five to six thousand to 15 (!) thousands of shells were fired at the city. Only on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra received about one hundred of them. The main church of the lavra - the Assumption Cathedral - received seven shrapnel shells.
Photo: Church of the Saviour at Berestove, part of the Lavra complex and the related World Heritage Site.

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra , also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery, established 1051.

Restoration: fresco "Marvellous fishing with Christ", 12 century. Was painted over in 17 century, and is now being restored. The "younger" fresco was moved to another solid foundation and is now also being restored.

Before the restoration, the walls of the church are dried with electromagnetic waves.
The floor of the church is 1 meter 20 centimeters below the ground level outside. Therefore, groundwater constantly soaked the walls. About a year ago, the Italian colleagues lent this device to dry up the walls. Skeptics did not believe that the appliance could dry the walls with the help of electromagnetic waves. However, it was successful.