After years of negotiating with the government and handling protests from conservative Orthodox Church groups, Hare Krishna devotees are finally completing design work on ISKCON Russia’s new mega-project, the Vedic temple Sri-Sri Radha Madhava Mandir.

The temple will be built on a 2-hectare plot in the Molzhaninovsky area, 10 kilometres outside the Moscow Ring Road in the north of Moscow.

Devotees began pre-design work on the project in 2007, including the often difficult job of acquiring documentation allowing construction from city officials. And on June 4th, 2008, despite all obstacles, an essential document certifying use of the ground area was signed.

That summer, project director Arindama Dasa began designing the temple building with the help of Mosproject. One of Moscow’s largest architectural firms, the company’s previous credits include developing Moscow’s luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel and Red Square’s shopping center “Ohotnij rjad,” as well as reconstruction work on the famous Tsaritsino museum and the eighteenth century Kuskovo Manor.

The Sri-Sri Radha Madhava Mandir’s design was confirmed on December 29th, 2009 at a Moscow Architectural Committee meeting, where it was presented by the head of Mosproject. It combines modern technologies, materials and styles—the building incorporates probably the most windows of any ISKCON temple so far, including panoramic views—with classic Indian temple arches and domes in the ancient “Nagara” style. It also featured detailed facades and delicately carved entrance columns.

Built according to Vastu, the ancient Indian science of design, the temple’s entrance will be located in the East, its residential quarters for monks in the South, and its educational halls in the North. The center of the building, called the Brahma-sthan, will be free and open, and crowned by an impressive dome.

With a total area of 12,300 square meters, the Mandir will include a spacious temple room for worship, accommodation for devotees and pilgrims, a center for social programs such as Food For Life, a large educational center, an electronic library of Vedic literature, an auditorium, an exhibition centre, an Ayurvedic hospital, yoga halls, and a school and kindergarten.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2010.

For more information, please email radhamadhava@mail.ru or phone +7 (495) 739-4380. To view computer-generated images of the temple’s design, please click здесь.