‘Those guys descended into the underworld’ See a Yekaterinburg church’s exhibition glorifying Russia’s pipeline raid — full-scale replica included

The Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg, Russia, has set up an open-air exhibition to commemorate “Operation Stream” — during which Russian soldiers crawled through part of a defunct gas pipeline to get behind Ukrainian lines near Sudzha, as part of an operation to retake territory in the Kursk region.

The main exhibit, unveiled on March 25, is a replica of the pipeline itself. At the opening ceremony, according to the local outlet 66.ru, Metropolitan Yevgeny Kulberg gave a speech. “The feat of those guys who descended into the underworld with absolutely no guarantee that anyone would come out — it stirs the heart,” he said. “Like in the tale of Koschei the Deathless, our warriors went deep inside, reached the egg, and broke the needle.”

Father Alexey Skripkin, a priest who took part in Operation Stream, walked through the pipeline carrying white doves, which he then released. The ceremony also featured a performance by singer Vika Tsyganova, who sang a song called “Truba” (“Pipe”), with the chorus: “Pipe — that’s a Russian word! / Pipe — that means trouble! / Pipe — you’re in for it, for sure! / Pipe! Pipe! Pipe!”

Meduza shares photos taken at the exhibit.

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