Patriarch Kirill said that the decision to transfer the icons of the Vladimir Mother of God and the Don Mother of God from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Russian Orthodox Church was made by Vladimir Putin. He said this during a church service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
“The Church repeatedly raised the issue that these shrines should be returned. But representatives of culture <...> obstructed this in every possible way. <...> The shrines remained as if in captivity. <...> But then my request to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, our Orthodox president, led to his decision to return these shrines,” the patriarch said.
It was officially announced on April 3 that the Tretyakov Gallery would transfer the icons “The Vladimir Mother of God” (12th century) and “The Don Mother of God” (14th century) to the Russian Orthodox Church for free use. They were put on display at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior almost immediately afterward.