Danilov Monastery
On May 17, 1983, in Moscow, the buildings of the former Danilov Monastery were officially transferred to the control of the Church. The buildings became the domain and a "spiritual and administrative center" of the Moscow Patriarchate. This was seen to representing a new change in the attitude of the government to the needs of the Orthodox Church in the USSR. It was the first time a monastic cloister had been returned to the Church in the period since 1930. This generated interest about the upcoming anniversary in the general public. In 1984, there was political obstruction to the establishment of a monastic community at the Danilov monastery. When Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party died, the objections ended. In 1986, state policy on religion and the rights of religious citizens was further relaxed. The media was able to report about instances of persecution of religious citizens and the Church, and present the Church as a guardian of national culture and spirituality.