A colonel in the Soviet Air Force has proposed that the cathedrals in the Kremlin in Moscow should be returned to their “true owners,” the Russian Orthodox Church. Colonel Vladimir Rudsky, a hero of the Afghan war, was speaking at a reception held jointly by the Publication Department of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Fund for Slavonic Letters of the House of the Union in Moscow on June 1. He called on those attending the reception–including members of the Congress of People’s Deputies—to sign an appeal which was being circulated. Half of the guests are reported to have applauded his remarks, while the other half protested. Metropolitan Pitirim, who was among those present, remained silent on the question. The cathedrals were confiscated from the Church in 1918.          (KNS 7/6/89)