Designed by architect Alexander Bernardazzi, the cathedral was built in 1893 to commemorate the liberation of the city during the Crimean War. The consecration ceremony for the cathedral took place in 1899. Before the 1917 Revolution, the cathedral was topped with four-point crosses resting on spheres. Today, it is decorated with St George crosses, which symbolise the valour of those killed in the war, as well as Byzantine crosses to keep the memory of the Constantinople military campaign of 1878 alive and Russian Orthodox crosses installed on two domes.