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returned to the Church
In 1871, the Filatyev brothers donated money for a shelter and school for orphans of "ignoble origins". Also, the convent housed two almshouses for nuns and lay sisters. In early 1900s, the Smolensky Cathedral was surveyed and restored by architect and preservationist Ivan Mashkov. By 1917, there had been 51 nuns and 53 lay sisters in the Novodevichy Convent at the eve of the Bolshevik revolution.
In 1922, the Bolsheviks closed down Novodevichy Convent although the [[cathedral]] remained open until 1929, after which it was turned into the Museum of Women's Emancipation. By 1926, the monastery had been transformed into a history and art museum. In 1934, it became affiliated with the State Historical Museum while much of its facilities were turned into apartments, thus sparing the convent from destruction.In January 2010, the convent was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church under an order signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.[[http://www.orthodoxnews.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=EditorialsOpinion.one&content_id=18577&CFID=17806562&CFTOKEN=37111500&tp_preview=true]]
In 1943, when Joseph Stalin began to make overtures to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] as a reward for its support in defense of the Russian lands against the Nazis during World War II, he sanctioned opening the Moscow Theological Courses school at the convent. The next year the program was transformed and became the [[Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary|Moscow Theological Institute]]. Since 1980 The Novodevichy Convent has been the residence of the [[Metropolitan]] of Krutitsy and Kolomna.
