Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Moscow) street. In the late 1970s the city considered renovating the building, possibly to use as a concert hall for organ recitals, or as a general cultural administration centre. These projects were never carried out due to resistance from the research institute. The "glasnost" (openness) policy, introduced during the rule of Mikhail Gorbachev, played a major role in developing religious freedom in the Soviet Union. Consequently, in 1989, a group of Moscow Catholics and the cultural association "The Polish House" (Russian: "Дом Польский"), suggested that the building should again be used for religious purposes. Following the city's assent, the first Mass
Khomeini's letter to Mikhail Gorbachev from the west to understand Islam. Khomeini's letter to Mikhail Gorbachev On 7 January 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, supreme leader of the Iran, sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Soviet Union. This letter was Khomeini's only written message to a foreign leader. Khomeini's letter was delivered by the Iranian politicians Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, and Marzieh Hadidchi. In the letter, Khomeini declared that Communism was dissolving within the Soviet bloc, and invited Gorbachev to consider Islam as an alternative to communist ideology. Ruhollah Khomeini wrote to Mikhail Gorbachev on 3 January 1989. On 7 January,