In 1936, when Red Square was being prepared for holding the military parades of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin ordered the square cleared of churches. Although efforts were made by Baranovsky to save it, he could not prevent the Kazan Cathedral from being demolished (though Baranovsky did manage to save another of Red Square's cathedrals, Saint Basil's Cathedral, from destruction). In its place, initially a temporary building housing offices for the Communist International was erected. It was later used as a summer café. A temporary chapel marking the original site of the church was built in 1990 as part of the church restoration project, shortly before the collapse of the USSR.