This beautiful Russian Orthodox Cathedral sits amid rose gardens at the center of Panfilov Park. The colorful structure was built entirely of wood, and amazingly no nails were used in its construction (in fact, it was one of the few buildings to survive the 1911 earthquake that rocked Almaty, making it one of the few pre-Soviet structure standing in the city). During the Soviet era, the cathedral was used as a history and economics museum, but it was returned to the Russian Orthodox church in the mid-1990s and has been used for religious services ever since.

The outside of the multi-domed church, with its colorful panels and elaborate detail, is very impressive-–however, the small interior of the building is even more awe-inspiring. Every possible inch of the walls in the main chapel is covered with murals and gilt-edged icons.

There is a small gift shop manned by little Babushkas that sells Russian Orthodox icons and religious items.