This church is one of the main Russian Orthodox churches of St. Petersburg. The name refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of
Russia, who was mortally wounded on this site on March 13, 1881. Construction began in 1883 under Alexander III as a memorial to his
father, Alexander II. Work progressed slowly and was finally completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Currently it is a
Museum of Mosaic and does not function as a full-time place of worship having been dedicated exclusively to the memory
of the assassinated tsar.