Tsaritsyn’s first church was originally made out of wood in 1589 and was dedicated to St John the Baptist. The first stone church was built in 1664. This was replaced in 1704 with a traditional ‘octagon-on-cube’ design and added to in 1722. Throughout its history the church was associated with Russia’s Cossacks. However in 1932 the church was closed and subsequently blown up by the Soviets. During the war Germans troops would use the foundations of the church as a pillbox. The current version of the church dates from the 1990s when it was decided to rebuilt the church.

In the small park outside the church there are various statues. One is dedicated to Ss Peter and Fevronia - Russia’s patron saints of the family. Another depicts a Cossack on horseback leaving for war and being seen of by a Cossack woman holding an icon, commemorating the church’s and Volgograd’s links with Russian Cossacks.