Raisa Visits St. Paul’s, Wren’s Masterpiece

To resounding organ music, Raisa Gorbachev entered St. Paul’s Cathedral today to survey a monument to Christianity in the heart of London.

Elegant in a mauve leather coat, her collar turned up against the cold, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s wife overstayed a tight schedule to linger inside the vast cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s 17th-Century masterpiece.

Raisa Gorbachev, whose interest in literature and architecture is well known, stood briefly at the cathedral steps to wave to a handful of onlookers who braved chilly weather to see her.

With Education Secretary Kenneth Baker at her side, she was escorted by the dean of St. Paul’s, the Very Rev. Eric Evans, through the Great West Door to be greeted by 4-year-old Emma Scott, who presented her with a pink bouquet.

The Soviet First Lady, who has a daughter, picked up golden-haired Emma, daughter of the cathedral’s assistant director of music. She called the child malenkaya-- Russian for “little one”--and asked if she was cold in her red dress.

Emma, obviously wearied by the long wait as the visit ran behind schedule, was rewarded with a box of Russian chocolates.

Evans later told reporters that Raisa Gorbachev had been “quite fascinated and very impressed” by her visit. “I don’t think she found Christianity, but I hope she found some Christians,” he said.