If I'm not mistaken the Exarchate has several monasteries, no? Regardless, I'm curious about what this means for the cathedral parish itself - will it find new premises, join the Moscow Patriarchate (which I assume will be given care of the cathedral by the Russian government), or what? (What has it been doing since the first court decision returning the cathedral to the Russian government's ownership?)
I find this a scary precedent. Had it been transferred to the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church (either the Moscow Patriarchate or the Synod Abroad, whatever) that would be one thing, but it's been handed over to a government more connected with the last tsar's killers than with his legacy. What does this mean for other historic churches built abroad with the tsar's money? (St. Theodosius' in Cleveland, Holy Trinity in Chicago, et cetera.)