Ivan IV the Terrible (1530–84) was grand prince of Moscow & 1st Tsar of Russia from 1547. His reign saw a centrally administered Russian state and the creation of an empire that included non-Slav states. Naturally the Tsar’s aim of military dominance over a central Russian state led to many conflicts. In the 1550s his armies defeated the independent Tatar (Mongol) khanates of Kazan and Astrakahn.
Ivan the Terrible
painted by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov in 1897
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
This extended Muscovy control to the Urals in the east and the Caspian Sea in the south, creating a buffer zone against the Mongols. Ivan’s second goal was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. However this time Ivan IV was not as successful in annexing Lithuania and gaining sea access.
Ivan returned to a hero’s welcome in Moscow and news that his wife gave him a son, though the infant soon died. In Kazan the Muslim population was expelled and Russian colonists were moved in, mosques were replaced by Russian Orthodox churches and the Tartars of the surrounding country were pressed to convert to Christianity.
The Tsar started having a cathedral built in Moscow in 1554 which was completed in 1561. This St Basil the Blessed aka Pokrovsky Cathedral St Basil’s Cathedral loomed near the Kremlin and it watched many historical and political events in the city. St Basil was a votive offering, commemorating the Russian capture of Kazar, the Tatar capital.
The church was at first dedicated to the intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but it came to be known as the Cathedral of Vasily/Basil the Blessed. Basil, a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, was the peasant lad who became a holy for Christ’s sake and who was buried in the church vaults.
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Ivan’s temper made him intentionally blind the cathedral’s architect Postnik Yakovlev so that its beautiful design could never be replicated elsewhere. In the early 1580s, Ivan also beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, causing a miscarriage, and killed his son in a fit of rage.
In St Basil, western academic architectural concepts based on rational harmony were ignored; the varied design and a profusion of colourful exterior decorations, were uniquely medieval Russian in form and decoration. No-one would ever confuse St Basil’s in Moscow with, for example, Durham Cathedral or Notre-Dame de Paris.
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8 of the 9 domes built on the Cathedral represented the number of attacks on Kazan, and were originally gold. Small renovations continued until the mid C19th when the domes were given their present-day bright colours and patterns. The 9th dome, the small one on the left, marks the sanctuary of Basil the Blessed.
Ivan, grandson of Ivan the Great, saw the cathedral’s completion in 1561, but when he died, he was interred at the nearby Archangel Cathedral.
Survival was a fickle issue. The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out when Russian troops and residents abandoned the city, just as the Napoleonic troops entered the city. The fire all but destroyed the city, yet St Basil Cathedral was spared! Even Napoleon’s specific order to his troops to blow up the cathedral failed; the fuses lit by the Frenchmen were snuffed by a sudden downpour. Perhaps Napoleon, realising he could not count St Basil's Cathedral among his war spoils, had a hissy fit and demanded it destroyed. Or perhaps the Moscow cathedral offended Napoleon’s architectural taste.
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Ivan returned to a hero’s welcome in Moscow and news that his wife gave him a son, though the infant soon died. In Kazan the Muslim population was expelled and Russian colonists were moved in, mosques were replaced by Russian Orthodox churches and the Tartars of the surrounding country were pressed to convert to Christianity.
The Tsar started having a cathedral built in Moscow in 1554 which was completed in 1561. This St Basil the Blessed aka Pokrovsky Cathedral St Basil’s Cathedral loomed near the Kremlin and it watched many historical and political events in the city. St Basil was a votive offering, commemorating the Russian capture of Kazar, the Tatar capital.
The church was at first dedicated to the intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but it came to be known as the Cathedral of Vasily/Basil the Blessed. Basil, a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, was the peasant lad who became a holy for Christ’s sake and who was buried in the church vaults.
St. Basil's Cathedral,
Red Square, Moscow
Onion domes on Saint Basil's Cathedral
Beautifully painted narrow vaulted corridors and galleries.
The flower patterns symbolise the heavenly garden.
Ivan’s temper made him intentionally blind the cathedral’s architect Postnik Yakovlev so that its beautiful design could never be replicated elsewhere. In the early 1580s, Ivan also beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, causing a miscarriage, and killed his son in a fit of rage.
In St Basil, western academic architectural concepts based on rational harmony were ignored; the varied design and a profusion of colourful exterior decorations, were uniquely medieval Russian in form and decoration. No-one would ever confuse St Basil’s in Moscow with, for example, Durham Cathedral or Notre-Dame de Paris.
St Basil’s was a great example of the union of Byzantine and Asiatic cultural streams that described Muscovite culture. The interconnected chapels, with their doors, artworks and niches made the interior of St Basil's seem unworldly. A church iconostasis was a wall of icons and religious art, separating the nave from the sanctuary.
The cathedral’s exterior colour was originally white, to match the Kremlin’s white stone. Starting in the C17th, the façade began to be painted in the bright colours that are seen today. The colourful exterior of the cathedral is constantly maintained by fresh coats of paint.
Built around the 156’ high central nave are nine small, separate chapels that are aligned to points on the compass, four of which are raised to designate their position between heaven and earth. Each of the first 8 chapels are dedicated to an important event eg the Protecting Veil of Mary; or the Entry into Jerusalem. The 9th chapel was added in honour of St Basil. The inside of the chapels, though quite small, are still richly decorated.
The cathedral’s exterior colour was originally white, to match the Kremlin’s white stone. Starting in the C17th, the façade began to be painted in the bright colours that are seen today. The colourful exterior of the cathedral is constantly maintained by fresh coats of paint.
Built around the 156’ high central nave are nine small, separate chapels that are aligned to points on the compass, four of which are raised to designate their position between heaven and earth. Each of the first 8 chapels are dedicated to an important event eg the Protecting Veil of Mary; or the Entry into Jerusalem. The 9th chapel was added in honour of St Basil. The inside of the chapels, though quite small, are still richly decorated.
Ornate, gilded interior
8 of the 9 domes built on the Cathedral represented the number of attacks on Kazan, and were originally gold. Small renovations continued until the mid C19th when the domes were given their present-day bright colours and patterns. The 9th dome, the small one on the left, marks the sanctuary of Basil the Blessed.
Ivan, grandson of Ivan the Great, saw the cathedral’s completion in 1561, but when he died, he was interred at the nearby Archangel Cathedral.
Survival was a fickle issue. The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out when Russian troops and residents abandoned the city, just as the Napoleonic troops entered the city. The fire all but destroyed the city, yet St Basil Cathedral was spared! Even Napoleon’s specific order to his troops to blow up the cathedral failed; the fuses lit by the Frenchmen were snuffed by a sudden downpour. Perhaps Napoleon, realising he could not count St Basil's Cathedral among his war spoils, had a hissy fit and demanded it destroyed. Or perhaps the Moscow cathedral offended Napoleon’s architectural taste.
Ivan the Great Bell Tower, 1508
Gleaming golden dome, gilded inscriptions, kokoshnik decoration and sharply-sculpted windows.
The large open Red Square market area in Moscow has been the geographic centre of Russian life since the C15th. Red Square covers an area of 800,000 sq ft, housing the historic government Kremlin building at its western end. Some beautiful cathedrals are located in Cathedral Square while other historic sites in Red Square include the State Historical Museum and Lenin’s Tomb.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin grabbed power. St Basil’s became a secular tourist attraction, as a museum! But the church became an obstacle for Stalin’s plans to open up Red Square to present political power displays. In 1933, the cathedral was deleted from the heritage register. Architect Pitor Baranovsky was summoned to do the last survey of the church scheduled for demolition, and was then gaoled for refusing to destroy the Cathedral as instructed. By 1937 even Stalin admitted that the church had to be saved.
Only since the Soviet Union ended in 1990 have occasional church services been held in this cathedral. The Kremlin, cathedral and Red Square were named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. However St Basil’s Cathedral is still not the main cathedral, nor the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin grabbed power. St Basil’s became a secular tourist attraction, as a museum! But the church became an obstacle for Stalin’s plans to open up Red Square to present political power displays. In 1933, the cathedral was deleted from the heritage register. Architect Pitor Baranovsky was summoned to do the last survey of the church scheduled for demolition, and was then gaoled for refusing to destroy the Cathedral as instructed. By 1937 even Stalin admitted that the church had to be saved.
Only since the Soviet Union ended in 1990 have occasional church services been held in this cathedral. The Kremlin, cathedral and Red Square were named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. However St Basil’s Cathedral is still not the main cathedral, nor the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.