St. Basil’s Cathedral By: Maria Christodoulou

Styles• The cathedral was built on Red Square by the order of Ivan the

Terrible throughout 1555-60.• Architects: Postnik Yakovlev and Barma• The arches of the Cathedral were Byzantine like and the Cathedral

was, “ultimately Asian.” • The cathedral design was influenced by many other buildings, such

as Ivan the Great Bell Tower and a church in Kolomenskoye. • It honors the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan.

• It is Russian Orthodox.

Ivan the Great Bell Tower

St. Basil• The cathedral consists of eight separate churches, one for each day

that was fought fighting for Kazan. They are grouped around the biggest one, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat.

• In 1588, an aisle was added to the church containing the relics of Saint Basil.

• St. Basil was known to be a holy man, but became a god’s fool.

• Legends say that St. Basil is the one who has done many miracles, like extinguishing the fire in Novgorod with 3 glasses of wine.

• Ivan the Terrible feared and respected the saint because he criticized the tsar for being cruel to his people.

• When St. Basil died, Ivan carried his coffin and he was buried on the cemetery of Pokrovskiy Cathedral (St. Basil’s Cathedral).

Colors

• In the 17th century, Russian attitudes towards color changed in favor of it.

• There was an explosive growth in the number of paints, dyes, and the color combinations.

• The original color scheme followed the representation of the Heavenly City in the Book Of Revelation.

•The walls of the church are painted as an imitation of bricks with white ornaments in equal proportion. •The domes are covered with tin and have traditional combined colors of red, white, and golden colors.•The blue and green ceramics add a touch of rainbow, similar to the Bible. •The colors of the cathedral are best seen at night.

Architects & Stalin• Legend has it that after the cathedral was finished, Ivan blinded

the architects so they couldn’t build something as magnificent a building for anyone else.

• Stalin was thinking about destroying the cathedral because it got in the way of his soldiers, but the architect Baranovsky stood on it and said he would cut his own throat if it was destroyed.– It wasn’t destroyed, but Stalin punished Baranovsky and

sentenced him to prison for 5 years.

Ivan the Terrible

Extra Facts• St. Basil’s has operated as a State Historical

Museum since 1928.• It was completely and forcefully secularized in 1929.• As of 2011, it remains property of the Russian

Federation.• It has been a part of the Moscow, Kremlin, and Red

Square UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

Works Cited

• http://www.moscow-russia-insiders-guide.com/st-basil-cathedral.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil's_Cathedral#Construction_under_Ivan_IV

• http://www.sacred-destinations.com/russia/moscow-st-basil-cathedral

• http://www.moscow.info/red-square/st-basils-cathedral.aspx