St. Basil’s Cathedral
The controversial legacy of the major Moscow landmark
St. Basil’s Cathedral was built between 1555 and 1561 by Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible on Moscow’s Red Square. Its distinctive appearance is partly due to its colorful domes and bright red brick towers. This crazy jumble of colors, patterns, and shapes is the culmination of a style unique to Russian architecture. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible captured the Tatar stronghold of Kazan on the Feast of Intercession. He commissioned this landmark church, officially the Cathedral of Intercession, to commemorate the victory.
The design of the Cathedral draws from architectural designs found in Jerusalem and holds strong religious meanings. The domes belong to nine different chapels within the Cathedral, and each dome symbolizes the assault on the city of Kazan. When seen from the top, the eight domes surrounding the ninth dome circularly appear to form a star.
The interior of St. Basil’s Cathedral is very different from the exterior, consisting of modest decorations and narrow corridors. Following the strict hierarchical nature of the time in which it was built, the cathedral's interior is small and could…
