Kazan Cathedral on Red Square. Red Square What is the name of the temple on Red Square

Red Square is the main square of Moscow, located in the center of the radial-ring layout of the city between the Moscow Kremlin (to the west) and Kitai Gorod (to the east). A sloping Vasilyevsky Descent leads from the square to the bank of the Moscow River.
The square is located along the north-eastern wall of the Kremlin, between Kremlyovsky passage, Voskresenskie Vorota passage, Nikolskaya street, Ilyinka, Varvarka and Vasilyevsky descent to the Kremlin embankment. The streets leaving the square further branch out and join the main thoroughfares of the city, leading to different parts of Russia.
On the square there is the Execution Place, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin, next to which is the Necropolis at the Kremlin wall, where figures (mainly political and military) of the Soviet state are buried.

The nomads wanted to unfurl their flag on Red Square, but the valiant police immediately arrived

The policeman politely explained to us that such an honorable Flag should be unfurled in the Urals, Sayan Mountains, the Caucasus, near Lake Baikal and other places of honor, but not here, and then, as a consolation, he handed out a chocolate bar to everyone. The nomads were simply numb from such an attitude!! !

then we arrived... so we walked around Red Square!

historical changes

To the west of the square is the Moscow Kremlin, to the east - the Upper (GUM) and Middle shopping rows, to the north - the Historical Museum and the Kazan Cathedral, to the south - St. Basil's Cathedral (Pokrovsky Cathedral). The unique architectural ensemble of the square is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The area, paved with paving stones, is a pedestrian area. Car traffic on the square has been prohibited since 1963. There is also a ban on riding bicycles and mopeds.

The total length of Red Square is 330 meters, width - 70 meters, area 23,100 m².

RED SQUARE
Red Square is the central square of Moscow, adjacent to the Kremlin on the east. Length 690 m, width 130 m, thickness of the cultural layer 4.9 m. Distances are measured from Red Square along all highways coming from Moscow.
Red Square was formed at the end of the 15th century on a hilltop, when the decrepit white stone walls of the Kremlin under Ivan III were replaced with brick ones, and a decree was issued prohibiting any construction within a cannon shot of the walls.

This territory of the former settlement was cleared of houses and wooden churches, and trading was allowed there. The square began to be called Torg, or Great Torg. On its southern side there was a confluence of two rivers - the Moscow and the Neglinka.

On the banks of the Moscow River there were piers from where goods were delivered to the Market. A deep Alevizov ditch was dug along the Kremlin wall, connecting the Moscow River and the Neglinnaya River (1508-16). The Kremlin, following the example of many large fortresses, was surrounded on all sides by water. Bridges were built across the moat to the Kremlin gates, and the moat was fenced with stone battlements.

meeting of space pioneers

After the great fire of 1571, the square was called the Fire for some time, and the construction of wooden benches was prohibited. At the end of the 16th century, the first stone shopping arcades were built. Around the same time, the square received the name Red, that is, beautiful (it is possible that the name came from the “red”, that is, haberdashery goods that were traded here). From the north, the square was closed by the Resurrection (Iveron) Gate of Kitay-Gorod. From the south it was limited by a low hill - “vzlobye”, on which the Execution Place appeared in the 1530s, and in the mid-16th century - St. Basil’s Cathedral. Stone two-story shops, built by 1598, marked the eastern boundary of the square. They formed three quarters: Upper, Middle and Lower trading rows. These rows, transformed by a system of arcades into a single architectural organism, essentially fixed the outlines of modern Red Square.

The northern section at the Resurrection Gate in 1620-1630 received its dominant feature - the Kazan Cathedral. It was built in honor of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The two-span Resurrection Gate acquired the significance of the main entrance to Red Square. Near them were the buildings of the Mint and the Main Pharmacy with a tower. At the Nikolsky Gate there was a wooden “Comedial Temple”, dismantled in 1722.
To celebrate the Poltava victory in 1709, a wooden Triumphal Gate was built near the Kazan Cathedral, and in 1730 a new theater, also wooden, was built according to the design of the Russian architect Bartholomew Varfolomeevich Rastrelli.

In the 18th century, the square was the center of cultural life in Moscow. Here, at the Spassky Gate, the book trade took place, and the first public library operated. By 1755, the Russian architect, representative of the Baroque Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, rebuilt the Main Pharmacy to house Moscow University. In 1786-1810, the stone shops were rebuilt and New Trading Rows were erected. The two-story arcade covered almost the entire perimeter of the square. The dilapidated Lobnoye Place was dismantled and rebuilt while maintaining its original shape. In 1804, the square was paved with cobblestones.
In 1812, most of the buildings on the square burned down. The restoration was carried out according to the design and under the leadership of the architect of the “Commission for Construction in Moscow”, architect Osip Ivanovich Bove. The Alevizov ditch was filled in, and in its place a boulevard was laid out, the shopping arcades were rebuilt in the classical style, and in front of their center a monument to Kuzma Minich Minin and Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (sculptor Ivan Petrovich Martos) was erected, completing the creation of the transverse axis of the square, including the dome of the Senate and the Senate tower.

At the end of the 19th century, rapid construction began on Red Square: the Historical Museum was being built, and the Beauvais buildings were replaced by a new building of the Trading Rows (using the latest metal structures and reinforced concrete) with the full preservation of the layout of Red Square. Since 1892, Red Square began to be illuminated by electricity.
After the government moved to Moscow, Red Square began to bear a greater ideological burden: since 1918, demonstrations and military parades with displays of military equipment began to be held here. In 1924, the first wooden Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin was built near the Kremlin wall according to the design of the architect Alexei Viktorovich Shchusev, and in 1930 - a stone one.

the main store of the country - GUM, flower garden on Red Square

The mausoleum secured the transverse axis of the square and became its compositional center, completing the formation of the Red Square ensemble. The mausoleum became the center of the Kremlin necropolis, but not its first burial. The beginning was made with the mass graves of Red Army soldiers who died in battles for Soviet power in November 1917. Since 1925, urns with ashes have been installed directly in the Kremlin wall. In the 1930s, the necropolis was redeveloped. Behind the Mausoleum are the graves of the most important figures of the communist leadership.

In the early 1930s, the square was paved with paving stones from Onega diabase. Ryazan paving makers, having removed the uneven, worn-out cobblestones, laid a half-meter layer of river sand, then a layer of limestone crushed stone, compacting it with rollers. Then, having again poured a layer of river sand, paving stones were manually laid on this base according to a special pattern. At the same time, in 1930, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky was moved to St. Basil’s Cathedral so as not to interfere with parades (according to the plan, they were going to demolish the temple, but on Stalin’s personal orders they left it).
The former Vasilyevskaya Square (Vasilievsky Spusk) has practically merged with Red Square. The 1930s paving stones were resurfaced in 1974 and laid over a concrete base. In the 1990s, parades with military equipment were canceled, and reconstruction of the historical appearance of the square began: the Kazan Cathedral and the Iversky Gate were restored.

demonstration in the USSR Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral

ST. BASIL'S CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Moat, also called St. Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church located on Red Square in Moscow. A widely known monument of Russian architecture. Until the 17th century, it was usually called Trinity, since the original wooden church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity; was also known as “Jerusalem”, which is associated both with the dedication of one of the chapels and with the procession of the cross to it from the Assumption Cathedral on Palm Sunday with the “procession on the donkey” of the Patriarch.
Currently, the Intercession Cathedral is a branch of the State Historical Museum. Included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia.
The Intercession Cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Russia. For many, it is a symbol of Moscow and Russia. Since 1931, in front of the cathedral there has been a bronze Monument to Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky (installed on Red Square in 1818).

Versions about creation
The Intercession Cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate, which happened precisely on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - in early October 1552. There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral. According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma. According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both involved in the construction; this version is now outdated.
According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.

According to legend, the architects of the cathedral (Barma and Postnik) were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could not build a similar temple again. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.

The temple itself symbolizes Heavenly Jerusalem, but the meaning of the color scheme of the domes remains an unsolved mystery to this day. Even in the last century, the writer Chaev suggested that the color of the domes of the temple can be explained by the dream of Blessed Andrei the Fool the Fool, a holy ascetic with whom, according to Church Tradition, the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God is associated. He dreamed of Heavenly Jerusalem, and there “there were many gardens, in them there were tall trees, swaying with their tops... Some of the trees bloomed, others were decorated with golden foliage, others had various fruits of indescribable beauty.”

Church of St. Basil the Blessed
The lower church was added to the cathedral in 1588 over the burial place of St. St. Basil's. A stylized inscription on the wall tells about the construction of this church after the canonization of the saint by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.
The temple is cubic in shape, covered with a cross vault and crowned with a small light drum with a dome. The roof of the church is made in the same style as the domes of the upper churches of the cathedral.
The oil painting of the church was done for the 350th anniversary of the start of construction of the cathedral (1905). The dome depicts the Savior Almighty, the forefathers are depicted in the drum, the Deesis (Savior Not Made by Hands, the Mother of God, John the Baptist) is depicted in the crosshairs of the vault, and the Evangelists are depicted in the sails of the vault. On the western wall is the temple image of the “Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. In the upper tier there are images of the patron saints of the reigning house: Fyodor Stratilates, John the Baptist, Saint Anastasia, and the Martyr Irene.
On the northern and southern walls there are scenes from the life of St. Basil: “The Miracle of Salvation at Sea” and “The Miracle of the Fur Coat.” The lower tier of the walls is decorated with a traditional ancient Russian ornament in the form of towels.
The iconostasis was completed in 1895 according to the design of the architect A. M. Pavlinov. The icons were painted under the guidance of the famous Moscow icon painter and restorer Osip Chirikov, whose signature is preserved on the icon “The Savior on the Throne”.
The iconostasis includes earlier icons: “Our Lady of Smolensk” from the 16th century. and the local image of “St. Saint Basil against the backdrop of the Kremlin and Red Square" XVIII century.
Above the burial place of St. St. Basil's Church has an arch decorated with a carved canopy. This is one of the revered Moscow shrines.
On the southern wall of the church there is a rare large-sized icon painted on metal - “Our Lady of Vladimir with selected saints of the Moscow circle “Today the most glorious city of Moscow flaunts brightly” (1904)
The floor is covered with Kasli cast iron slabs.

St. Basil's Church was closed in 1929. Only at the end of the 20th century. its decorative decoration was restored. On August 15, 1997, on the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Blessed, Sunday and holiday services were resumed in the church.

MAUSOLEUM TO LENIN
The Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin (in 1953-1961, the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin) is a monument-tomb on Red Square near the Kremlin wall in Moscow.
According to Soviet historiography, the idea not to bury Lenin’s body, but to preserve it and place it in a sarcophagus, arose among workers and ordinary members of the Bolshevik Party, who sent numerous telegrams and letters about this to the leadership of Soviet Russia.
This proposal was officially voiced by M.I. Kalinin. Only L. D. Trotsky openly opposed it, calling this idea “madness.”

Most post-Soviet historians believed that this idea was actually inspired by J.V. Stalin, and saw the roots of this idea in the desire of the Bolsheviks to create a new religion for the victorious proletariat.
According to historians, Stalin already at that time intended to restore the historical paradigm, giving the people a tsar in the person of himself and a god in the person of Lenin. Political scientist D. B. Oreshkin believed that the Bolsheviks deliberately created a new pagan cult, in which “the source of faith and the object of worship was the mummy of a deified ancestor, and the high priest was the general secretary.” N.I. Bukharin wrote in a private letter: “We...have hung leaders instead of icons, and we will try to reveal the relics of Ilyich under communist sauce for Pakhom and the “lower classes.”
The idea of ​​​​creating the Mausoleum carried elements of not only Christian, but also more ancient traditions - the custom of embalming rulers existed in Ancient Egypt, and the structure itself was reminiscent of a Babylonian ziggurat.

History of the building
The first temporary wooden Mausoleum was erected on the day of the funeral of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) (January 27, 1924) according to the design of Academician A.V. Shchusev. According to the project, the structure was supposed to consist of three main parts - a massive cubic stylobate, a middle tier with geometric steps and a vertical completion - a high monument in the form of four columns covered with an entablature. Due to the short construction time and structural difficulties, the mausoleum remained unfinished - only the lower and middle tiers were erected. Small cubic vestibules for entry and exit were built on the sides of the structure. The first mausoleum stood only until the spring of 1924.

In the process of sketching the second wooden mausoleum, A.V. Shchusev again experimented with the idea of ​​completing the structure with columns of various types and heights, until in the final design the colonnade turned into the upper tier of a stepped structure. In the second mausoleum, Shchusev used compositional techniques and simplified forms of order architecture (pilasters, columns, etc.); stands were attached to the stepped volume on both sides. The initial design of the sarcophagus was considered technically difficult, and the architect K. S. Melnikov developed and presented eight new options within a month. One of them was approved and then implemented in the shortest possible time under the supervision of the author himself. This sarcophagus stood in the mausoleum until the end of the Great Patriotic War.

The laconic forms of the second Mausoleum were used in the design of the third, now existing version made of reinforced concrete, with brick walls and granite cladding, finished with marble, labradorite and crimson quartzite (porphyry) (1929-1930, according to the design of A.V. Shchusev with a team of authors) . Inside the building there is a lobby and a funeral hall, designed by I. I. Nivinsky, with an area of ​​100 m²; Opposite the main entrance there is the coat of arms of the USSR, made by I. D. Shadr. In 1930, new guest stands were erected on the sides of the Mausoleum (architect I. A. French), and the graves near the Kremlin wall were decorated.
During the Great Patriotic War, in July 1941, the body of V.I. Lenin was evacuated to Tyumen. It was kept in the current building of the main building of the Tyumen State Agricultural Academy (Respubliki St., 7), on the second floor in room 15. In April 1945, the leader’s body was returned to Moscow.

In 1953-1961, the mausoleum also housed the body of I.V. Stalin, and the mausoleum was called “Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin.” Until a granite slab of a suitable size (uniquely large - a 60-ton labradorite monolith from the Golovinsky quarry in the Zhitomir region) was found, on the already installed granite slab in 1953 the inscriptions "Lenin" and "Stalin". According to eyewitnesses, in severe frosts the old inscription “appeared” like frost through the inscriptions written on top of it. In 1958, the slab was replaced by a slab with the inscriptions “LENIN” and “STALIN” located one above the other. In 1963, the granite slab with Lenin's name was returned to its original place. Simultaneously with the funeral of J.V. Stalin, an unrealized resolution was adopted on the future transfer of the sarcophagi of both leaders to the Pantheon.
In 1973, a bulletproof sarcophagus was installed (chief designer N.A. Myzin, sculptor N.V. Tomsky).

The current reconstruction was carried out in 2013. Efforts were made to strengthen the foundation of the structure: about 350 wells were drilled along the perimeter of the monolithic slab on which the Mausoleum is installed, into which concrete was then poured. “In fact, a system of vertical supports was installed under the Mausoleum,” noted Devyatov, an official representative of the Federal Security Service of Russia. The mausoleum was closed in the fall of 2012; active restoration and reconstruction work on the complex began in December.
He recalled that part of the structure is located on the site of the Alevizov ditch, which was filled in in the 19th century, that is, on unstable soil, and therefore the foundation was strengthened. During the work, the internal volume of the Mausoleum was not affected in any way. Ahead is the second stage of work, during which, in particular, it is planned to dismantle the extension located at the back of the Mausoleum - previously there was an escalator for lifting party and government leaders, now this structure is not in use.

Post No. 1
Until October 1993, there was an honor guard post No. 1 at the Mausoleum, changing every hour at the signal of the Kremlin chimes. In October 1993, during the constitutional crisis, post No. 1 was abolished. On December 12, 1997, the post was restored, but already at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladlen Loginov believes that the Mausoleum, like the noble crypts, does not violate Christian traditions:
When during the time of Brezhnev, few people know about this, there was a major renovation of the Mausoleum, there was a consultation with the Russian Orthodox Church on this matter. And they just then pointed out that the main thing is to ensure that it is below ground level. That's what was done - they deepened the structure a little.

Interesting Facts
There is an opinion that the starting point for road distances in Moscow is not the main post office, as in many Russian cities, but the Lenin Mausoleum. In fact, the starting point is a special zero kilometer sign embedded in the paving stones, made of a special alloy, located in the passage of the Resurrection Gate near the building of the Historical Museum. The Moscow Post Office is located one and a half kilometers northeast.

Military Band Festival Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral

FOREAL PLACE
Lobnoye Mesto is a monument of ancient Russian architecture located in Moscow, on Red Square. It is a hill surrounded by a stone fence.

There are various versions regarding the etymology of the name. According to one of them, for example, it is stated that the name of the Execution Place arose from the fact that at this place “foreheads were chopped off” or “foreheads were folded.” Other sources claim that “Lobnoe Mesto” is a Slavic translation from Greek - “Kranievo Place” or from Hebrew - “Golgotha” (Golgotha ​​Hill received this name due to the fact that its upper part was a bare rock, vaguely reminiscent of a human scull). Third version: the word “frontal” means only the location: Vasilyevsky Spusk, at the beginning of which is the Execution Place, was called “forehead” in the Middle Ages (a common name for steep descents to the river in medieval Russia).

There is also a widespread misconception that Lobnoye Mesto was a place of public execution in the 14th–19th centuries. However, executions at the Execution Place itself were carried out very rarely, because it was revered as holy. It was a place for the announcement of royal decrees and other solemn public events. Contrary to legends, Execution Place was not an ordinary place of execution (executions were usually carried out in the Swamp). On July 11, 1682, the head of the schismatic Nikita Pustosvyat was cut off there; by decree of February 5, 1685, executions were ordered to continue to be carried out at Execution Place, but it only witnessed executions in 1698 during the suppression of the Streltsy revolt. For executions, a special wooden scaffold was erected next to the stone platform. However, in a figurative sense, the phrase “frontal place” (with a small letter, since it does not mean a proper name) is still sometimes used as a synonym for the place of execution, without geographical reference to any city.

Tradition connects the construction of Lobnoye Mesto with the deliverance of Moscow from the Tatar invasion in 1521. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1549, when twenty-year-old Tsar Ivan the Terrible gave a speech to the people from Execution Ground, calling for reconciliation between the warring boyars.
From Godunov's drawing of Moscow it is clear that it was a brick platform; in 1597-1598 it was rebuilt in stone; according to inventories of the 17th century. it had a wooden lattice, as well as a canopy or tent on poles. In 1753, Lobnoye Mesto was repaired by D.V. Ukhtomsky. In 1786, Lobnoye Mesto was slightly shifted to the east and rebuilt according to the design of Matvey Kazakov according to the previous plan from wild hewn stone. Now its elevated round platform is surrounded by stone railings: in the western part there is an entrance with an iron grating and a door; 11 steps lead to the upper platform. Lobnoe Mesto had the greatest significance for the Moscow population in pre-Petrine times. From ancient times and right up to the revolution, processions of the cross stopped near it, and from its top the bishop made the sign of the cross over the people.
During the “Entry into Jerusalem,” the patriarch and the clergy ascended to the Place of Execution, distributed consecrated willows to the king, clergy and boyars, and from there rode on a donkey led by the king. To this day, willows are sold near Lobnoye Mesto and festivities are held. Since 1550, Lobnoye Place was often called “Tsarev” in acts as a royal tribunal, a royal department. Before Peter I, the most important decrees of sovereigns were announced to the people there. Olearius calls it Theatrum proclamationum. Polish ambassadors in 1671 reported that here the sovereign appeared before the people once a year and, when the heir reached the age of 16, showed him to the people. From the Place of Execution the election of a patriarch, the war, and the conclusion of peace were announced to the people; near him the “seditious” by John IV and the archers by Peter I were executed; at its steps in 1606 lay the mutilated corpse of False Dmitry I; they demanded a council from him and then declared their victory in 1682 Nikita Pustosvyat “and his comrades”; Alexei Mikhailovich calmed the indignant people from him.

On May 1, 1919, in accordance with Lenin’s plan for monumental propaganda, a monument “Stepan Razin with his gang” was erected on Execution Ground, carved from wood and painted in the spirit of a folk toy by sculptor S. T. Konenkov. At the end of the same month, the sculptural group, suffering from bad weather, was dismantled and moved to the Proletarian Museum (later to the Museum of the Revolution).

On November 6, 1942, near Lobnoye Mesto, Corporal Savely Dmitriev fired at Anastas Mikoyan’s car with a rifle, mistaking it for Joseph Stalin’s car. The attacker was arrested and subsequently shot by court verdict.
On August 25, 1968, a sit-in demonstration took place near Lobnoye Mesto against the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia.

MONUMENT TO MININ AND POZHARSKY
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky - a sculptural group made of brass and copper, created by Ivan Martos; located in front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Dedicated to Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, leaders of the second people's militia during the Polish intervention in the Time of Troubles, and the victory over Poland in 1612.
A proposal to start collecting funds for the construction of the monument was made in 1803 by members of the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science and the Arts. Initially, the monument was supposed to be installed in Nizhny Novgorod, the city where the militia was gathered.
Sculptor Ivan Martos immediately began work on the monument project. In 1807, Martos published an engraving from the first model of the monument, in which he introduced the national heroes Minin and Pozharsky to Russian society as liberators of the country from foreign yoke.
In 1808, residents of Nizhny Novgorod asked for the Highest permission to invite other compatriots to participate in the creation of the monument. The proposal was approved by Emperor Alexander I:II,III, who strongly supported the idea of ​​erecting a monument.
In November 1808, the sculptor Ivan Martos won the competition for the best design of the monument, and an imperial decree was issued on subscription to fundraising throughout Russia: III-VI.
Due to the importance of the monument for Russian history, it was decided to install it in Moscow, and in Nizhny Novgorod to install a marble obelisk in honor of Minin and Prince Pozharsky.
Interest in creating the monument was already great, but after World War II it increased even more. Russian citizens saw this sculpture as a symbol of victory.

ICBM Topol - Russia's main ally

Creation of a monument
Work on the creation of the monument began at the end of 1812 under the leadership of Ivan Martos. A small model of the monument was completed in mid-1812. In the same year, Martos began making a large model and at the beginning of 1813 the model was opened to the public. The work was highly appreciated by Empress Maria Feodorovna (February 4) and members of the Academy of Arts.
The casting of the monument was entrusted to Vasily Ekimov, the foundry master of the Academy of Arts. Upon completion of the preparatory work, the casting was completed on August 5, 1816. 1,100 pounds of copper were prepared for smelting. The copper took 10 hours to melt. The casting of such a colossal monument at once was carried out for the first time in European history.

It was originally planned to use Siberian marble for the pedestal of the monument. But due to the significant size of the monument, it was decided to use granite. Huge stones were delivered to St. Petersburg from the shores of Finland, which was part of the Russian Empire. The pedestal, consisting of three solid pieces, was made by stonemason Sukhanov.
It was decided to deliver the monument from St. Petersburg to Moscow by water, taking into account the size and weight of the monument, along the route through the Mariinsky Canal to Rybinsk, then along the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, then up the Oka to Kolomna and along the Moscow River. On May 21, 1817, the monument was sent from St. Petersburg and on September 2 of the same year was delivered to Moscow.
At the same time, the installation location of the monument in Moscow was finally determined. It was decided that the best location was Red Square compared to the square at the Tverskaya Gate, where the installation was previously planned. The specific location on Red Square was determined by Martos: in the middle of Red Square, opposite the entrance to the Upper Trading Rows (now the GUM building).
On February 20 (March 4), 1818, the grand opening of the monument took place with the participation of Emperor Alexander and his family and with a gathering of a huge number of people. A guard parade took place on Red Square

Red Square, zero kilometer

ZERO KILOMETER
In Russia, the bronze sign of the zero kilometer is located in the very center of Moscow, in the Resurrection Gate passage, which connects Red Square with Manezhnaya; called “Zero kilometer of highways of the Russian Federation”.
Installed in 1995 by sculptor A. Rukavishnikov. The zero kilometer itself is located near the Central Telegraph building, in accordance with historical tradition. Initially, it was planned to place the sign on Red Square itself in the middle of the line connecting the Lenin Mausoleum and GUM.
In the Russian Empire, kilometer zero was at the city main post office of St. Petersburg. It was from here that the mileage deduction along the roads of Russia came. Some mileage signs can still be found on the Kievskoye Highway in St. Petersburg.

MINT

Behind the Kazan Cathedral along Nikolskaya Street there is an architectural complex of the late 17th century. This is one of the old mints in Moscow. It was called Red or Chinese (based on its location near the Kitai-Gorod wall). The oldest building in the complex is a two-story brick chamber with a passage arch, built in 1697. The façade of the building, facing the courtyard, is richly decorated in Baroque style. The windows of the second floor are framed with white stone carved frames, the walls are decorated with attached columns, and a colored strip of tiled frieze runs along the top of the wall. The basement of the chambers was used for storing precious metals; a forge, smelting and other production facilities functioned on the lower floor; the upper floor was occupied by the treasury, assay room, and storeroom.

The Red Mint operated for a century. Gold, silver and copper coins of national standard were minted here. A reliable security system made it possible to use the yard as a debt prison. Subsequently, the complex was rebuilt, new buildings appeared to house government institutions. The prison continued to operate, where such dangerous criminals as E. Pugachev and A. Radishchev were kept. At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the buildings of the Old Mint was converted into Nikolsky shopping arcades, and some of the buildings were adapted for retail premises. During Soviet times, administrative institutions were located in ancient buildings. Today the former mint is at the disposal of the State Historical Museum.

NECROPOLIS AT THE KREMLIN WALL
Necropolis at the Kremlin Wall is a memorial cemetery on Moscow's Red Square, near the Kremlin Wall (and in the wall that serves as a columbarium for urns with ashes). Burial place of famous communist figures (mainly political and military) of the Soviet state; in the 1920s-1930s, foreign communists (John Reed, Sen Katayama, Clara Zetkin) were also buried there.

The necropolis began to take shape in November 1917.
On November 5, 7 and 8, the Sotsial-Democrat newspaper published appeals to all organizations and individuals to provide information about those who fell during the October armed uprising of 1917 in Moscow, fighting on the side of the Bolsheviks.
On November 7, at a morning meeting, the Moscow Military Revolutionary Committee decided to arrange a mass grave on Red Square and scheduled the funeral for November 10.

Funeral at the Kremlin wall on November 10, 1917.
On November 8, two mass graves were dug: between the Kremlin wall and the tram rails that lay parallel to it. One grave started from the Nikolsky Gate and stretched to the Senate Tower, then there was a short gap, and the second went to the Spassky Gate. On November 9, newspapers published detailed routes of funeral processions in 11 city districts and the hours of their arrival at Red Square. Taking into account the possible dissatisfaction of Moscow residents, the Moscow Military Revolutionary Committee decided to arm all soldiers participating in the funeral with rifles.
On November 10, 238 coffins were lowered into mass graves. In total, 240 people were buried in 1917.
As a result, more than 300 people were buried in mass graves; the exact names of 110 people are known. Abramov’s book contains a martyrology, which identifies 122 more people who, most likely, are also buried in mass graves.
In the first years of Soviet power, on November 7 and May 1, a military guard of honor was displayed at the Mass Graves, and the regiments took the oath.
In 1919, Ya. M. Sverdlov was buried for the first time in a separate grave on Red Square.
In 1924, the Lenin Mausoleum was built, which became the center of the necropolis.

Burials in the 1920s–1980s
Subsequently, the necropolis was replenished with two types of burials:
particularly prominent figures of the party and government (Sverdlov, and then Frunze, Dzerzhinsky, Kalinin, Zhdanov, Voroshilov, Budyonny, Suslov, Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko) were buried near the Kremlin wall to the right of the Mausoleum without cremation, in a coffin and in a grave.
The body of I.V. Stalin, taken out of the Mausoleum in 1961, was buried in the same grave. Monuments were erected above them - sculptural portraits by S. D. Merkurov (busts at the first four burials in 1947 and Zhdanov in 1949), N. V. Tomsky (busts of Stalin, 1970, and Budyonny, 1975), N. I. Bratsun (bust of Voroshilov, 1970), I. M. Rukavishnikov (busts of Suslov, 1983, and Brezhnev, 1983), V. A. Sonin (bust of Andropov, 1985), L. E. Kerbel (bust Chernenko, 1986).

Most of the people buried near the Kremlin wall in the 1930s-1980s were cremated, and the urns with their ashes were walled up in the wall (on both sides of the Senate Tower) under memorial plaques on which the name and dates of life are indicated (114 people in total) .
In 1925-1936 (before S.S. Kamenev and A.P. Karpinsky), urns were mainly walled up on the right side of the Necropolis, but in 1934, 1935 and 1936 Kirov, Kuibyshev and Maxim Gorky were buried on the left side; starting from 1937 (Ordzhonikidze, Maria Ulyanova), burials completely moved to the left side and were carried out only there until 1976 (the only exception is G.K. Zhukov, whose ashes were buried in 1974 on the right side, next to S.S. Kamenev); from 1977 until the cessation of burials, they again “returned” to the right side.
Politicians who were in disgrace or retired at the time of death were not buried near the Kremlin wall (for example, N. S. Khrushchev, A. I. Mikoyan and N. V. Podgorny are buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery).

If a person was posthumously convicted by the party, his burial in the Kremlin wall was not eliminated (for example, the urns with the ashes of S. S. Kamenev, A. Ya. Vyshinsky and L. Z. Mehlis were not touched in any way).
In the necropolis near the Kremlin wall, in addition to party and government figures of the USSR, there are the ashes of outstanding pilots (1930s-1940s), dead cosmonauts (1960s-1970s), prominent scientists (A.P. Karpinsky, I.V. . Kurchatov, S. P. Korolev, M. V. Keldysh).

Until 1976, all those who died with the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union were buried near the Kremlin wall, but, starting with P.K. Koshevoy, marshals began to be buried in other cemeteries as well.
The last person buried at the Kremlin wall was K.U. Chernenko (March 1985). The last one whose ashes were placed in the Kremlin wall was D. F. Ustinov, who died in December 1984.

On June 28, 1918, the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet approved a project according to which mass graves should be framed by three rows of linden trees.
In the fall of 1931, instead of linden trees, blue spruce trees were planted along the mass graves. In Moscow, at low temperatures, blue spruce takes root poorly and produces almost no seeds. The scientist-breeder I.P. Kovtunenko (1891-1984) worked on this problem for more than 15 years.
The author of the architectural design carried out in the necropolis in 1946-1947, architect I. A. French.
Until 1973, in addition to spruces, rowan, lilac and hawthorn grew in the necropolis.

In 1973-1974, according to the design of architects G. M. Vulfson and V. P. Danilushkin and sculptor P. I. Bondarenko, the reconstruction of the necropolis was carried out. Then granite banners, wreaths on marble slabs, flower vases appeared, new blue spruce trees were planted in groups of three (since the old ones, growing like a solid wall, blocked the view of the Kremlin wall and memorial plaques), the stands and granite of the Mausoleum were updated. Instead of four fir trees, one was planted behind each bust.

HOUSE OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

The two-story building, located opposite the Historical Museum, between the Resurrection Gate and the Kazan Cathedral, was built in the 30s of the 18th century as one of the buildings of the Mint. Since Catherine's time, it was occupied by the Moscow provincial government. Its original Baroque decor, created by the architect P.F. Heyden, the building was lost in 1781. Then, during the restoration work carried out by the famous Moscow architect M.F. Kazakov, the building acquired a stucco classicist facade. However, courtyard facades are often no less interesting than front facades. In the courtyard you can see preserved elements of decorative brickwork typical of the early Baroque. From 1806 until the beginning of the next century, the town hall tower rose above the House of Provincial Government, serving as a fire tower.

Not long ago, the historical and architectural monument was restored and today, with its updated facade, it forms the eastern line of the main entrance to Red Square.

STATE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The State Historical Museum (GIM) is the national historical museum of Russia. The museum's collection reflects the history and culture of Russia from ancient times to the present day, and is unique in the number and content of exhibits.
Located on the northern side of Red Square in Moscow. The museum also owns the neighboring buildings of the Mint and the Moscow City Duma.
At the origins of the museum was the largest expert on Moscow antiquity, Ivan Egorovich Zabelin. From May 1895 to November 1917, the official name of the museum was as follows: “Imperial Russian Historical Museum named after Emperor Alexander III.”
The Museum named after His Imperial Highness the Sovereign Heir Tsarevich was founded by decree of Emperor Alexander II on February 21, 1872, at the request of the organizers of the Polytechnic Exhibition of 1872. Exhibits from the latter’s department, dedicated to the Crimean War, made up the museum’s initial collection. Also, the historical Chertkiv Library was transferred to the museum’s jurisdiction.

In April 1874, the Moscow City Duma allocated land for the construction of the museum on Red Square in Moscow, on which the building of the Zemstvo Prikaz (17th century) had previously been located. According to the competition brief, the museum building had to be designed in the forms of Russian architecture of the 16th century, so that its appearance would organically correspond to the architectural ensemble of Red Square that had developed by that time. As a result of the competition, preference was given to the project of the architect V. O. Sherwood and engineer A. A. Semenov, which echoed the decision of the demolished building of the order. In 1878, Sherwood stopped working on the project and construction was headed by architect A.P. Popov. He actually completed the construction of the museum, developed an engineering design for the towers of the building and designs for the artistic design of all 11 exhibition halls, based on the design of A. S. Uvarov. Construction of the museum building, which is now a historical and architectural monument, continued during 1875-1881. The interiors of the Suzdal Hall of the museum were decorated in the 1890s according to the design of the architect P. S. Boytsov. The equipment and decoration of the museum's reading room were made in 1911-1912 according to the design of the architect I. E. Bondarenko. The museum opened its doors to visitors on May 27, 1883.
After the October Revolution, the museum became known as the State Russian Historical Museum. The new authorities organized a special commission of the People's Commissariat for Education to reorganize the museum. There was a threat of confiscation of part of the museum's collections. From February 1921 to the present day, the title name of the museum is the State Historical Museum.

In 1922, the Museum of Noble Life of the 40s was attached to the State Historical Museum.
In 2006, the Historical Museum completed work on the permanent exhibition. The history of Russia from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century is presented on two floors in 39 halls. The exhibition begins on the second floor. It is dedicated to primitive society, Ancient Rus', fragmentation, the fight against foreign invaders, the unification of Russia, culture, and the development of Siberia. The third floor shows Russia, starting from the era of Peter I: politics, culture, economy of the Russian Empire.
The museum has undergone a large-scale reconstruction. Its historical interiors have been restored, but at the same time, the museum meets all the requirements of our days. For example, the museum is equipped with an elevator for the disabled and has wheelchairs available. In order for museum guests to understand the historical events that are presented through objects, information materials are placed in the halls. In addition to paper information support, the exhibition features a large number of screens and monitors. They display items that are not included in the exhibition or that the visitor cannot see. For example, a book is presented in a display case, you cannot pick it up, but its pages are flipped on the monitor.
The museum displays about 22 thousand objects on 4 thousand square meters. To get around the museum's exhibition you need to take more than 4 thousand steps, which is about 3 km. This is the scale of the museum in numbers. If you spend about a minute examining each exhibit, then in total you will need about 360 hours of time, and this is only 0.5% of the museum’s collections.

MOSCOW CITY DUMA

At the end of the 19th century, a representative building intended for the Moscow City Duma was added to the House of Provincial Government. The scale of the structure and its elegant decor, characteristic of ancient Russian architecture, make it consonant with the neighboring building of the Historical Museum, erected a decade earlier. The author of the project was the outstanding Russian architect, master of eclecticism and pseudo-Russian style D.N. Chichagov. Nowadays, the main facade of the ancient building determines the appearance of Revolution Square (formerly Voskresenskaya), one of the closest to Red Square.

Deputies met in a luxurious “mansion” until 1917. After the revolution, instead of the coat of arms of Moscow, a medallion with the image of a worker and a peasant appeared above the main entrance, and the building itself was occupied by departments of the Moscow Council. In 1936, after the reconstruction of the interior, which destroyed the original decoration, the Central Museum of V.I. was opened in the building. Lenin is the largest exhibition center entirely dedicated to the life and work of the leader of the socialist revolution. Today it is a branch of the Historical Museum, which is an excellent exhibition space for holding various exhibitions.

KAZAN CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is an Orthodox church in front of the mint on the corner of Red Square and Nikolskaya Street in Moscow. The main altar was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

The appearance of the temple is associated with the beginning of the veneration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God outside the Kazan diocese - first in Moscow, and then throughout Russia. The copy from the icon that accompanied the second militia from Yaroslavl was placed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky in his parish Church of the Entry on Lubyanka, in Pskovichi.

In the “Historical Guide to Moscow” (1796) a statement appeared that the first Kazan Church on Nikolskaya Street, then still wooden, was built in 1625 at the expense of Prince Pozharsky. It is widely assumed that this temple was erected under a vow in honor of the expulsion of Polish-Lithuanian invaders from Moscow. Earlier sources know nothing about this church, which allegedly burned down in 1634.

The stone temple to house the “Lubyanka” copy of the Kazan icon was built at the expense of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and consecrated by Patriarch Joasaph I in 1636. Another 11 years later, a chapel was added to it in honor of the Kazan wonderworkers Guria and Barsanuphius. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself was present at the consecration ceremony. The hipped bell tower was probably attached to the quadrangle on the northwestern side, as was customary in church architecture of the early 17th century for bell towers that were simultaneous with churches.
Despite its miniature size, the temple became one of the most important churches in Moscow: its rector occupied one of the first places among the Moscow clergy. One of them is the “teacher of splits” Grigory Neronov. In his Old Believer Life, the service in the 17th century church is described as follows:
And many people came to the church from everywhere, as if they could not fit in the church porch, but they climbed onto the wing of the porch and looked through the windows, listening to the singing and reading of divine words.

The construction history of the Kazan Cathedral is complex. At the end of the 1760s. The temple complex was reconstructed at the expense of Princess M. A. Dolgorukova. At the same time, the chapel of Sts. was demolished “due to disrepair.” Guria and Barsanuphia. The reconstruction of the upper shopping rows almost blocked the view of the cathedral from Red Square. The lower tier of the bell tower was lined with benches. The clergy demanded the demolition of the Averkievsky chapel, in which services had long ceased to be held.
In the first half of 1802, by resolution of Metropolitan Platon, the previous tented bell tower was dismantled, and by 1805 a new two-tiered one was built in another place, which later (1865) became three-tiered. In 1865, the facades of the temple were designed in a classical style according to the design of the architect N.I. Kozlovsky. After such “renovation” the temple differed little from the thousands of refectory-type churches scattered throughout Russian villages.
The measured course of life in the parish was marked by several significant events. During the French occupation of 1812, according to A. A. Shakhovsky, “a dead horse was dragged into the altar of the Kazan Cathedral and placed in the place of the discarded throne.” The Kazan icon was hidden by Archpriest Moshkov, who remained at the church.

On July 8 (21), 1918, during a service in the cathedral, Patriarch Tikhon delivered a sermon about the execution of Nicholas II. In September of the same year, its main shrine was stolen from the cathedral - a copy of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, revered as miraculous.

MUSEUM OF THE PATRIC WAR OF 1812

One of the youngest and most interesting museums in the capital, the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812, opened its doors in 2012. The unique collections are located in a new two-story pavilion, which occupies the space of the courtyard between the building of the former Moscow City Duma and the chambers of the Red Mint. The author of the project for a modern building, successfully integrated into the historical buildings, was the famous Moscow architect P.Yu. Andreev. The staff of the Historical Museum did a great job of selecting exhibits and preparing them for display.

On the ground floor of the exhibition complex there is an exhibition reflecting the prehistory of the legendary events - the ten-year period of relations between Russia and France on the eve of the war, as well as a memorial section, including a series of paintings “1812. Napoleon in Russia" V.V. Vereshchagin and a collection of commemorative medals and rarities. In the exhibition halls of the second floor, the image of the Patriotic War of 1812 itself is revealed, and the foreign campaigns that followed it are also highlighted, thanks to which Europe was liberated from the rule of Napoleon. The modern exhibition space is equipped with a multimedia information system, which makes visiting the museum even more exciting.

CATHEDRAL OF THE MOSCOW KREMLIN

Back in the first half of the 14th century, the first white-stone churches were erected on the top of Borovitsky (Kremlin) hill, which determined the spatial organization of the future Cathedral Square. The ancient buildings have not survived, but new cathedrals have risen on the site of their predecessors. The construction of majestic religious buildings was carried out at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries - during the period when the unification of Russian lands around Moscow, which turned into the capital of a single Russian state, was completed.

Cathedral Square, which is the historical and architectural center of the Moscow Kremlin, after five centuries has preserved a unique architectural ensemble, including famous monuments of Russian temple architecture - the Assumption, Archangel, Annunciation Cathedrals, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles. In addition to their architectural value, temples have important historical and memorial significance. The Assumption Cathedral is famous for the fact that all the coronations of Russian monarchs took place there, starting with Ivan III and ending with Nicholas II. And the Necropolis of the Archangel Cathedral became the tomb of Russian rulers (great and appanage princes, tsars). Currently, the Kremlin cathedrals are not only active Orthodox churches, but also museums exhibiting masterpieces of ancient Russian art.

MUSEUMS OF THE MOSCOW KREMLIN

The history of museum work on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin began in 1806, when, by decree of Emperor Alexander I, the Armory Chamber received museum status. The initial collection was made up of a treasury stored in the Kremlin, the first information about which dates back to the 15th century. After the revolution, in addition to the Armory Chamber, the Kremlin Cathedrals and the Patriarchal Chambers became museum institutions. Today, the walls of historical buildings house permanent exhibitions and temporary thematic exhibitions.

Many collections of the Moscow Kremlin museums are truly unique. This is a collection of state regalia, a collection of amazing diplomatic gifts, a collection of coronation costumes, rare ancient carriages of Russian rulers, a rich collection of weapons and armor. The museum collection includes about three thousand icons, covering the period from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 20th century. Of particular interest is the archaeological collection, which consists of artifacts found on the territory of the Kremlin.

GRAND KREMLIN PALACE

The Grand Kremlin Palace is rightly called the Museum of Russian Palace Interior. However, the luxurious palace complex of the Moscow Kremlin has never been a museum institution. The large-scale structure, erected in 1838-1849, originally served as the Moscow residence of Russian monarchs and their families. A group of outstanding Russian architects, led by the famous St. Petersburg architect, master of the “Russian-Byzantine” style Konstantin Ton, worked on the creation of an architectural masterpiece.

During Soviet times, sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were held in the halls of the former imperial palace. Today it is the ceremonial residence of the President of Russia. Ceremonies for the inauguration of the head of state, negotiations with leaders of other countries, ceremonies for presenting state awards and other official national events are held here. However, it is still possible to see the magnificent decoration of the palace: in free time from events, excursion services are provided here upon prior requests from organizations.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
Red Square // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Ashukin N. S. Red Square. - M., 1925.
One Hundred Military Parades / Ed. Regiment General K. S. Grushevoy.. - M.: Voenizdat, 1974. - 264, p. — 50,000 copies. (in the lane, superreg.) (About military parades on Red Square from 1918 to 1972)
Bondarenko I. A. Red Square of Moscow: Architectural ensemble. - M.: Veche, 2006. - 416 p. — (Moscow chronograph). — 5,000 copies. — ISBN 5-9533-1334-9.
Batalov A. L., Belyaev L. A. The sacred space of medieval Moscow. — M.: Feoriya, Design. Information. Cartography, 2010. - 400 p. — ISBN 978-5-4284-0001-4.
Libson V. Ya., Domshlak M. I., Arenkova Yu. I. and others. The Kremlin. China town. Central squares // Architectural monuments of Moscow. - M.: Art, 1983. - P. 387-398. — 504 p. — 25,000 copies.
Zelenetsky I.K. History of Red Square. - M.: Moscow University Printing House, 1851. - 237 p.
http://www.kreml.ru
Rachinsky Ya.Z. Red Square // Complete dictionary of Moscow street names. - M., 2011. - P. 231. - XXVI, 605 p. — ISBN 978-5-85209-263-2.
Wikipedia website.
Libson V. Ya., Domshlak M. I., Arenkova Yu. I. and others. The Kremlin. China town. Central squares // Architectural monuments of Moscow. - M.: Art, 1983. - P. 257-345. — 504 p. — 25,000 copies.
Ikonnikov A.V. Stone Chronicle of Moscow: Guide. - M.: Moscow worker, 1978. - P. 26. - 352 p.
Bartenev S.P. Moscow Kremlin in the old days and now. In 2 books. M., 1912—1916. Book 1. Historical sketch of the Kremlin fortifications. Book 2. The Sovereign's courtyard in the Moscow Kremlin. House of Rurikovich. T. 1. M., 1912. T. 2. M., 1916.

In 1561, one of the most famous churches in Russia was consecrated - the Intercession Cathedral, or, as it is otherwise called, St. Basil's Cathedral. The portal "Culture.RF" recalled interesting facts from the history of its creation.

Temple-monument

The Intercession Cathedral is not just a church, but a temple-monument erected in honor of the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to the Russian state. The main battle, in which Russian troops were victorious, took place on the day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the temple was consecrated in honor of this Christian holiday. The cathedral consists of separate churches, each of which is also consecrated in honor of the holidays on which the decisive battles for Kazan took place - Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and others.

A huge construction project in record time

Initially, a wooden Trinity Church stood on the site of the cathedral. Temples were erected around it during the campaigns against Kazan - they celebrated the loud victories of the Russian army. When Kazan finally fell, Metropolitan Macarius suggested that Ivan the Terrible rebuild the architectural ensemble in stone. He wanted to surround the central temple with seven churches, but for the sake of symmetry the number was increased to eight. Thus, 9 independent churches and a belfry were built on one foundation; they were connected by vaulted passages. Outside, the churches were surrounded by an open gallery, which was called a walkway - it was a kind of church porch. Each temple was crowned with its own dome with a unique design and original drum decoration. The 65-meter-high structure, grandiose at the time, was built in just six years - from 1555 to 1561. Until 1600 it was the tallest building in Moscow.

Temple in honor of the soothsayer

Although the official name of the cathedral is the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, everyone knows it as St. Basil's Cathedral. According to legend, the famous Moscow miracle worker collected money for the construction of the temple, and then was buried near its walls. The holy fool St. Basil the Blessed walked the streets of Moscow barefoot, almost without clothes, almost all year, preaching mercy and help to others. There were also legends about his prophetic gift: they say he predicted the Moscow fire of 1547. The son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, ordered the construction of a church dedicated to St. Basil. It became part of the Intercession Cathedral. The church was the only temple that was always open - all year round, day and night. Later, by its name, parishioners began to call the cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral.

Louis Bichebois. Lithograph "St. Basil's Church"

Vitaly Grafov. Moscow wonderworker Blessed Basil. 2005

The royal treasury and lectern at Lobnoye Mesto

The cathedral has no basements. Instead, they built a common foundation - a vaulted basement without supporting pillars. They were ventilated through special narrow openings - vents. Initially, the premises were used as a warehouse - the royal treasury and the valuables of some wealthy Moscow families were kept there. Later, the narrow entrance to the basement was blocked - it was found only during the restoration of the 1930s.

Despite its colossal external dimensions, the Intercession Cathedral is quite small inside. Perhaps because it was originally built as a memorial monument. In winter, the cathedral was completely closed, as it was not heated. When services began to be held in the church, especially on major church holidays, very few people could fit inside. Then the lectern was moved to the Place of Execution, and the cathedral seemed to serve as a huge altar.

Russian architect or European master

It is still not known for certain who built St. Basil's Cathedral. Researchers have several options. One of them, the cathedral, was erected by the ancient Russian architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Barma. According to another version, Yakovlev and Barma were actually one person. The third option says that the author of the cathedral was a foreign architect. After all, the composition of St. Basil's Cathedral has no analogues in ancient Russian architecture, but prototypes of the building can be found in Western European art.

Whoever the architect was, there are sad legends about his future fate. According to them, when Ivan the Terrible saw the temple, he was struck by its beauty and ordered the architect to be blinded so that he would never repeat his majestic construction anywhere. Another legend says that the foreign builder was executed altogether - for the same reason.

Iconostasis with a turn

The iconostasis for St. Basil's Cathedral was created in 1895 according to the design of the architect Andrei Pavlinov. This is the so-called iconostasis with a turn - it is so large for a small temple that it continues on the side walls. It is decorated with ancient icons - Our Lady of Smolensk from the 16th century and the image of St. Basil, painted in the 18th century.

The temple is also decorated with paintings - they were created on the walls of the building in different years. Here St. Basil and the Mother of God are depicted; the main dome is decorated with the face of the Savior Almighty.

Iconostasis in St. Basil's Cathedral. 2016. Photo: Vladimir d"Ar

“Lazarus, put him in his place!”

The cathedral was almost destroyed several times. During the Patriotic War of 1812, French stables were located here, and after that the temple was going to be blown up. Already in Soviet times, Stalin's associate Lazar Kaganovich proposed dismantling the cathedral so that there would be more space on Red Square for parades and demonstrations. He even created a model of the square, and the temple building was easily removed from it. But Stalin, seeing the architectural model, said: “Lazarus, put it in its place!”

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square is the main temple of the capital of Russia. Therefore, for many inhabitants of the planet it is a symbol of Russia, just as the Eiffel Tower is for France or the Statue of Liberty for America. Currently, the temple is a branch of the State Historical Museum. Since 1990, it has been included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia.

From the history of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square

On October 1, 1552, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God, the assault on Kazan began, which ended in victory for the Russian soldiers. In honor of this victory, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, now known as St. Basil's Cathedral, was founded.

Previously, on the site of the temple there was a church in the name of the Trinity. According to legend, in the crowd among those walking one could often see the holy fool St. Basil the Blessed, who left home in his youth and wandered around the capital. He was known for having the gift of healing and clairvoyance and collecting money for the new Intercession Church. Before his death, he gave the collected money to Ivan the Terrible. The holy fool was buried at the Trinity Church. When the Intercession Church was built, his grave was located at the very wall of the temple. Later, 30 years later, on the orders of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, a new chapel was built, consecrated in honor of St. Basil. Since then, the temple began to be called by the same name. In the old days, the Intercession Cathedral was red and white, and the domes were gold. There were 25 domes: 9 main and 16 small ones, located around the central tent, aisles and bell tower. The central dome had the same complex shape as the side domes. The painting of the temple walls was more complex.

There were very few people inside the temple. Therefore, during the holidays, services were held on Red Square. The Intercession Cathedral served as an altar. Church ministers came to the place of execution, and the sky served as a dome. The temple has a height of 65 meters. Before the construction of the Ivanovo Bell Tower in the Kremlin, it was the tallest in Moscow. After a fire in 1737, the temple was restored, and in the second half of the 18th century, 16 small domes around the towers were removed, and the bell tower was connected to the temple, which became multi-colored.

Throughout its history, the temple was on the verge of destruction several times. According to legend, Napoleon kept his horses in the temple and wanted to move the building to Paris. But at that time it was impossible to do this. Then he decided to blow up the temple. A sudden downpour of rain extinguished the lit wicks and saved the structure. After the revolution, the temple was closed, the bells were melted down, and its rector, Archpriest John Vostorgov, was shot. Lazar Koganovich proposed demolishing the building to open up traffic and hold demonstrations. Only the courage and perseverance of the architect P.D. Baranovsky was saved by the temple. Stalin’s famous phrase “Lazarus, put him in his place!” and the decision to demolish it was reversed.

How many domes are there on St. Basil's Cathedral

The temple was built in 1552-1554. at a time when there was a war with the Golden Horde for the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms. After each victory, a wooden church was built in honor of the saint whose memory day was celebrated on that day. Also, some temples were built in honor of significant events. By the end of the war, there were 8 churches on one site. Saint Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow advised the tsar to build one temple in stone with a common foundation. In 1555-1561 The architects Barma and Yakovlev built eight temples on one foundation: four of them are axial and four smaller ones between them. All of them are different in architectural decoration and have onion domes decorated with cornices, kokoshniks, windows, and niches. In the center stands the ninth church with a small dome in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God. In the 17th century, a bell tower with a hipped dome was built. Considering this dome, there are 10 domes on the temple.

• The northern church was consecrated in the name of Cyprian and Ustina, and later in the name of St. Andrian and Natalia.
• The eastern church is consecrated in the name of the Trinity. The southern church is in the name of Nikola Velikoretsky.
• The Western Church was consecrated in the name of the Entry into Jerusalem in memory of the return of the army of Ivan the Terrible to Moscow.
• The northeastern church was consecrated in the name of the Three Patriarchs of Alexandria.
• The southeastern church is in the name of Alexander Svirsky.
• Southwestern Church - in the name of Varlaam Khutynsky.
• Northwestern - in the name of Gregory of Armenia.

Eight chapters, built around the central ninth, form a figure in plan, consisting of two squares located at an angle of 45 degrees and representing an eight-pointed star. The number 8 symbolizes the day of the Resurrection of Christ, and the eight-pointed star is a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The square means firmness and constancy of faith. Its four sides mean the four cardinal directions and the four ends of the cross, the four evangelist apostles. The central temple unites the rest of the churches and symbolizes patronage over all of Russia.

Museum in St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square

Now the temple is open as a museum. Its visitors can climb the spiral staircase and admire the iconostases, which contain icons from the 16th to 19th centuries and see the patterns of the internal gallery. The walls are decorated with oil paintings and frescoes from the 16th to 19th centuries. The museum displays portrait and landscape paintings, as well as church utensils from the 16th to 19th centuries. There are opinions that it is necessary to preserve St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow not just as a monument of extraordinary beauty, but also as an Orthodox shrine.

1.Why was the Intercession Cathedral built on Red Square?
2.Who built the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
3.Postnik and Barma
4.Architecture of the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
5.Why is the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square called St. Basil’s Cathedral
6. St. Basil the Blessed
7.Cultural layer near the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
8. Bell tower and bells
9.Additional information about bells and ringing
10. Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Facade icons
11. Heads of the Intercession Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the Moat or, as it is more often called, is a unique monument of ancient Russian architecture. For a long time it has served as a symbol not only of Moscow, but of the entire Russian state. Since 1923, the cathedral has been a branch of the historical museum. It was taken under state protection in 1918, and services there ceased in 1928. However, in the 1990s of the last century, services were resumed and in St. Basil's Church are held every week, in other churches of the cathedral - on patronal holidays. Services are held on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday, services are held from 10 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. On Sundays and religious holidays, excursions to St. Basil's Church are not conducted.

Why was the Intercession Cathedral built on Red Square?

The cathedral was erected in honor of the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. The victory over Kazan was perceived at that time as the final victory over the Golden Horde. Going on the Kazan campaign, Ivan the Terrible made a vow: in case of victory, to build a temple in honor of her. The construction of temples in honor of the most important events and military victories has been a long-standing Russian tradition. At that time, sculptural monuments, columns, and obelisks were unknown in Rus'. However, memorial churches have been erected since ancient times in honor of important state events: the birth of an heir to the throne or a military victory. The victory over Kazan was marked by the construction of a memorial church, consecrated in the name of the Intercession. On October 1, 1552, a decisive assault on Kazan began. This event coincided with the celebration of a major church holiday - the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The central church of the cathedral was consecrated in the name of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which gave the name to the entire cathedral. The first and main dedication of the temple is the votive church. His second dedication was the capture of Kazan.

Who built the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square

The construction of the memorial church was blessed by Metropolitan Macarius. Perhaps he is the author of the idea of ​​the temple, because Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible was still very young at that time. But it is categorically impossible to say this, since very few written sources have reached us.

In Rus', it often happened that, having erected a temple, they wrote down the name of the temple builder (tsar, metropolitan, noble person) in the chronicle, but forgot the names of the builders. For a long time it was believed that the Intercession Cathedral was built by the Italians. But at the end of the 19th century, a chronicle was discovered, from which the true names of the cathedral’s builders became known. The chronicle reads as follows: “The pious Tsar John, having come from the victory of Kazan to the reigning city of Moscow, soon erected stone churches near the Frolov Gate above the ditch(Frolovsky – now Spassky Gate) and then God gave him two Russian advertising masters(i.e. by name) Fasting and Barma and higher wisdom and more convenient for such a wonderful work ".

Postnik and Barma

The names of the architects Postnik and Barma appear in sources telling about the cathedral only at the end of the 19th century. The oldest source telling about the Church of the Intercession on the Moat is the Degree Book of the Royal Genealogy, written under the leadership of Metropolitan Athanasius in 1560-63. It talks about the votive construction of the Intercession Cathedral. The Facial Chronicle is no less important. It talks about the foundation of the cathedral, its construction and consecration. The most important, most detailed historical source is the life of Metropolitan Jonah. The Life was created in the 1560-1580s. This is the only source where the names of Postnik and Barma are mentioned.
So, the official version today sounds like this:
the Church of the Intercession, which was erected on the Moat by Russian architects Barma and Postnik. According to the unofficial version, this cathedral was built by foreigners of unknown origin. If Italians were previously mentioned, now this version is highly doubted. Without a doubt, when starting the construction of the cathedral, Ivan the Terrible called upon experienced architects. In the 16th century, many foreigners worked in Moscow. Perhaps Barma and Postnik studied with the same Italian masters.

Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Architecture

The Intercession Cathedral is not one huge church, as it might seem at first glance, but several completely independent churches. It consists of nine temples on a single foundation.

Heads of the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which is on the moat

A tent-roofed church rises in the center. In Rus', tented temples are considered to be those that have a pyramidal rather than vaulted finish. Around the central tented church there are eight small churches with large beautiful domes.

It was from this cathedral that the ensemble of Red Square that we are accustomed to now began to take shape. The tops of the Kremlin towers were built in the 17th century; they were built with an eye on the Intercession Cathedral. The tent on the Tsar's tower-gazebo to the left of the Spasskaya Tower repeats the tented porches of the cathedral.

South porch of the Intercession Cathedral with a tent
The Tsar's Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is located opposite the Intercession Cathedral

Eight churches surround the central tented temple. Four churches are large and four are small.

Church of the Holy Trinity - eastern. Church of Alexander Svirsky – south-eastern. Church of St. Nikola Velikoretsky - southern.. Church of Varlaam Khutynsky - southwestern. The Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is western. Church of Gregory of Armenia - northwestern. The Church of Cyprian and Justina is northern.
St. Basil's Church, behind it is the Church of the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople - northeastern.

Four large churches are oriented to the cardinal points. The northern temple overlooks Red Square, the southern one overlooks the Moscow River, and the western one overlooks the Kremlin. Most of the churches were dedicated to church holidays, the days of celebration of which fell on the most important events of the Kazan campaign.
Services in the eight side churches were held only once a year - on the day of the patronal feast. Services were served in the central church from Trinity Day until its patronal feast day - October 1st.
Since the Kazan campaign fell in the summer, all church holidays also fell in the summer. All the churches of the Intercession Cathedral were built as summer, cold ones. In winter they were not heated and services were not conducted in them.

Today the cathedral has the same appearance that it had in the 16th-17th centuries.
At first, the cathedral was surrounded by an open gallery. Around all eight churches on the second floor there is a belt of windows.

In ancient times, the gallery was open, there were no ceilings above it, and open staircases led upstairs. The ceilings and porches over the stairs were erected later. The cathedral looked and was perceived completely differently than we perceive it today. If now it seems like a huge multi-domed church of incomprehensible design, then in ancient times this feeling did not arise. It was clear that nine soaring churches stood on an elegant, light foundation.

Height at that time was associated with beauty. It was believed that the higher the temple, the more beautiful it is. Height was a symbol of greatness, and in those days the Intercession Cathedral was visible 15 miles from Moscow. Until 1600, when the bell tower of Ivan the Great was built in the Kremlin, the cathedral was the tallest building in the city, and throughout Muscovy. Until the beginning of the 17th century, it served as a town-planning dominant, i.e. the highest point in Moscow.
All churches of the cathedral ensemble are united by two bypass galleries: external and internal. The ceilings over the walkway and porches were made in the 17th century, because in our conditions having open galleries and porches turned out to be an unaffordable luxury. In the 19th century, the gallery was glazed.
In the same 17th century, a tented bell tower was built on the site of the belfry to the southeast of the temple.

Tent bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

The outer walls of the cathedral are restored approximately once every 20 years, and the interiors - once every 10 years. Icons are inspected every year, since our climate is harsh and icons are not immune to swelling and other damage to the paint layer.

Why is the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square called St. Basil's Cathedral

Let us remember that the cathedral consists of nine churches on a single foundation. However, ten multi-colored domes rise above the temple, not counting the onion above the bell tower. The tenth green chapter with red spikes is located below the level of the heads of all other churches and crowns the north-eastern corner of the temple.

Head of St. Basil's Church

This church was added to the cathedral after construction was completed. It was erected over the grave of a very famous and revered holy fool of that time, St. Basil the Blessed.

St. Basil the Blessed

This man was a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, he lived in Moscow, and there were many legends about him. (The miracles of St. Basil are described in the article) From the current point of view, a holy fool is something like a madman, which, in fact, is absolutely wrong. In the Middle Ages in Rus', foolishness was one of the forms of asceticism. St. Basil the Blessed was not a holy fool from birth, he is a holy fool for Christ’s sake, who became one quite consciously. At the age of 16, he decided to devote his life to God. It was possible to serve the Lord in different ways: go to a monastery, become a hermit, but Vasily decided to become a holy fool. Moreover, he chose the feat of the god-walker, i.e. he walked without clothes both in winter and in summer, lived on the street, on the porch, ate alms and spoke incomprehensible speeches. But Vasily was not crazy, and if he wanted to be understood, he spoke intelligibly and people understood him.

Despite such harsh living conditions, St. Basil lived a very long life even by modern times and lived to be 88 years old. He was buried next to the cathedral. Burial near the temple was commonplace. At that time, according to Orthodox tradition, each church had a cemetery. In Rus', holy fools were always revered both during life and after death and were buried closer to the church.

After the death of St. Basil, he was canonized. As if over a saint, a church was erected over his grave in 1588. It so happened that this church turned out to be the only winter one in the entire cathedral, i.e. Only in this temple services were held every day all year round. Therefore, the name of this small church, built almost 30 years later than the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary on the Moat, was transferred to the entire Intercession Cathedral. They began to call it St. Basil's Cathedral.

Cultural layer near the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square

An interesting detail can be seen on the eastern side of the temple. There is a rowan growing there in... a pot.

The tree was planted, as it should be, in the ground, and not in a pot. Over the years, a cultural layer of considerable thickness has formed around the cathedral. The Intercession Cathedral seemed to have “grown into the ground.” In 2005, it was decided to return the temple to its original proportions. To do this, the “extra” soil was removed and taken away. And by that time the mountain ash had already been growing here for decades. In order not to destroy the tree, a wooden cover was made around it.

Bell tower and bells

Since 1990, the cathedral has been jointly used by the state and the Russian Orthodox Church. The building of the Intercession Cathedral belongs to the state, since its funding comes from the state budget.

The church bell tower was built on the site of a dismantled belfry.

The cathedral bell tower is operational. The museum staff make the calls themselves; they were trained by one of the leading bell ringers in Russia, Konovalov. Museum workers themselves provide the accompaniment of church services with bell ringing. A specialist must ring the bells. Museum workers do not trust anyone with the collection of bells of the Intercession Cathedral.

Fragment of the bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

A person who does not know how to ring, even a fragile woman, can send his tongue incorrectly and break the bell.

More information about bells and ringing

The ancient cathedral belfry was three-tiered, three-spanned and three-hipped. There were bells hanging on every tier in each span. There were several bell ringers and they were all located below. The bell system was ochepnaya or ochepnaya. The bell was firmly attached to the beam and they rang it, swinging not the tongue, but the bell itself.

The bells of the Intercession Cathedral were not tuned to a specific sound, they had only three main tones - one tone at the bottom of the skirt, the second in the middle of the skirt, the third at the top, and there were also dozens of overtones. It is simply impossible to play a melody on Russian bells. Our ringing is rhythmic, not melodic.

To train bell ringers, there were characteristic rhythmic chants. For Moscow: “All monks are thieves, all monks are thieves, and the abbot is a rogue, and the abbot is a rogue.” For Arkhangelsk: “Why cod, why cod, two kopecks and a half, two kopecks and a half.” In Suzdal: “They burned with their shanks, they burned with their shanks.” Each area had its own rhythm.

Until recently, the heaviest bell in Russia was the Rostov bell “Sysoi”, weighing 2000 pounds. In 2000, the “Great Assumption” bell began to ring in the Moscow Kremlin. It has its own history, each sovereign cast his own Greater Uspensky, often pouring over the one that existed before him. A modern one weighs 4,000 pounds.

When the bells ring in the Kremlin, both the bell tower and the belfry ring. The bell ringers are at different levels and cannot hear each other. The chief bell ringer of all Rus' stands on the steps of the Assumption Cathedral and claps his hands. All the bell ringers see him, he beats out the rhythm for them, as if conducting the bells.
For foreigners, listening to Russian bells was a martyr's torment. Our ringing was not always rhythmic, often chaotic, the bell ringers had trouble keeping up with the rhythm. Foreigners suffered from this - they were calling everywhere, their heads were pounding from the irregular cacophonous ringing. Foreigners liked the Western ringing more, when they rocked the bell itself.

Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Facade icons

On the eastern outer wall of the Intercession Cathedral there is a facade icon of the Mother of God. This is the very first facade icon that appeared here in the 17th century. Unfortunately, almost nothing remains of the 17th century letter due to fires and repeated renovations. The icon is called the Intercession with the upcoming St. Basil and St. John the Blessed. It is written on the wall of the temple.

The Intercession Cathedral belongs to the Church of the Mother of God. All the local façade icons were painted specifically for this cathedral. The icon, which was located on the south side of the bell tower from the moment it was painted, fell into terrible condition by the end of the 20th century. The south side is most susceptible to the damaging effects of sun, rain, wind and temperature changes. In the 90s, the image was removed for restoration and restored with great difficulty.
After restoration work, the icon frame did not fit in its original place. Instead of a frame, they made a protective box and hung the icon in its original place. But due to large temperature changes characteristic of our climate, the icon began to collapse again. After 10 years it had to be restored again. Now the icon is in the Church of the Intercession. And for the south side of the bell tower they wrote a copy right on the wall.

Icon on the bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

The copy was consecrated when the 450th anniversary of the cathedral was celebrated, on Intercession Day in 2012.

Heads of the Intercession Cathedral

The top of churches, which we call a dome, is actually called a chapter. The dome is the roof of the church. It can be seen from inside the temple. Above the dome vault there is a sheathing on which metal sheathing is fixed.

According to one version, in the old days the domes on the Intercession Cathedral were not bulbous, as they are now, but helmet-shaped. Other researchers argue that there could not be helmet-shaped domes on such thin drums as those of St. Basil's Cathedral. Therefore, based on the architecture of the cathedral, the domes were onion-shaped, although this is not known for certain. But it has been absolutely established that initially the chapters were smooth and monochrome. In the 17th century they were briefly painted in different colors.

The chapters were covered with iron, painted blue or green. Such iron, if there were no fires, could withstand 10 years. Green or blue paints were obtained based on copper oxides. If the heads were covered with German tinned iron, then they could be silver in color. German iron lived for 20 years, but no more.

In the 17th century, the life of Metropolitan Jonah mentions “figured chapters of various types.” However, they were all monochrome. They became variegated in the 19th century, maybe a little earlier, but there is no confirmation of this. Now no one can say why the chapters are multi-colored and different in shape, or on what principle they were painted; this is one of the mysteries of the cathedral.

In the 60s of the twentieth century, during a large-scale restoration, they wanted to return the cathedral to its original appearance and make the chapters monochrome, but Kremlin officials ordered them to be left in color. The cathedral is recognizable primarily by its polychrome domes.

During the war, Red Square was guarded by a continuous field of balloons to protect it from bombing. When anti-aircraft shells exploded, fragments falling down damaged the casing of the domes. The damaged domes were immediately repaired, because if the holes were left, a strong wind could completely “undress” the dome in 20 minutes.

In 1969, the domes were covered with copper. The chapters used 32 tons of copper sheets 1 mm thick. During a recent restoration it was discovered that the chapters were in perfect condition. They just had to be repainted. The central head of the Church of the Intercession has always been gilded.

Each chapter, even the central one, can be entered. A special staircase leads to the central chapter. The side chapters can be entered through external hatches. Between the ceiling and the sheathing there is a space the height of a man, where you can walk freely.
The differences in the sizes and colors of the chapters and the principles of their decoration are not yet amenable to historical analysis.

We will continue our acquaintance with the Intercession Cathedral inside the temple.





The article is based on materials from a lecture given by a methodologist at the State Historical Museum in February 2014.

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Moat, also called St. Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church located on Red Square in Kitay-Gorod in Moscow. A widely known monument of Russian architecture. Until the 17th century, it was usually called Trinity, since the original wooden church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity; was also known as “Jerusalem”, which is associated both with the dedication of one of the chapels and with the procession of the cross to it from the Assumption Cathedral on Palm Sunday with the “procession on the donkey” of the Patriarch.
Currently, the Intercession Cathedral is a branch of the State Historical Museum. Included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia.
The Intercession Cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Russia. For many inhabitants of planet Earth, it is a symbol of Moscow (the same as the Eiffel Tower for Paris). Since 1931, in front of the cathedral there has been a bronze Monument to Minin and Pozharsky (installed on Red Square in 1818).

St. Basil's Cathedral in a 16th-century engraving.

St. Basil's Cathedral. Photo of the beginning. 20th century

VERSIONS ABOUT CREATION.

The Intercession Cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate.

There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral.
According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma.
According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both involved in the construction.
According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.
According to legend, the architect(s) of the cathedral were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could not build another similar temple. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.

In 1588, St. Basil's Church was added to the temple, for the construction of which arched openings were laid in the northeastern part of the cathedral. Architecturally, the church was an independent temple with a separate entrance.
At the end of the 16th century. figured heads of the cathedral appeared - instead of the original covering, which burned down during the next fire.
In the second half of the 17th century, significant changes took place in the external appearance of the cathedral - the open gallery surrounding the upper churches was covered with a vault, and porches decorated with tents were erected above the white stone stairs.
The external and internal galleries, platforms and parapets of the porches were painted with grass patterns. These renovations were completed by 1683, and information about them was included in the inscriptions on the ceramic tiles that decorated the façade of the cathedral.

Fires, which were frequent in wooden Moscow, greatly damaged the Intercession Cathedral, and therefore, from the end of the 16th century. renovation work was carried out on it. Over the more than four-century history of the monument, such works inevitably changed its appearance in accordance with the aesthetic ideals of each century. In the documents of the cathedral for 1737, the name of the architect Ivan Michurin is mentioned for the first time, under whose leadership work was carried out to restore the architecture and interiors of the cathedral after the so-called “Trinity” fire of 1737. The following comprehensive repair work was carried out in the cathedral by order of Catherine II in 1784 - 1786. They were led by the architect Ivan Yakovlev.

In 1918, the Intercession Cathedral became one of the first cultural monuments taken under state protection as a monument of national and world significance. From that moment on, its museumification began. The first caretaker was Archpriest John Kuznetsov. In the post-revolutionary years, the cathedral was in dire straits. In many places the roof was leaking, windows were broken, and in winter there was even snow inside the churches. Ioann Kuznetsov single-handedly maintained order in the cathedral.
In 1923, it was decided to create a historical and architectural museum in the cathedral. Its first head was a researcher at the Historical Museum E.I. Silin. On May 21, the museum was opened to visitors. Active collection of funds has begun.
In 1928, the Intercession Cathedral Museum became a branch of the State Historical Museum. Despite the constant restoration work that has been going on in the cathedral for almost a century, the museum is always open to visitors. It was closed only once - during the Great Patriotic War. In 1929 it was closed for worship and the bells were removed. Immediately after the war, systematic work began to restore the cathedral, and on September 7, 1947, on the day of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of Moscow, the museum reopened. The cathedral became widely known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.
Since 1991, the Intercession Cathedral has been jointly used by the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church. After a long break, services were resumed in the temple.

STRUCTURE OF THE TEMPLE.

Cathedral domes.

There are only 10 domes. Nine domes over the temple (according to the number of thrones):
1.Protection of the Virgin Mary (central),
2.St. Trinity (East),
3. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (zap.),
4. Gregory of Armenia (northwest),
5. Alexander Svirsky (southeast),
6. Varlaam Khutynsky (southwest),
7. John the Merciful (formerly John, Paul and Alexander of Constantinople) (north-east),
8. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Velikoretsky (south),
9.Adrian and Natalia (formerly Cyprian and Justina) (northern))
10.plus one dome over the bell tower.
In ancient times, St. Basil's Cathedral had 25 domes, representing the Lord and the 24 elders sitting at His throne.

The cathedral consists from eight temples, whose thrones were consecrated in honor of the holidays that fell on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan:

- Trinity,
- in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of his Velikoretskaya icon from Vyatka),
- Entry into Jerusalem,
- in honor of the martyr. Adrian and Natalia (originally - in honor of St. Cyprian and Justina - October 2),
- St. John the Merciful (until XVIII - in honor of St. Paul, Alexander and John of Constantinople - November 6),
- Alexander Svirsky (April 17 and August 30),
- Varlaam Khutynsky (November 6 and 1st Friday of Peter’s Lent),
- Gregory of Armenia (September 30).
All these eight churches (four axial, four smaller ones between them) are crowned with onion-shaped domes and are grouped around a towering tower above them. ninth a pillar-shaped church in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God, completed with a tent with a small dome. All nine churches are united by a common base, a bypass (originally open) gallery and internal vaulted passages.

In 1588, a chapel was added to the cathedral from the northeast, consecrated in honor of St. Basil the Blessed (1469-1552), whose relics were located on the site where the cathedral was built. The name of this chapel gave the cathedral a second, everyday name. Adjacent to the chapel of St. Basil's is the chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which Blessed John of Moscow was buried in 1589 (at first the chapel was consecrated in honor of the Deposition of the Robe, but in 1680 it was reconsecrated as the Nativity of the Theotokos). In 1672, the discovery of the relics of St. John the Blessed took place there, and in 1916 it was reconsecrated in the name of Blessed John, the Moscow wonderworker.
A hipped bell tower was built in the 1670s.
The cathedral has been restored several times. In the 17th century, asymmetrical extensions were added, tents over the porches, intricate decorative treatment of the domes (originally they were gold), and ornamental paintings outside and inside (originally the cathedral itself was white).
In the main, Intercession, church there is an iconostasis from the Kremlin Church of the Chernigov Wonderworkers, dismantled in 1770, and in the chapel of the Entrance to Jerusalem there is an iconostasis from the Alexander Cathedral, dismantled at the same time.
The last (before the revolution) rector of the cathedral, Archpriest John Vostorgov, was shot on August 23 (September 5), 1919. Subsequently, the temple was transferred to the disposal of the renovation community.

FIRST FLOOR.

BEDCLET.

There are no basements in the Intercession Cathedral. Churches and galleries stand on a single foundation - a basement, consisting of several rooms. The strong brick walls of the basement (up to 3 m thick) are covered with vaults. The height of the premises is about 6.5 m.
The design of the northern basement is unique for the 16th century. Its long box vault has no supporting pillars. The walls are cut with narrow openings - vents. Together with the “breathable” building material - brick - they provide a special indoor microclimate at any time of the year.
Previously, the basement premises were inaccessible to parishioners. The deep niches in it were used as storage. They were closed with doors, the hinges of which have now been preserved.
Until 1595, the royal treasury was hidden in the basement. Wealthy townspeople also brought their property here.
One entered the basement from the upper central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady via an internal white stone staircase. Only the initiated knew about it. Later this narrow passage was blocked. However, during the restoration process of the 1930s. a secret staircase was discovered.
In the basement there are icons of the Intercession Cathedral. The oldest of them is the icon of St. St. Basil's at the end of the 16th century, written specifically for the Intercession Cathedral.
Two 17th-century icons are also on display. - “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos” and “Our Lady of the Sign”.
The icon “Our Lady of the Sign” is a replica of the façade icon located on the eastern wall of the cathedral. Written in the 1780s. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. The icon was located above the entrance to the chapel of St. Basil the Blessed.

CHURCH OF ST. BASIL.

The lower church was added to the cathedral in 1588 over the burial place of St. St. Basil's. A stylized inscription on the wall tells about the construction of this church after the canonization of the saint by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.
The temple is cubic in shape, covered with a cross vault and crowned with a small light drum with a dome. The roof of the church is made in the same style as the domes of the upper churches of the cathedral.
The oil painting of the church was done for the 350th anniversary of the start of construction of the cathedral (1905). The dome depicts the Savior Almighty, the forefathers are depicted in the drum, the Deesis (Savior Not Made by Hands, the Mother of God, John the Baptist) is depicted in the crosshairs of the vault, and the Evangelists are depicted in the sails of the vault.
On the western wall is the temple image of the “Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. In the upper tier there are images of the patron saints of the reigning house: Fyodor Stratelates, John the Baptist, Saint Anastasia, and the Martyr Irene.
On the northern and southern walls there are scenes from the life of St. Basil: “The Miracle of Salvation at Sea” and “The Miracle of the Fur Coat.” The lower tier of the walls is decorated with a traditional ancient Russian ornament in the form of towels.
The iconostasis was completed in 1895 according to the design of the architect A.M. Pavlinova. The icons were painted under the guidance of the famous Moscow icon painter and restorer Osip Chirikov, whose signature is preserved on the icon “The Savior on the Throne”.
The iconostasis includes earlier icons: “Our Lady of Smolensk” from the 16th century. and the local image of “St. Saint Basil against the backdrop of the Kremlin and Red Square" XVIII century.
Above the burial place of St. St. Basil's Church is installed, decorated with a carved canopy. This is one of the revered Moscow shrines.
On the southern wall of the church there is a rare large-sized icon painted on metal - “Our Lady of Vladimir with selected saints of the Moscow circle “Today the most glorious city of Moscow flaunts brightly” (1904)
The floor is covered with Kasli cast iron slabs.
St. Basil's Church was closed in 1929. Only at the end of the 20th century. its decorative decoration was restored. August 15, 1997, on the day of memory of St. Basil the Blessed, Sunday and holiday services were resumed in the church.

St. Basil's Church. On the right is the canopy over the saint's grave.

Cancer with the relics of St. St. Basil's.

SECOND FLOOR.

GALLERIES AND PORCHES.

An external bypass gallery runs along the perimeter of the cathedral around all the churches. Initially it was open. In the middle of the 19th century. the glass gallery became part of the cathedral's interior. Arched entrance openings lead from the external gallery to the platforms between the churches and connect it with internal passages.
The central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady is surrounded by an internal bypass gallery. Its vaults hide the upper parts of the churches. In the second half of the 17th century. the gallery was painted with floral patterns. Later, narrative oil paintings appeared in the cathedral, which were updated several times. Tempera painting is currently unveiled in the gallery. Oil paintings from the 19th century have been preserved on the eastern section of the gallery. — images of saints in combination with floral patterns.
Carved brick portals-entrances leading to the central church organically complement the decor of the internal gallery. The southern portal has been preserved in its original form, without later coatings, which allows you to see its decoration. The relief details are laid out from specially molded pattern bricks, and the shallow decoration is carved on site.
Previously, daylight penetrated into the gallery from windows located above the passages in the walkway. Today it is illuminated by mica lanterns from the 17th century, which were previously used during religious processions. The multi-domed tops of the outrigger lanterns resemble the exquisite silhouette of a cathedral.
The floor of the gallery is made of brick in a herringbone pattern. Bricks from the 16th century have been preserved here. - darker and more resistant to abrasion than modern restoration bricks.
The vault of the western section of the gallery is covered with a flat brick ceiling. It demonstrates a unique for the 16th century. engineering technique for constructing a floor: many small bricks are fixed with lime mortar in the form of caissons (squares), the ribs of which are made of figured bricks.
In this area, the floor is laid out with a special “rosette” pattern, and on the walls the original painting has been recreated, imitating brickwork. The size of the drawn bricks corresponds to the real ones.
Two galleries unite the chapels of the cathedral into a single ensemble. Narrow internal passages and wide platforms create the impression of a “city of churches.” After passing through the mysterious labyrinth of the internal gallery, you can get to the porch areas of the cathedral. Their vaults are “carpets of flowers”, the intricacies of which fascinate and attract the eyes of visitors.
On the upper platform of the northern porch in front of the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the bases of pillars or columns have been preserved - the remains of the decoration of the entrance.

CHURCH OF ALEXANDER SVIRSKY.

The southeastern church was consecrated in the name of St. Alexander of Svirsky.
In 1552, on the day of memory of Alexander Svirsky, one of the important battles of the Kazan campaign took place - the defeat of the cavalry of Tsarevich Yapancha on the Arsk field.
This is one of four small churches 15 m high. Its base - a quadrangle - turns into a low octagon and ends with a cylindrical light drum and a vault.
The original appearance of the church interior was restored during restoration work in the 1920s and 1979-1980s: a brick floor with a herringbone pattern, profiled cornices, stepped window sills. The walls of the church are covered with paintings imitating brickwork. The dome depicts a “brick” spiral - a symbol of eternity.
The iconostasis of the church has been reconstructed. Icons from the 16th - early 18th centuries are located close to each other between the wooden beams (tyablas). The lower part of the iconostasis is covered with hanging shrouds, skillfully embroidered by craftswomen. On the velvet shrouds there is a traditional image of the Calvary cross.

CHURCH OF BARLAM KHUTYNSKY.

The southwestern church was consecrated in the name of St. Varlaam of Khutyn.
This is one of the four small churches of the cathedral with a height of 15.2 m. Its base has the shape of a quadrangle, elongated from north to south with the apse shifted to the south. The violation of symmetry in the construction of the temple is caused by the need to create a passage between the small church and the central one - the Intercession of the Mother of God.
The four turns into a low eight. The cylindrical light drum is covered with a vault. The church is illuminated by the oldest chandelier in the cathedral from the 15th century. A century later, Russian craftsmen supplemented the work of the Nuremberg masters with a pommel in the shape of a double-headed eagle.
The Tyablo iconostasis was reconstructed in the 1920s. and consists of icons from the 16th - 18th centuries. A feature of the church’s architecture—the irregular shape of the apse—determined the shift of the Royal Doors to the right.
Of particular interest is the separately hanging icon “The Vision of Sexton Tarasius”. It was written in Novgorod at the end of the 16th century. The plot of the icon is based on the legend about the vision of the sexton of the Khutyn monastery of disasters threatening Novgorod: floods, fires, “pestilence”.
The icon painter depicted the panorama of the city with topographical accuracy. The composition organically includes scenes of fishing, plowing and sowing, telling about the daily life of the ancient Novgorodians.

CHURCH OF THE LORD'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.

The Western Church was consecrated in honor of the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
One of the four large churches is an octagonal two-tier pillar covered with a vault. The temple is distinguished by its large size and the solemn nature of its decorative decoration.
During the restoration, fragments of the architectural decoration of the 16th century were discovered. Their original appearance has been preserved without restoration of damaged parts. No ancient paintings were found in the church. The whiteness of the walls emphasizes the architectural details, executed by architects with great creative imagination. Above the northern entrance there is a trace left by a shell that hit the wall in October 1917.
The current iconostasis was moved in 1770 from the dismantled Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. It is richly decorated with openwork gilded pewter overlays, which give lightness to the four-tier structure.
In the middle of the 19th century. The iconostasis was supplemented with wooden carved details. The icons in the bottom row tell the story of the Creation of the world.
The church displays one of the shrines of the Intercession Cathedral - the icon “St. Alexander Nevsky in the Life of the 17th century. The icon, unique in its iconography, probably comes from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
In the middle of the icon the noble prince is represented, and around him there are 33 stamps with scenes from the life of the saint (miracles and real historical events: the Battle of the Neva, the prince’s trip to the khan’s headquarters).

CHURCH OF GREGORY OF ARMENIAN.

The northwestern church of the cathedral was consecrated in the name of St. Gregory, the enlightener of Great Armenia (died in 335). He converted the king and the entire country to Christianity, and was the bishop of Armenia. His memory is celebrated on September 30 (October 13 n.st.). In 1552, on this day, an important event in the campaign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible took place - the explosion of the Arsk Tower in Kazan.

One of the four small churches of the cathedral (15m high) is a quadrangle, turning into a low octagon. Its base is elongated from north to south with a displacement of the apse. The violation of symmetry is caused by the need to create a passage between this church and the central one - the Intercession of Our Lady. The light drum is covered with a vault.
The architectural decoration of the 16th century has been restored in the church: ancient windows, half-columns, cornices, a brick floor laid out in a herringbone pattern. As in the 17th century, the walls are whitewashed, which emphasizes the severity and beauty of the architectural details.
The tyablovy (tyablas are wooden beams with grooves between which icons were attached) iconostasis was reconstructed in the 1920s. It consists of windows from the 16th-17th centuries. The Royal Doors are shifted to the left - due to a violation of the symmetry of the internal space.
In the local row of the iconostasis is the image of St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria. Its appearance is connected with the desire of the wealthy investor Ivan Kislinsky to re-consecrate this chapel in honor of his heavenly patron (1788). In the 1920s the church was returned to its former name.
The lower part of the iconostasis is covered with silk and velvet shrouds depicting Calvary crosses. The interior of the church is complemented by the so-called “skinny” candles - large wooden painted candlesticks of an antique shape. In their upper part there is a metal base in which thin candles were placed.
The display case contains items of priestly vestments from the 17th century: a surplice and a phelonion, embroidered with gold threads. The 19th century candilo, decorated with multi-colored enamel, gives the church a special elegance.

CHURCH OF CYPRIAN AND JUSTINE.

The northern church of the cathedral has an unusual dedication for Russian churches in the name of the Christian martyrs Cyprian and Justina, who lived in the 4th century. Their memory is celebrated on October 2 (15). On this day in 1552, the troops of Tsar Ivan IV took Kazan by storm.
This is one of the four large churches of the Intercession Cathedral. Its height is 20.9 m. The high octagonal pillar is completed with a light drum and a dome, which depicts Our Lady of the Burning Bush. In the 1780s. Oil painting appeared in the church. On the walls are scenes of the lives of saints: in the lower tier - Adrian and Natalia, in the upper - Cyprian and Justina. They are complemented by multi-figure compositions on the theme of Gospel parables and scenes from the Old Testament.
The appearance of images of martyrs of the 4th century in painting. Adrian and Natalia is associated with the renaming of the church in 1786. Rich investor Natalya Mikhailovna Khrushcheva donated funds for repairs and asked to consecrate the church in honor of her heavenly patrons. At the same time, a gilded iconostasis was made in the style of classicism. It is a magnificent example of skillful wood carving. The bottom row of the iconostasis depicts scenes of the Creation of the World (days one and four).
In the 1920s, at the beginning of scientific museum activities in the cathedral, the church was returned to its original name. Recently, it appeared before visitors updated: in 2007, the wall paintings and iconostasis were restored with the charitable support of the Russian Railways Joint Stock Company.

CHURCH OF NICHOLAS VELIKORETSKY.

Iconostasis of the Church of St. Nicholas Velikoretsky.

The southern church was consecrated in the name of the Velikoretsky image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The icon of the saint was found in the city of Khlynov on the Velikaya River and subsequently received the name “Nicholas of Velikoretsky”.
In 1555, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the miraculous icon was brought in a religious procession along the rivers from Vyatka to Moscow. An event of great spiritual significance determined the dedication of one of the chapels of the Intercession Cathedral under construction.
One of the large churches of the cathedral is a two-tier octagonal pillar with a light drum and a vault. Its height is 28 m.
The ancient interior of the church was badly damaged during the fire of 1737. In the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. a single complex of decorative and fine arts emerged: a carved iconostasis with full ranks of icons and monumental plot painting of the walls and vault. The lower tier of the octagon presents the texts of the Nikon Chronicle about the bringing of the image to Moscow and illustrations to them.
In the upper tier the Mother of God is depicted on a throne surrounded by prophets, above are the apostles, in the vault is the image of the Savior Almighty.
The iconostasis is richly decorated with stucco floral decoration and gilding. The icons in narrow profiled frames are painted in oil. In the local row there is an image of “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Life” of the 18th century. The lower tier is decorated with gesso engraving imitating brocade fabric.
The interior of the church is complemented by two external double-sided icons depicting St. Nicholas. They made religious processions around the cathedral.
At the end of the 18th century. The floor of the church was covered with white stone slabs. During restoration work, a fragment of the original covering made of oak checkers was discovered. This is the only place in the cathedral with a preserved wooden floor.
In 2005-2006 The iconostasis and monumental paintings of the church were restored with the assistance of the Moscow International Currency Exchange.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY.

The Eastern Church was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity. It is believed that the Intercession Cathedral was built on the site of the ancient Trinity Church, after which the entire temple was often named.
One of the four large churches of the cathedral is a two-tiered octagonal pillar, ending with a light drum and a dome. Its height is 21 m. During the restoration of the 1920s. In this church, the ancient architectural and decorative decoration was most fully restored: half-columns and pilasters framing the entrance arches of the lower part of the octagon, the decorative belt of the arches. In the vault of the dome, a spiral is laid out with small bricks - a symbol of eternity. Stepped window sills in combination with the whitewashed surface of the walls and vault make the Trinity Church especially bright and elegant. Under the light drum, “voices” are built into the walls - clay vessels designed to amplify sound (resonators). The church is illuminated by the oldest chandelier in the cathedral, made in Russia at the end of the 16th century.
Based on restoration studies, the shape of the original, so-called “tyabla” iconostasis was established (“tyabla” are wooden beams with grooves between which the icons were fastened close to each other). The peculiarity of the iconostasis is the unusual shape of the low royal doors and three-row icons, forming three canonical orders: prophetic, Deesis and festive.
“The Old Testament Trinity” in the local row of the iconostasis is one of the most ancient and revered icons of the cathedral of the second half of the 16th century.

CHURCH OF THE THREE PATRIARCHES.

The northeastern church of the cathedral was consecrated in the name of the three Patriarchs of Constantinople: Alexander, John and Paul the New.
In 1552, on the day of remembrance of the Patriarchs, an important event of the Kazan campaign took place - the defeat by the troops of Tsar Ivan the Terrible of the cavalry of the Tatar prince Yapanchi, who was coming from the Crimea to help the Kazan Khanate.
This is one of the four small churches of the cathedral with a height of 14.9 m. The walls of the quadrangle turn into a low octagon with a cylindrical light drum. The church is interesting for its original ceiling system with a wide dome, in which the composition “The Savior Not Made by Hands” is located.
The wall oil painting was made in the middle of the 19th century. and reflects in its plots the then change in the name of the church. In connection with the transfer of the throne of the cathedral church of Gregory of Armenia, it was reconsecrated in memory of the enlightener of Great Armenia.
The first tier of the painting is dedicated to the life of St. Gregory of Armenia, in the second tier - the history of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, its bringing to King Abgar in the Asia Minor city of Edessa, as well as scenes from the lives of the Patriarchs of Constantinople.
The five-tier iconostasis combines baroque elements with classical ones. This is the only altar barrier in the cathedral from the mid-19th century. It was made specifically for this church.
In the 1920s, at the beginning of scientific museum activity, the church was returned to its original name. Continuing the traditions of Russian philanthropists, the management of the Moscow International Currency Exchange contributed to the restoration of the interior of the church in 2007. For the first time in many years, visitors were able to see one of the most interesting churches of the cathedral.

BELL TOWER.

Bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral.

The modern bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral was built on the site of an ancient belfry.

By the second half of the 17th century. the old belfry had become dilapidated and unusable. In the 1680s. it was replaced by a bell tower, which still stands today.
The base of the bell tower is a massive high quadrangle, on which an octagon with an open platform is placed. The site is fenced with eight pillars connected by arched spans and crowned with a high octagonal tent.
The ribs of the tent are decorated with multi-colored tiles with white, yellow, blue and brown glaze. The edges are covered with figured green tiles. The tent is completed by a small onion dome with an eight-pointed cross. There are small windows in the tent - the so-called “rumors”, designed to amplify the sound of the bells.
Inside the open area and in the arched openings, bells cast by outstanding Russian craftsmen of the 17th-19th centuries are suspended on thick wooden beams. In 1990, after a long period of silence, they began to be used again.
The height of the temple is 65 meters.

INTERESTING FACTS.

In St. Petersburg there is a memorial church in memory of Alexander II - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, better known as the Savior on Spilled Blood (completed in 1907). The Intercession Cathedral served as one of the prototypes for the creation of the Savior on Spilled Blood, so both buildings have similar features.