Ivan IV the Terrible (1530–84) was grand prince of Moscow & 1st Tsar of Russia from 1547. His reign saw a centrally administered Russian state and the creation of an empire that included non-Slav states. Naturally the Tsar’s aim of military dominance over a central Russian state led to many conflicts. In the 1550s his armies defeated the independent Tatar (Mongol) khanates of Kazan and Astrakahn.
Ivan the Terrible
painted by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov in 1897
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
This extended Muscovy control to the Urals in the east and the Caspian Sea in the south, creating a buffer zone against the Mongols. Ivan’s second goal was to gain access to the Baltic Sea. However this time Ivan IV was not as successful in annexing Lithuania and gaining sea access.
Ivan returned to a hero’s welcome in Moscow and news that his wife gave him a son, though the infant soon died. In Kazan the Muslim population was expelled and Russian colonists were moved in, mosques were replaced by Russian Orthodox churches and the Tartars of the surrounding country were pressed to convert to Christianity.
The Tsar started having a cathedral built in Moscow in 1554 which was completed in 1561. This St Basil the Blessed aka Pokrovsky Cathedral St Basil’s Cathedral loomed near the Kremlin and it watched many historical and political events in the city. St Basil was a votive offering, commemorating the Russian capture of Kazar, the Tatar capital.
The church was at first dedicated to the intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but it came to be known as the Cathedral of Vasily/Basil the Blessed. Basil, a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, was the peasant lad who became a holy for Christ’s sake and who was buried in the church vaults.
Ivan’s temper made him intentionally blind the cathedral’s architect Postnik Yakovlev so that its beautiful design could never be replicated elsewhere. In the early 1580s, Ivan also beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, causing a miscarriage, and killed his son in a fit of rage.
In St Basil, western academic architectural concepts based on rational harmony were ignored; the varied design and a profusion of colourful exterior decorations, were uniquely medieval Russian in form and decoration. No-one would ever confuse St Basil’s in Moscow with, for example, Durham Cathedral or Notre-Dame de Paris.
8 of the 9 domes built on the Cathedral represented the number of attacks on Kazan, and were originally gold. Small renovations continued until the mid C19th when the domes were given their present-day bright colours and patterns. The 9th dome, the small one on the left, marks the sanctuary of Basil the Blessed.
Ivan, grandson of Ivan the Great, saw the cathedral’s completion in 1561, but when he died, he was interred at the nearby Archangel Cathedral.
Survival was a fickle issue. The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out when Russian troops and residents abandoned the city, just as the Napoleonic troops entered the city. The fire all but destroyed the city, yet St Basil Cathedral was spared! Even Napoleon’s specific order to his troops to blow up the cathedral failed; the fuses lit by the Frenchmen were snuffed by a sudden downpour. Perhaps Napoleon, realising he could not count St Basil's Cathedral among his war spoils, had a hissy fit and demanded it destroyed. Or perhaps the Moscow cathedral offended Napoleon’s architectural taste.
Ivan returned to a hero’s welcome in Moscow and news that his wife gave him a son, though the infant soon died. In Kazan the Muslim population was expelled and Russian colonists were moved in, mosques were replaced by Russian Orthodox churches and the Tartars of the surrounding country were pressed to convert to Christianity.
The Tsar started having a cathedral built in Moscow in 1554 which was completed in 1561. This St Basil the Blessed aka Pokrovsky Cathedral St Basil’s Cathedral loomed near the Kremlin and it watched many historical and political events in the city. St Basil was a votive offering, commemorating the Russian capture of Kazar, the Tatar capital.
The church was at first dedicated to the intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but it came to be known as the Cathedral of Vasily/Basil the Blessed. Basil, a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, was the peasant lad who became a holy for Christ’s sake and who was buried in the church vaults.
St. Basil's Cathedral,
Red Square, Moscow
Onion domes on Saint Basil's Cathedral
Beautifully painted narrow vaulted corridors and galleries.
The flower patterns symbolise the heavenly garden.
Ivan’s temper made him intentionally blind the cathedral’s architect Postnik Yakovlev so that its beautiful design could never be replicated elsewhere. In the early 1580s, Ivan also beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, causing a miscarriage, and killed his son in a fit of rage.
In St Basil, western academic architectural concepts based on rational harmony were ignored; the varied design and a profusion of colourful exterior decorations, were uniquely medieval Russian in form and decoration. No-one would ever confuse St Basil’s in Moscow with, for example, Durham Cathedral or Notre-Dame de Paris.
St Basil’s was a great example of the union of Byzantine and Asiatic cultural streams that described Muscovite culture. The interconnected chapels, with their doors, artworks and niches made the interior of St Basil's seem unworldly. A church iconostasis was a wall of icons and religious art, separating the nave from the sanctuary.
The cathedral’s exterior colour was originally white, to match the Kremlin’s white stone. Starting in the C17th, the façade began to be painted in the bright colours that are seen today. The colourful exterior of the cathedral is constantly maintained by fresh coats of paint.
Built around the 156’ high central nave are nine small, separate chapels that are aligned to points on the compass, four of which are raised to designate their position between heaven and earth. Each of the first 8 chapels are dedicated to an important event eg the Protecting Veil of Mary; or the Entry into Jerusalem. The 9th chapel was added in honour of St Basil. The inside of the chapels, though quite small, are still richly decorated.
The cathedral’s exterior colour was originally white, to match the Kremlin’s white stone. Starting in the C17th, the façade began to be painted in the bright colours that are seen today. The colourful exterior of the cathedral is constantly maintained by fresh coats of paint.
Built around the 156’ high central nave are nine small, separate chapels that are aligned to points on the compass, four of which are raised to designate their position between heaven and earth. Each of the first 8 chapels are dedicated to an important event eg the Protecting Veil of Mary; or the Entry into Jerusalem. The 9th chapel was added in honour of St Basil. The inside of the chapels, though quite small, are still richly decorated.
Ornate, gilded interior
8 of the 9 domes built on the Cathedral represented the number of attacks on Kazan, and were originally gold. Small renovations continued until the mid C19th when the domes were given their present-day bright colours and patterns. The 9th dome, the small one on the left, marks the sanctuary of Basil the Blessed.
Ivan, grandson of Ivan the Great, saw the cathedral’s completion in 1561, but when he died, he was interred at the nearby Archangel Cathedral.
Survival was a fickle issue. The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out when Russian troops and residents abandoned the city, just as the Napoleonic troops entered the city. The fire all but destroyed the city, yet St Basil Cathedral was spared! Even Napoleon’s specific order to his troops to blow up the cathedral failed; the fuses lit by the Frenchmen were snuffed by a sudden downpour. Perhaps Napoleon, realising he could not count St Basil's Cathedral among his war spoils, had a hissy fit and demanded it destroyed. Or perhaps the Moscow cathedral offended Napoleon’s architectural taste.
Ivan the Great Bell Tower, 1508
Gleaming golden dome, gilded inscriptions, kokoshnik decoration and sharply-sculpted windows.
The large open Red Square market area in Moscow has been the geographic centre of Russian life since the C15th. Red Square covers an area of 800,000 sq ft, housing the historic government Kremlin building at its western end. Some beautiful cathedrals are located in Cathedral Square while other historic sites in Red Square include the State Historical Museum and Lenin’s Tomb.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin grabbed power. St Basil’s became a secular tourist attraction, as a museum! But the church became an obstacle for Stalin’s plans to open up Red Square to present political power displays. In 1933, the cathedral was deleted from the heritage register. Architect Pitor Baranovsky was summoned to do the last survey of the church scheduled for demolition, and was then gaoled for refusing to destroy the Cathedral as instructed. By 1937 even Stalin admitted that the church had to be saved.
Only since the Soviet Union ended in 1990 have occasional church services been held in this cathedral. The Kremlin, cathedral and Red Square were named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. However St Basil’s Cathedral is still not the main cathedral, nor the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin grabbed power. St Basil’s became a secular tourist attraction, as a museum! But the church became an obstacle for Stalin’s plans to open up Red Square to present political power displays. In 1933, the cathedral was deleted from the heritage register. Architect Pitor Baranovsky was summoned to do the last survey of the church scheduled for demolition, and was then gaoled for refusing to destroy the Cathedral as instructed. By 1937 even Stalin admitted that the church had to be saved.
Only since the Soviet Union ended in 1990 have occasional church services been held in this cathedral. The Kremlin, cathedral and Red Square were named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. However St Basil’s Cathedral is still not the main cathedral, nor the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.
24 comments:
Absolutely fascinating. St Basil's is, of course, amazing - and I'd love to see it. Ivan was, equally obviously, barking mad; as have been a number of subsequent Russian leaders. Thank God we don't have any lunatics running any countries in the world at the moment, eh?
If I lived in a snowy city, I would certainly not paint my main public facilities white. For half of each year, the buildings would almost disappear.
I thought exactly about Stalin! Stalin had grown up in a very religious 19th century peasant home and studied hard at Tbilisi Spiritual Seminary, a religious training institution of the Russian Orthodox church. Yet in the 1920s and 30s, Stalin wanted to obliterate St Basil's and other religious institutions.
So why do some leaders change their values 180% and become barking mad after they gain power? Psychosis? Alcoholism? In Stalin's case, I would say brain damage. His drunken father used to pulverise young Stalin's skull in regular anger bursts.
Train Man
The early version of St Basil's were white with gold decoration. The onion domes didn't acquire the vivid colours that we know so well until the 18th century. Perhaps they did it so that the cathedral could symbolise Heavenly Jerusalem, i.e the Kingdom of God, beautifully. Or perhaps they were canny tourist agents who wanted to attract local and more distant Russians to pray in St Basil's.
Hi Hels - extraordinary place ... I've never been to Russia - I'd love to visit St Basil's and too The Hermitage in Petersburg ... thanks for the history ... Ivan was a monster ... take care - Hilary
Hilary
I have studied a lot of Russian history and culture in my home and at school/uni, and would really love to visit in person. But Joe was always afraid he would be called up in the Czech army, even when he was way too old to jump out of a tank :) In the 1990s we got to Czech Republic and Hungary with Joe's mum, but still not to Russia.
I too have a list of places I want to see. St Petersburg and Moscow as you mentioned. Then also Kazan, Sochi, Irkutsk, Odessa etc.
Hello Hels, St. Basil's was lucky to have survived. It is one of the most over-the-top buildings built, and ornate buildings seem especially subject to becoming dated and replaced--even with all the religious and political vicissitudes that St. Basil's underwent. Much Victorian architecture is the same--many monuments were razed simply because they were so ornate, and as they aged no one wanted to maintain their complicated decorations.
--Jim
I loved this post. My last big trip was to Russia last year and seeing St Basil's was one of the highlights.
Success James
thank you for your response, but it needs to deal with Russian architecture. No advertising, please.
Instantly recognisable but I didn't know its name. What a wonderful interior too.
Parnassus
it is an important question, still. Even if we all agree that it is important to preserve historically significant architecture for the nation, which iteration of a particular building should be preserved? And if tastes change over the decades and centuries, should we preserve buildings that are no longer aesthetically valued? The onion domes, colours and dense internal decoration made St Basil's one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia, utterly different from Western and Central Europe, North Africa and the Middle Eastern architecture.
Symbols might be very powerful!
Fun60
I have travelled more often than most people in the world, and rarely had much to be envious of. But you are so fortunate with your last big trip to Russia! Since having my heart surgery a couple of years ago, then retirement and then the coronvirus, air travel has become more and more improbable.
I am always open to a guest post, if you have the energy.. and the photos :)
Andrew
nod... it might be an age issue. I keep finding important places that I recognised once and have since forgotten, or should have learned about decades ago but didn't. For example I always assumed that the Great Wall of China was a single, continuous wall. Imagine the surprise when relatively recently I found out it was a series of fortifications that were separately built.
Boa tarde Hels. Imagens maravilhosas. Parabéns.
Russia is so fascinating and there really is an otherworldliness about some of its cultural headlines. St Basil's would still have cut a mark if left to the white and gold - obviously so if the lunatic Ivan blinded its architect. Its present colourful form looks like a set from The Nutcracker ballet!
As an aside, it's hard to imagine such a purposely unique and grandiose cathedral being built today, or even a century ago, to lionise a contemporary countryman's saintliness.
Luiz
after my father sold his professional practice and retired, he decided to buy a travel agency. My parents decided to experience all the tours they sent their clients on, and to photograph everything en route :)
Pipistrello
I agree that it is difficult to imagine such a grandiose institution being built today. But when the Tsar started having a cathedral built in Moscow in 1554, he could do WHATEVER he liked regarding design, colour, location, size, users and above all finances. Nowadays, any leader that wanted to build a public institution would need to get approval from the: National Heritage Council, World Heritage Advisory Committee, Local State and Federal Parliaments, Royal College of Architects and especially the tax payers.
Oh, I agree. I was thinking more along the lines that I couldn't imagine any person, living now or in the recent century or so, who'd have such a significant place of worship built in their name by their contemporaries. (And have all those hurdles jumped in order to do so, these days!) Our religiosity doesn't seem to extend to saintly do-gooders of these more modern times.
Pipistrello
If giant towers and golf courses can be considered places of worship, then Thump is happy to have very elaborate places built in his name. Trump Towers fill the sky in New York, Florida, Kolkota, Istanbul, Manila and every other place.
Ha ha.. saintly do-gooders .. not Ivan the Terrible, not Stalin and not Thump.
If one saw St Basil's for the first time it might be a church or a mosque - or even a synagogue! There is clearly an influence of Islamic architecture but it remains unique in style.
I checked it out at street level in Google Maps and it actually looks relatively small.
Like St Pauls in London, the building seems to have a charmed life.
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s oddly overdone Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
What a turbulent history. The portrait of Ivan the Terrible is quite chilling, I haven't seen it before. What a lot of tragedy St Basils is associated with, yet it has such a joyous look to it. I am happy that it has survived- and perhaps one day I'll visit it myself, because it's a place I've always wanted to see.
bazza
The original St Basil's was indeed small but coherent. When the central church was later united with its 9 surrounding churches, it became bigger but lost its coherence. So when people expect a long Gothic nave and organised pews in parallel rows, they are really surprised with this apparently disorganised Russian cathedral.
The unique style might be the ultimate symbol of Moscow culture, but it is hard to pin down. I have read that some elements came from Italian builders, Kazan buildings, German stonemasons etc etc. but it needs a lot more work for me to be convinced.
Jenny
Welcome back to the bloggy world :)
Ivan the Terrible was a brutal thug who acted solely according to his own nasty impulses. So the cathedral has a history based on both beauty and tragedy, right from the beginning. Fortunately the beauty lasted.
When the pandemic ends, I hope we can all travel again and you can plan for Moscow etc.
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