Architecture in Russia:
St. Basil's Cathedral
(Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God)
Red Square, Moscow
1554-1560

The reign of Ivan IV (the Terrible) brought a brief resurgence of interest in traditional Russian styles. To honor Russia's victory over the Tatars at Kazan, the legendary ruler erected the exuberant St. Basil's Cathedral just outside the Kremlin gates in Moscow. Completed in 1560, St. Basil's is a carnival of painted onion domes in the most expressive of Russo-Byzantine traditions. It is said that Ivan the Terrible had the architects blinded so that they could never again design a building so beautiful.

After the reign of Ivan IV, architecture in Russia borrowed more and more from European rather than Eastern styles.

< Previous | Introduction | Next >

Text copyright © Jackie Craven
Illustration copyright © ArtToday.com