![]() ![]() “It showed the power of Ivan the Terrible as a Grand Prince – he would be later known as the first tsar.”įorbidden City at 600: How China's imperial palace survived against the odds “(The cathedral) had a very clear political meaning,” said Brumfield. What is known about the structure is that in 1555, Ivan IV ordered the building of the church as a show of military might, to honor Russia’s triumph over the Kazan Khanate in the century-long Russo-Kazan Wars. Saint Basil’s has also seen scores of conflict and political changes: It weathered another damaging fire in 1737 it was nearly blown up by French military general Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 and it faced the threat of demolition under Communist leader Joseph Stalin’s reign. Historians aren’t sure exactly how the cathedral looked before the fire, but based on written descriptions at the time and a 17th-century engraving, they do know the famed onion domes – flared cupolas that became emblematic of Russian Orthodox architecture – were added after. Originally called Trinity Cathedral, the building burned down in 1583 and was rebuilt over the next decade. The masterpiece, located in the city’s Red Square, has undergone significant changes, expansions and restorations over the centuries, and has even changed color. ![]() The cathedral was nearly blown up by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 and was almost demolished by Joseph Stalin in 1935. An engraving of Saint Basil's circa 1700. ![]()
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