St. Basil's cathedral was built near the Red Square to honor the military success of Ivan's campaign against the mongols in 1552. Since the Kazan Qolsharif mosque had been the principal symbol of the Khanate captured by Ivan the Terrible, some elements from the mosque were incorporated into the cathedral to symbolize the victory.
The cathedral was all white to match the white-stone Kremlin, and the onion domes were gold rather than multi-colored and patterned as they are today. According to the legend, the Russian Tsar ordered the architect Postnik Yakovlev to have his eyes removed in order to stop him to build another construction that could be a rival of St. Basils. The powerfully eastern design of St. Basil's reflects both its location between Europe and Asia and its historical origins.
The church consists of nine chapels built on a single foundation. Although the towers and domes appear chaotic, there is symmetry and symbolism in its design.
The Cathedral is now a museum. There is a deep contrast between the interior and the exterior of the monument. The interior contains modest decorations and is not that spectacular. The walls are painted in floral and geometric patterns.
During restoration work in the seventies a wooden spiral staircase was discovered within one of the walls. The corridors inside are narrow and don’t have adequate space for worshippers seating.
In modern times, St. Basil's came very close to falling victim to Stalin, but the architect Baranovsky stood on the cathedral's steps and threatened to cut his own throat if the masterpiece was destroyed and Stalin relented.
Photo source
April 19, 2013
I. C.
