Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Novgorod, Suzdal and Vladimir to acquaint himself with Russian architecture. His design is
a more spacious version of the Assumption Cathedral at Vladimir, with a Renaissance twist.
The church closed in 1918. According to some accounts, in 1941, when the Nazis were
on the outskirts of Moscow, Stalin secretly ordered a service in the cathedral to protect the
city from the enemy. The cathedral was officially returned to the Church in 1989, but it now
operates as a museum.
HISTORY OF THE KREMLIN
A
kremlin
(fortified stronghold) has existed on this site since Moscow's earliest years.
In 1147 Yury Dolgoruky summoned his allies to this spot, which would have been occu-
pied by a wooden fort. When the city became the capital of medieval Rus in the 1320s,
the Kremlin served as the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church and the seat
of the prince.
The ambition of Ivan III (the Great) was to build a capital that would equal the fallen
Constantinople in grandeur, power, achievements and architecture. In an effort to
build the 'Third Rome', Ivan brought from Italy stonemasons and architects, who built
new walls, three great cathedrals and other structures. Most of the present-day build-
ings date from this period.
Although Peter I (the Great) shifted the capital to St Petersburg, the tsars still
showed up here for coronations and other celebrations. The fortress was captured by
Napoleon, who inflicted serious damage before making his retreat in 1812. But still the
ancient symbol endured. The citadel wouldn't be breached again until the Bolsheviks
stormed the place in November 1917.
Frescoes
The interior of the Assumption Cathedral is unusually bright and spacious, full of frescoes
painted in warm golds, reds and blues. The west wall features a scene of the Apocalypse, a
favourite theme of the Russian Church in the Middle Ages. The pillars have pictures of mar-
tyrs, considered to be the pillars of faith. Above the southern gates there are frescoes of
Yelena and Constantine, who brought Christianity to Greece and the south of Russia. The
space above the northern gate depicts Olga and Vladimir, who brought Christianity to the
north.
Most of the existing images on the cathedral walls were painted on a gilt base in the
1640s, with the exception of three grouped together on the south wall:
The Apocalypse
(),
The Life of Metropolitan Pyotr (
) and
All Creatures Rejoice in Thee
(). These
