Kremlin

President of Russia

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THE CATHEDRAL OF THE INTERCESSION (OF ST. BASIL THE BLESSED) |

| Moscow Kremlin

Administrative buildings | The Kremlin Towers | The Kremlin Cathedrals | Squares and Gardens

The Cathedral of the Assumption

The Cathedral of the Annunciation

The Cathedral of the Archangel

The Church of St. Ioann Lestvichnik and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower

The Church of the Deposition of the Virgin’s Robe in Vlachernon

The Patriarch’s Palace and the Church of the Twelve Apostles

The Verkhospassky Cathedral and the Terem Churches

The Cathedral of the Intercession (of St. Basil the Blessed)

The Kazansky Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Intercession (of St. Basil the Blessed)

In 1552, on the eve of the feast of the Intercession, or the Protecting Veil of the Holy Virgin, the Russian army took the capital of the Kazan Khanate; in 1555, to commemorate this event, construction of a cathedral was begun. History preserved the names of the Russian master builders who created this architectural masterpiece – Postnik and Barma. Eight churches are grouped around the ninth, central church. Each is unique, yet they are united in perfect harmony by a single artistic idea. In 1588 a tenth church was added to the cathedral - that of St. Basil the Blessed. Thus it became 10-domed and acquired its second popular name, the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed.

In 1812 the cathedral was ransacked by Napoleon’s troops, who were also planning to blow it up, but had no time to do so. More than a century later, in 1918, it was ravaged again, and its rector, Archpriest Ioann Vostorgov, shot. In 1923, part of the cathedral was turned into a museum and the bells were removed and melted. In 1936, the authorities toyed with a plan to demolish the cathedral, as it impeded mass demonstrations on the square, but the idea was dropped. During the church feast of the Intercession, divine services are held in the cathedral.

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