Moscow Impressions – Red Square
The train from St. Petersburg speeds by scattered housing settlements, hours of forests, moose running along the railroad cars, on its way to the Russian capital metropolis. Taxis should be pre-arranged to meet one at the station otherwise the cabbies charge at least twice if not three times what they should to get to the downtown hotels. The area around the train station has a depressing feeling, run down and grey; it doesn’t help that the weather imitates the area, cold, rainy and somewhat dismal. It is quite a contrast to the bright light city to the north.
The entrance to the Hotel Maroseyka is in a small driveway/alley off the main road of the same name. Upon opening the almost hidden door and going up the winding staircase, one enters into a vastly different world; one that has a stark beauty with freshly whitewashed walls and light pine wood floors and furniture. The two young men working at the front desk speak both English and German and offer excellent advice on how to get to places and where to find the best cheap buffets (just down the street) for breakfast and dinner. The hotel is on the bus line to the Kremlin, but as it was only about a 20 minute walk, I decide to brave the weather and get a feel for the city.
Heading down Ulica Marosejka towards Kitaj-Gorod Metro station, which is across the street from the Politechnical Museum and the History of Moscow Museum onto Ulikca Il’inka takes one to the GUM, which is just about across the plaza from the Lenin Mausoleum on Red Square. The GUM is a very fancy multistoried, three long row state owned mall. It glitters with golden and white lights reflecting off the immaculately clean walkways with seating areas in the middle of each of the aisles. The elegant shops have floor to ceiling display windows. I doubt there is anything anywhere in the mall I could afford other than the cappuccino I imbibed in the upscale open area café. The GUM outclasses most malls in the U.S. by far! Exiting the warmth of the GUM brought me back into the cold rain and onto Red Square. To the left St. Basilius Cathedral sticks out like the multi-colored multi-domed extravaganza it is. To the right is the tall very red stately State Historical Museum. St. Basil’s colors and shapes beckon as the first stop.
St. Basilicius, St. Basil’s, was originally the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Moat. It, like many of the other Old Russian churches in Moscow, was built between 1551 and 1561 by Ivan the Terrible in commemoration of his 1552 victory over the Khanate of Kazan. It has a very unique design in that it consists of a number of small chapels and churches on a single foundation. There are four main churches at the cardinal points and four smaller chapels in between. It has nine domes and spires of various heights, designs and colors, which were believed to represent “the image of the Heavenly City in Moscow.” (St. Basil’s Guide, 1) The original building was remodeled in 1588 to add a tenth church to accommodate the relics of St. Basil the Blessed (1460s-1557), otherwise known as Moscow’s ‘holy fool’. “The saint was famous for his miracles and prophesies. Legend has it that he even dared to tell the truth to Tsar Ivan the Terrible” (2); he was said to have been loved and respected by the common people. Later this church was linked to the undercroft of the rest of the structure. Another ‘holy fool’, John of Moscow, d. 1589, is also buried underneath the church bearing his name on the lower level.
The building has undergone numerous renovations, additions, and refinements over the past few centuries. In 1683, 560 glazed tiles were added to the front sides of the cathedral, only a few of which still survive. Catherine the Great paid for repairs to the Cathedral in the 1780s and the pigmentation on the domes today are from her time. During Napoleon’s invasion, his troops used the lower level, where most of the daily and weekly masses had been held, as a stable. When the troops were leaving, he ordered the Cathedral to be blown up, but luckily the order wasn’t followed. During the early years after the Revolution, the badly damaged Cathedral was made into a museum of history and architecture under the auspices of the State Historical Museum on the other side of Red Square. Since the 1950s ongoing renovations both structurally as well as to the interior wall paintings and iconostases have taken place.
The central church of the St. Basil’s complex remains the original Church of the Intercession; it is octagonal in shape and is found on the second tier of the building. The ticket office is across a walkway near to the entrance to the Cathedral. Upon entering the undercroft there are a couple of directions to choose from, straight ahead leads down a hall to the Church of St. Basil the Blessed and a room with a copper and silver shrine with an inlaid canopy over his relics; this church is capped outside with yellow arcs, red pyramids on a green background dome. It is the only three-colored dome of the complex. A small staircase leads from this Church up to the main level, while a short walk down a gallery hallway leads into the Church of St. John the Blessed, which was closed while I was there. The staircase leads into the hallway circumferencing the Church of the Intercession. The churches, each with their own unique designs and tops surrounding the Church of the Intercession, are mostly quite small, but very ornate. They include: The Church of the Holy Trinity, The Church of Alexander Svirsky, The Church of St. Nicholas Velikoretsky, The Church of St. Barlaam of Khutyn; the Church of the Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, The Church of St. Gregory of Armenia, The Church of SS Cyprian and Justine, and the Church of the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople (SS Alexander, John and Paul the New from the 4th – 8th C). There are also porches running along the western side of the Cathedral and an outside gallery along the second tier. Each of the two levels has its own unique layout; there is nothing linear in this structure, but rather the flow of each floor moves like waves from one scene/sacred site to the next. The onion-shaped domes didn’t appear until after a fire in the late 16th C. It was at this time that floral and plant motives were added to the exterior red and highlighted white painted brickwork to finalize the image of a heavenly garden. The Bell-Tower, which was part of the original plan, now has 14 bells and is shaped like a triangle with onion-dome top. Originally, it had 22 bells. St. Basil’s complex houses samples of some of the best of Old Russian iconographic art. Each room is different, highlighting a different aspect of Russian Orthodox belief. Artistically it is an incredible tour de force. Historically, it perpetuates the story of the ruler, who received the lineage from the Byzantine forefathers, who saves the faith from unbelievers, i.e., the Muslim Tartars. While the Byzantine Empire was conquered by the Muslims, Ivan the Terrible conquered and annexed one of their Khanates. St. Basil’s stands just outside the walls to the Kremlin, which is, after all, a fortress.
Part of the very tall very red wall surrounding the Kremlin marks one side of Red Square. The Square is more a long large rectangle than an actual square, framed at the narrow ends by St. Basil’s and the State Historical Museum. As in St. Petersburg, there is nothing small here, but rather the entire central area has a sense of great space. As the entrance to the Kremlin grounds is almost diagonally behind the walls, one needs to take a hike around the ancient city by-passing Lenin’s Memorial on the way to the Historical Museum. Before getting to the Museum, though, there is another relatively recently renovated old church, again dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan. It is a magnificently bright, colorful church that is reminiscent of a round onion-domed topped pink birthday cake. The Russian Revival styled State Historical Museum is the yang to this yin. Inside it has a distinctly Soviet style layout, but the collection of aristocratic artifacts, from clothing to sleds and coins, is interesting. The best section, to my mind, was the Paleolithic era artifacts with some ancient goddess figurines from about 18,000 BCE.
After exiting the Museum, one passes through a large gateway onto a modern square filled with fountains. The Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, which I didn’t have time to do, starts from the street at the end of this area. To the left after passing by a round fountain on Manzhnaya Square, one goes down a few steps to the modern Manege, Exhibition Hall, a light grey-white rectangular box-like structure. The Exhibition Hall is framed by the main street on one side and slightly down hill via a series of terraced staircases by Alexander’s Garden, which runs along this portion of the Kremlin Wall. The garden is a delight; it has a number of fountains and statuary of various sizes throughout the green lawns and hedges that weave through this section of town. There is one large fountain with black cast horses in energetic movement that is particularly striking as it sits above a series of waterways framed with seating areas and the lush gardens behind them. It is a place where young lovers and old friends go to stroll and enjoy the day.
The entrance to the Kremlin is at the end of the garden near the Moskva River embankment through the Borovitskaya Tower. The ticket area is before that in a modern flat rectangular building. Upon going up the steps, the ticket taker will ask if one has purchased the special pass for the Armory or the tour or if one just has a general pass. As I’m not interested in weapons, I only had the general pass, which meant I walked directly past the Grand Kremlin Palace to get to the first of the six Kremlin cathedrals.
The Kremlin was originally a medieval fortress and has been the center of Moscow and the heart of the old city ever since. The fortress sits atop Borovitskiy Hill overlooking the Moskva River. The hill was chosen for its defensive location to protect the troops and people from invaders. The city of Moscow was first mentioned in the 15th C Ipatiyevskaya Chronicle, which relates that in 1147 Prince Yuri Dolgoruky of Suzdal invited his counterpart from Novorgord-Seversky to Moscow for dinner. From the beginning of the city, wooden churches were the center of the fortress. The Kremlin’s wooden structures, however, were destroyed by fires in the early 14th C. In fact, “the very word, ‘Kremlin’ as related to the defensive structures above the Moskva River was first used in the Voskrensenkaya Chronicle about the 1331 fire. Historians assume that the word could have been derived from the Old Russian ‘kremnik’ meaning a fortress made of pinewood. However, according to a different point of view, the world ‘kremlin; may be traced back to the word ‘krom’ or ‘kroma’ meaning edge, frontier, as Moscow was a frontier outpost on the edge of the Vladimir Principality. “ (8) In 1325 the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Peter, moved the capital of religious life from the old capital, Vladimir, to Moscow. After the fire, he along with the Great Prince had a number of white stone churches built, including the Archangel’s Church founded in the name of Archangel Michael on the site where an older church of the same name once stood. Fire destroyed more of the wooden structures in 1365, which led to the construction of a white stonewall fortress. This structure lasted for about a hundred years before Prince Ivan the Great, Ruler of All Russia, in 1485 ordered the present day red-brick walls and towers to be built. Since that time the towers, walls and structures have undergone numerous transitions from fires, wars, explosions, etc., but have always been rebuilt. The resilience of the city’s citizens and leaders is testified to within the walls of this ancient fortress and center of Russia’s might.
Passing by the Armory Chamber, a testament to Old Russia’s weaponry and treasures, and the Grand Palace one comes to Cathedral Square. This part of the fortress was the center of Old Russia’s political and social life and the site of religious and political parades and processions.
At the top of the square, is the impressive Assumption Cathedral of white stone topped with five golden domed towers. This was the main church of the country prior to the Revolution. “Most of the important state documents were kept in the Cathedral’s altar. Since 1498, new Great Princes were crowned for reigning in the Cathedral, and after 1547, new czars were given the Russian crown here. The most important marriage ceremonies were held here.”(35) The Church is filled from floor to ceiling and around all the interior pillars with iconic images, the most important of which are the Assumption and the early15th C ‘Our Lady of Vladimir’. Ivan the Terrible installed a throne opposite the iconostasis in 1551; the throne has inscriptions and low reliefs on three sides portraying “The Tales of Princes of Vladimir.” This story describes the transfer of religious and political power from Byzantium to Russia by way of the transfer of Byzantine Emperor Constantine’s hat and scepter. “The idea of the continuity of power from Byzantine emperors via Kiev and Vladimir princes over to Moscow princes gained popularity in the mid 16th C, an era of the consolidation of the czar’s power. In the twelve margins on the throne’s sides, the key episodes of the legend are reproduced.” (39) In 1653 a new iconostasis was installed which was slightly different from earlier Russian models in that this one includes icons of the twelve apostles in the Greek style along with Christ, the Virgin, John the Baptist and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The imagery in this main Cathedral demonstrates what will be continuing motives in the other Cathedrals in this Russian center of power.
Before getting to the Assumption Cathedral, one passes the Annunciation Cathedral. The original version of this building was built of wood probably around 1405 and renovated in 1485; it used to be connected to the Grand Palace but was destroyed by fire in 1547. The reconstruction added a porch adorned with white-stone carvings and nine copper gilded domes. Napoleon’s invasion damaged the building and Nicholas I and Alexander II had the nine cupolas re-gilded as they are today. One of the main highlights of the cathedral is the five-tiered iconostasis, which has icons made by Pheofan the Greek and Andrei Rublev from 1405. The uppermost tier has Biblical patriarchs , the second upper tier has the prophets, the third features the main Orthodox holidays in 15 icons that mark the key moments of Jesus Christ’s earthly life. Below this, the deesis (worship) tier has images representing the prayer for salvation. The lowest/local tier has a number of Old Russian and Byzantine paintings including the Cathedral’ s main icon 17th C “The Annunciation of Ustyug with Margins of Acathistus” (the 12th C original of which is now in the Tretyakov Gallery). Here too lining the pillars and walls separating the various galleries are images showing the continuity of power from Constantinople to Moscow. (46-47) The Annunciation Cathedral’s physical and spiritual link to the Grand Palace was highlighted by the fact that the Cathedral’s archpriests were traditionally the Russian Tzars’ spiritual fathers.
Directly opposite the Annunciation Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Archangel. The current five-domed structure was built on the site of an earlier wooden building dedicated to Moscow’s liberation from a terrible famine. Ivan III, the Great, rebuilt the church as he did the others in the square, so that the building today stems from his time, i.e., ca. 1508. A Venetian architect was brought in to oversee the construction, which is why the outside is reminiscent of Venetian palazzo. It remains Russian, however, with its five-domed, and six-poled cross and cupola structure with narrow windows. The original iconostasis and much of the original icons did not survive the various destructions and fires. Today most of the earliest images date from the mid- 17th C. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who was considered the guardian angel of the Russian princes in times of war, and battlefield images abound on the interior walls. The Cathedral’s wall painting is unique in featuring over 60 actual people on the columns and on the lower sections of the walls. Ivan the Great’s wife, who was Ivan the Terrible’s grandmother, Sophia (also known as Zoe) Palaeologus was the daughter of Thomas Palaeologus, the brother of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI, and thereby considered herself to be descendent of Byzantine Emperor Michael II Palaeologus, who is depicted in the first row of one of the pillars. (54) As the Archangel Cathedral was the state necropolis of the Great Russian Princes and Czars from the burial of Prince Ivan Kalita in 1340 until the transition of the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in the early 18th C, the wall paintings have images of the Russian leaders from Ivan Kalita to Vassily III. Only males were allowed to be buried in the Cathedral; the necropolis houses 54 tombs. Until the early 17th C visitors to the Cathedral would leave notes on the tombs of the Russian sovereigns and the reigning Tzar would pick them up when visiting the Cathedral. It is not known how many of the requests were actually fulfilled. Tzars regularly visited the Cathedral, including before going off to war as a way of asking their ancestors for assistance. After coronation ceremonies in the Assumption Cathedral, they would also go to the Archangel’s Cathedral to pray before the tombs. Once St. Petersburg became the capital, the rulers were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Peter’s Fort in the northern city.
The Church of Laying Our Lady’s Holy Robe is a small one-domed cathedral originally constructed in 1484 adjacent to the Assumption Cathedral. It was built as dedication to the Lady’s protection of the city fortress from a Tartar invasion in 1451. The original structure was destroyed by fire, but the Metropolitan (later Patriarch) ordered a new one constructed, which was finished in 1475. It was the main home of the Metropolitan’s, i.e, Russian Orthodox Church’s, treasury, and later in the mid-17th C became the home church for the Tzar’s family, incl. the Tzarina. There is a four-tiered early 17th C iconostasis that is mostly original except for the icons on the lower or local tier. The organization of the iconostasis is conventional with the prophets at the top, below them 12 festivity icons, the deesis tier with Christ the Savoir, the Virgin, the Archangels Michael & Gabriel, Peter, Paul and John the Baptist along with Russian Prince Vassily the Great and Metropolitan Peter. One feature that stands out in this small church is the absence of Doomsday images on its western wall, which is common among the other churches and cathedrals. (60-61) Our Lady is the Protectress after all and hence, no doom; although, the small low church has a very closed-in almost claustrophobic feeling to it.
The Bell-Tower of Ivan the Great on the other hand rises about 60m into the sky. Traditionally it was used as both a bell and watch tower. Today the tower houses 21 bells made by Russian casters from the 17th – 19th c.
There was one more Kremlin Church, that of the Twelve Apostles, but it was closed to visitors when I was there. I also was not able to get into the Palace on my general individual pass. To do so required participating in an organized tour, but that required more time than I had.
As the Kremlin was primarily the seat of political power, no mention of the walled fortress would be complete without acknowledging at least two other main structures: The Kremlin State Palace, which is a 1961 box of glass and white marble that looks grey; it is in a typical modern Soviet style and not particularly attractive, although it is big; and the former Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, a yellow and white trim early 1934 structure that is more pleasant to look at than the modern box.
My time in Moscow was very brief. Beyond the Cathedrals, the Kremlin, a couple of museums, and the GUM, I was only able to walk around a bit of the city; just enough to pay honors to Pushkin’s museum and the Bolshoi. Moscow is a city of theaters, and I was sorry I didn’t allow myself more time to see a performance.
From my very quick two week trip to Russia l learned a few historical facts that might influence today’s relationships. 1) Pres. Putin grew up with a physical sense of the greatness and grandeur of Imperial Russia; this probably influences his behavior, attitudes and ambitions. 2) Russia still sees itself as the inheritor of the Byzantine Empire and the protector of the Orthodox faith; this may influence relations with Turkey and mainstream Islamic countries 3) the Kremlin is a fortress; the seat of power is based on defensive structures while the rulers went to war for conquest. The wars were to protect and enhance Mother Russia, and they were brutal. The Kremlin was destroyed many times, but always rebuilt to be greater than it was.
Moscow remained grey during my time in the city. It still had a very Soviet feel to it, except for the Cathedrals, the GUM, and the Tretyakov Galleries. The people, though, especially the staff at the Hotel Maroseyka, were welcoming and accommodating. There is absolutely no need to go on an organized tour to Russia, with Google translator on a smart phone, one can get around perfectly fine and experience far more than organized tours allow for. Счастливого пути! (Good Luck with your travelsJ)
