Overview
St. Basil’s Cathedral stands at the south end of Red Square in Moscow. Built 1555–61 on Ivan IV’s order to commemorate the capture of Kazan, the cathedral unites nine chapels around a central Intercession church, each capped with a distinct coloured onion dome. Later additions include the shrine of the holy fool Basil the Blessed, whose popular name stuck to the whole ensemble.
Contrary to tourist myth, the builders Barma and Postnik were not blinded; the cathedral survived Napoleonic looting plans and Soviet demolition threats before becoming a museum. Its asymmetrical plan and painted brick exteriors broke with Byzantine-cross norms and became a Russian national emblem. Pair with the Winter Palace for contrasting Muscovite sacred and imperial Baroque stages.