St. Basil's Cathedral is one of the most famous works of architecture in Moscow and its silhouette is one of the most recognizable symbols of Moscow and Russia. St. Basil's is not a part of the Kremlin. It stands on the Red Square, next to the Kremlin, and facing the Ivory Gate Chapel. St. Basil's Cathedral was constructed from 1555 to 1561 by order of Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible") and in celebration of the defeat of Kazan - the last remaining grip of the Mongol Empire on European lands. Some historians claim that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architect after he was finished in order to prevent him from building another cathedral as magnificent as St. Basil's. The Cathedral's onion-domes are designed to represent the uniqueness of Russia situated between Europe and Asia. In front of St. Basil's stands a statue to two patriots, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the volunteer army against the Polish invaders in the late 16th century. Originally, the statue was placed in the middle of the Red Square, but moved to St. Basil's front yard because it was obstructing communist military parades.

St Basil's Cathedral, also called Pokrovsky Cathedral or The Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, is the most recognizable and quintessential Russian building. For Russians this Cathedral means not less than Eiffel Tower for the French, the Big Ban for the British and the Statue of Liberty for the American. It is a fascinating creation of the architect's fantasy which consists of 10 churches united by the biggest one in the middle. Each of its multi-coloured and stripy onion domes is unique and commemorates a certain Saint. This beautiful ecclesiastical building survived a lot of hard times, but in spite of all the troubles it has always been a symbol of Russian Orthodox Church, spirituality and patriotism.

The Cathedral was built in 1560 by the order of Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the siege of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan khanate. It is believed that it was built by the famous Pskov architect Postnik Barma (though some historians suppose that these are two people Postnik and Barma). The legend has it that when Ivan the Terrible saw the plan of the Cathedral, he was so impressed by its beauty that he ordered to blind the architect so that this cathedral would be unique.

Initially it was called The Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat, but later common people gave him a name of the St Basil the Blessed, who for the sake of God was leading a life of a beggar. He was blessed to foresee the future and was openly criticizing the awful and bloody deeds of Ivan the Terrible. People respected and feared Basil so much that even Ivan didn't dare to harm him. When the Saint died, the great Tsar himself and the noblest people carried his coffin. He was buried in the northern part of the Cathedral and as a sign of great respect the Cathedral got his name among common people.

Initially the Cathedral was wooden, but later it was rebuilt in white stone and only in the XVIII century during the times of Catherine II it acquired its present appearance covered with swirling colours. Unfortunately, when the Bolsheviks came to power, the Cathedral was closed, the bells melted and its arch-priest was killed.

And that was not the only case when this architectural gem was about to be destroyed. The legend has it that the first attempt was made by Napoleon Bonaparte. He was so impressed by its beauty that he tried to relocate the Cathedral to Paris, but since it was technically impossible to do so at that time, Napoleon ordered to blow it up when his troops were retreating from Moscow. The Moscowites tried to put out the burning gun powder when suddenly a heavy rain started pouring down and helped stop the explosion.

Another time the Cathedral was under threat is when Stalin decided that it was an obstacle to his military parades and prevented from driving through Red Square. The demolition plan was prepared but the architect who was supposed to work at it threatened that if the Cathedral is ruined, he will cut his throat on its steps and after that wrote a long-winded letter to Stalin. Miraculously, Stalin changed his mind, the Cathedral was granted life and the brave architect Piotr Baranovsky - couple of years in prison for that.

Walking inside this atmospheric place, you will see why people protected it so much. There are 9 icon-stands which comprise about 400 icons of XVI-XIX centuries painted by the most famous Novgorod and Moscow icon painting schools. The narrow way leads you from one church to another to a wooden spiral staircase hidden in one of the walls (it was found only in 1970s during the restoration works). All this contributes to the medieval atmosphere and creates that special aura that gives you quintessential ancient Russia experience.