Uspenskii Cathedral

(Assumption Cathedral), a monument of architecture in the Moscow Kremlin. Uspenskii Cathedral was built between 1475 and 1479 by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti and Russian masters on the site of a 13th-century cathedral of the same name. It is a majestic and monumental church of powerful proportions, with three aisles and five cupolas. Its rather severe facade contrasts with the vast interior, whose six tall slender piers create the effect of a magnificent reception hall.

Uspenskii Cathedral, the most important church of the Muscovite state, served until the end of the 17th century as a model for the construction of many cathedrals in the cities and monasteries of pre-Petrine Russia. The cathedral has icons of the 11th to 17th centuries and frescoes of the 15th–16th centuries and of the 17th century; of special note are works by the painters Dionisii, Ivan Paisein, and Boris Paisein. The cathedral also serves as the burial place of the metropolitans of Moscow and the patriarchs of all Russia. It was the site of the enthronement of the patriarchs and of solemn state ceremonies, including the crowning of the Muscovite tsars and later of the Russian emperors.

(Assumption Cathedral), a monument of architecture in Vladimir. The Uspenskii Cathedral, once the major church of the Vladimir-Suzdal’ principality, is the most important example of the Vladimir-Suzdal’ school of architecture. It was built of white stone between 1158 and 1160 and was rebuilt between 1185 and 1189. (SeeVLADIMIR.)