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Russian architecture follows a tradition whose roots were established in the Eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus'. After the fall of Kiev, Russian architectural history continued in the principalities of Vladimir-Suzdal, and Novgorod, and the succeeding states of Muscovy, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the modern Russian Federation.
Medieval Rus' (988–1230)
The medieval state of Kievan Rus' incorporated parts of what is now Ukraine and was centered around Kiev. Its influence on architectural tradition extended to the modern states of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The status of Kievan Rus' as a precursor state to Russia is a somewhat politically charged issue after the fall of Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine and Belarus.
Although, not strictly "Russian" in the modern sense, as Kievan Rus' (or Ancient Rus') was the common predecessor of the Russians Ukrainians and Byelorussians, the great churches of Kievan Rus', built after the adoption of Christianity in 988, were the first examples of monumental architecture in the East Slavic lands. The architectural style of the Kievan state which quickly established itself was strongly influenced by the Byzantine. Early Eastern Orthodox churches were mainly made of wood with the simplest form of church becoming known as a cell church. Major cathedrals often featured scores of small domes, which led some art historians to take this as an indication of what the pagan Slavic temples should have looked like.
The tenth-century Church of the Tithes was the first prominent building to be made of stone, located in Kiev, Ukraine. The earliest Kievan churches were built and decorated with frescoes and mosaics by Byzantine masters. A great example of an early church of Kievan Rus' was the thirteen-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (1037-54), but much of its exterior has been altered with time. Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (1044-52), on the other hand, expressed a new style that exerted a strong influence on Russian church architecture. Its austere thick walls, small narrow windows, and helmeted cupolas have much in common with the Romanesque architecture of Western Europe. Even further departure from Byzantine models is evident in succeeding cathedrals of Novgorod: St Nicholas's (1113), St Anthony's (1117-19), and St George's (1119).
By the end of the twelfth century the centre of East Slavic political life had moved from Kiev to the northern principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. The local churches were built of white stone by Romanesque masters of Friedrich Barbarossa, whilst their wall statuary was elaborately carved by craftsmen from Georgia. These churches mark the highest point of pre-Mongolian Rus' architecture. The most important churches in Vladimir are the Assumption Cathedral (built 1158-60, enlarged 1185-98, frescoes 1408) and St Demetrios' Cathedral (built 1194-97). Another miraculously preserved church is the graceful Intercession Church on the Nerl (1165), one of the most charming images of medieval Rus'.
Celebrated as these structures are, the contemporaries were even more impressed by churches of Southern Rus', particularly the Svirskaya Church of Smolensk (1191-94). As southern structures were either ruined or rebuilt, restoration of their original outlook has been a source of contention between art historians. The most memorable reconstruction is the Pyatnitskaya Church (1196-99) in Chernigov(modern Chernihiv, Ukraine), by Peter Baranovsky.
Secular architecture of Kievan Rus' has scarcely survived. Up to the twentieth century, only the Golden Gates of Vladimir, despite much eighteenth-century restoration, could be regarded as an authentic monument of the pre-Mongolian period. In the 1940s, the archaeologist Nikolai Voronin discovered the well-preserved remains of Andrei Bogolyubsky's palace in Bogolyubovo, dating from 1158-65.
Early Muscovite period (1230–1530)
The Mongols looted the country so thoroughly that even capitals (such as Moscow or Tver) couldn't afford new stone churches for more than half a century. Novgorod and Pskov however managed to escape the Mongol yoke, and evolved into successful commercial republics. Many dozens of medieval churches, from the twelfth century on, have been preserved in these towns.
The churches of Novgorod, such as the Saviour-on-the-Ilyina-Street (1374), are steep-roofed and carved in a rough manner. Some of them contain magnificent medieval frescoes. The tiny and picturesque churches of Pskov feature many novel elements - corbel arches, church porches, exterior galleries, and bell towers. All these features were introduced by Pskov masons to Muscovy where they built numerous edifices during the fifteenth century, including the Deposition Church of the Moscow Kremlin (1462) and the Holy Spirit Church of the Holy Trinity Lavra (1476).
The fourteenth-century churches of Muscovy are sparse, and their dating is disputed. Typical monuments—found in Nikolskoe village near Ruza (1320s?) and Kolomna (1310s?)—are diminutive single-domed fortified churches built of roughly-hewn ("wild") stone and capable of withstanding brief sieges. By the time of the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod (1399?), the Muscovite masons managed to regain the mastership of the pre-Mongolian builders and solved some of the construction problems that had puzzled their ancestors. Signature monuments of early Muscovite architecture are to be found in the Holy Trinity Lavra (1423), Savvin Monastery of Zvenigorod (1405?), and St. Andronik Monastery in Moscow (1427).
By the end of the fifteenth century Muscovy was so powerful a state that its prestige badly needed magnificent multi-domed buildings, on the par with pre-Mongolian cathedrals of Novgorod and Vladimir. As Russian masters were unable to build anything like it, Ivan III invited Italian masters from Florence and Venice. They reproduced ancient Vladimir structures in three large cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, and decorated them with Italian Renaissance motives. These ambitious Kremlin cathedrals—the Dormition Cathedral, the Archangel Cathedral, and the Annunciation Cathedral—were imitated throughout Russia during the sixteenth century, with new edifices tending to be larger and more ornate than their predecessors (for example, the Hodegetria Cathedral of Novodevichy Convent, 1520s).
Apart from churches, many other structures date from Ivan III's reign. These include fortifications (Kitai-gorod, Kremlin towers, Ivangorod), towers (Ivan the Great Bell Tower), and palaces (the Palace of Facets, the Uglich Palace). The number and variety of extant constructions may be attributed to the fact that Italian architects persuaded Muscovites to abandon prestigious, expensive and unwieldy limestone for much cheaper and lighter brick as the principal construction material.
Middle Muscovite period (1530–1630)
In the sixteenth century, the key development was the introduction of tented roof into brick architecture. Tent-like roof construction is thought to have originated in the Russian North, as it prevented snow from piling up on wooden buildings during long winters. In wooden churches (even modern ones) this type of roof has been very popular.
The first ever tent-like church built in brick is the Ascension church of Kolomenskoe (1531), designed to commemorate the birth of Ivan the Terrible. Its design was prone to most unusual interpretations. Some scholars argue that tent-like roofs have something common with European gothic styles of architecture, and even tend to call this style Russian Gothic. It is likely this type of design, never found in other Orthodox countries, symbolised high ambitions of the nascent Russian state and liberation of Russian art from Byzantine canons after Constantinople's fall to the Turks.
Tented churches were exceedingly popular during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Two prime examples dating from his reign employ several tents of exotic shapes and colours arranged in a complicated design. These are the Church of St John the Baptist in Kolomenskoye (1547) and Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square (1561). The latter church unites nine hipped roofs in a striking circular composition. About that time, the onion domes of various shapes started to replace traditional helmet domes even on the ancient churches.
Late Muscovite period (1612–1712)
After the Time of Troubles the state and the church were bankrupt, and could not finance any construction works. The initiative was taken by rich merchants of the city Yaroslavl-on-the-Volga. In the course of the seventeenth century, they built numerous large churches of cathedral type, with five onion-like cupolas, and surrounded them with tents of belltowers and aisles. At first the churches' composition was sharply asymmetrical, with different parts balancing each other on the "scale-beam" principle (e.g., the Church of Elijah the Prophet, 1647-50). Subsequently the Yaroslavl churches were strictly symmetrical, with cupolas taller than the building itself, and amply decorated with polychrome tiles (e.g., the Church of John the Chrysostom on the Volga, 1649-54). A zenith of Volga architecture was attained in the Church of St John the Baptist (built 1671-87), the largest in Yaroslavl, with fifteen cupolas and more than five hundred magnificent frescoes. All the brick exterior of the church, from the cupolas down to the tall porches, was elaborately carved and decorated with tiles.
The seventeenth-century Moscow churches are also profusely decorated, but their size is much smaller. Earlier in the century, the Muscovites still favoured the tent-like constructions. The chief object of their admiration was the "Miraculous" Assumption Church in Uglich (1627): it had three graceful tents placed in a row, reminiscent of three burning candles. This composition was extravagantly employed in the Hodegetria Church of Vyazma (1638) and the Nativity Church at Putinki, Moscow (1652). Assuming that such constructions ran counter with the traditional Byzantine type, the Patriarch Nikon declared them uncanonical. He encouraged building of fairy-like ecclesiatical residences, such as the Rostov Kremlin on the Nero Lake, with five tall churches, innumerable towers, palaces, and chambers. Nikon personally designed his new residence at the New Jerusalem Monastery which was dominated by a rotunda-like cathedral, the first of its type in Russia.
Since the tents were banned, the Muscovite architects had to replace them with successive rows of corbel arches ("kokoshniki"), and this decorative element was to become a hallmark of the seventeenth-century Moscow "fiery" style. An early example of the fiery style is the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square (1633-36). By the end of the century, more than a hundred churches in the fiery style were erected in Moscow, and perhaps as many again in the neighbouring region. Among the more splendid specimens are the Moscow churches of the Holy Trinity at Nikitniki (1653), St Nicholas at Khamovniki (1682), and the Holy Trinity at Ostankino (1692). Probably the most representative fiery style structure was the Church of St Nicholas "the Grand Cross" in the Kitai-gorod, brutally destroyed at the behest of Stalin.
As Russian architecture degenerated into pure decoration, it was also influenced by the Polish and Ukrainian Baroque. The first baroque churches were small chapels built on the Naryshkin family estates near Moscow, hence the name of Naryshkin baroque often applied to this style. Some of these churches are tower-like, with cubic and octagonal floors placed on top of each other (the Saviour Church at Ubory, 1697); others have a ladder-like composition, with a bell tower rising above church itself (the Intercession Church at Fili, 1695). The baroque and fiery style decoration is often so profuse that the church seems to be the work of jeweller and not of mason (e.g., the Trinity Church at Lykovo, 1696). Perhaps the most delightful jewel of the Naryshkin baroque was the multi-domed Assumption Church on the Pokrovka Street in Moscow (built 1696-99, demolished 1929). Its architect was also responsible for the "red and white" reconstruction of several Moscow monastic structures, notably the Novodevichy Convent and the Donskoy Monastery.
The Baroque style quickly spread throughout Russia, gradually replacing more traditional and canonical architecture. The Stroganov merchants sponsored construction of majestic Baroque structures in Nizhny Novgorod (the Nativity Church, 1703) and in the remote tundra region (the Presentation Cathedral in Solvychegodsk, 1693). During the first decades of the eighteenth century, some remarkable Baroque cathedrals were built in the eastern towns of Kazan, Solikamsk, Verkhoturye, Tobolsk, Irkutsk, and elsewhere. But perhaps the most interesting was Baroque interpretation of traditional wooden churches by carpenters of the Russian North. Working without hammer and nails, they constructed such bizarre structures as the twenty-four-domed Intercession Church at Vytegra (1708, burnt down 1963) and twenty-two-domed Transfiguration Church at Kizhi (1714).
Imperial Russia (1712–1917)
In 1712, Peter I of Russia moved the capital from Moscow to St Petersburg, which he planned to design in the Dutch style usually called Petrine baroque. Its major monuments include the Peter and Paul Cathedral, Menshikov Palace, and the Menshikov Tower.
During the reign of Empress Anna and Elizaveta Petrovna, the Russian architecture was dominated by a luxurious Baroque style of Bartolomeo Rastrelli whose signature buildings include the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace, and the Smolny Cathedral. Other distinctive monuments of the Elizabethan Baroque are the bell tower of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra and the Red Gate.
Catherine the Great dismissed Rastrelli and patronized neoclassical architects invited from Scotland and Italy. Some of the most representative buildings from her reign are the Alexander Palace by Giacomo Quarenghi and the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra by Ivan Starov. During Catherine's reign, the Russian Gothic Revival style was developed by Vasily Bazhenov and Matvey Kazakov in Moscow.
Alexander I of Russia favoured the Empire Style, as evidenced by the Kazan Cathedral, the Admiralty, the Bolshoi Theatre, St Isaac's Cathedral, and the Narva Triumphal Gates. Later, the nineteenth century saw a revival of traditional Russian architecture. The redevelopment of the centre of Moscow saw the Neo-Byzantine construction of the Great Kremlin Palace (1838-49), the Kremlin Armoury (1844-1851) and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (1832-1883), all designed by Konstantin Ton.
Soviet Union (1917-1991)
Immediately after the October Revolution of 1917, Constructivism and the various Revivalist trends dominated Russian architecture, as represented by Aleksey Shchusev and Konstantin Melnikov. Lenin's Mausoleum is the best known architectural work from the period, although Tatlin's Tower may have been the most ambitious.
Stalinist architecture put a premium on conservative monumentalism. In the 1930's, there was rapid urbanisation as a result of Stalin's policies. There was an international competition to build the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow in that decade.
After 1945, the focus was on rebuilding the buildings destroyed in World War II. Seven high-rise buildings were built at symbolic points in Moscow's space. The building of Moscow University (1948-1953) by Lev Rudnev and associates is particularly notable for its use of space.
The stalinist architecture also touched other areas, in particular the Metro systems. Moscow Metro as well as Saint Petersburg Metro's stations that were built during the 1940s and 1950s are world famous for their extravagant designs and vivid decorations.
As the 1950s drew to a close, several changes took place. Because of the massive destruction that the war brought Nikita Khrushchev sought to increase the housing construction level with more inexpensive technologies and no "decorative extras". The most famous of which took place in Ukrainian capital of Kiev where the planned Khreshchatyk avenue along with its central square Maidan Nezalezhnosti were to form a single rich space enclosed by Stalinist buildings. However most of the buildings designs, after the start of construction were altered, and as a result they opened compleately different to what they were originally meant to be. In particular was Hotel Ukrayina which was originally to look similar to one of Moscow's Seven sisters, was left as a solid shape without the top spire or any of the rich external decoration. The ensemble was compleated only in the 1980s.
Nevertheless, as the buildings became more square and simple, they brought with them a new style fueled by the Space Age functuonality. The State Kremlin Palace is a merit to an earlier attempt to make a bridge between the rapidly changing styles as dictated by the state. The Ostankino Tower is more of symbolism of technological advances and future.
In terms of simpler buildings, then 1960s are mostly remembered for their massive housing plans. A new typical project was developed using nothing but concrete panels to make a simple 5-storey house. These Pyatietazhki became the most dominant housing constructions. Although rapidelly built, the quality was in nothing compared to earlier housing and their almost identical look contributed to the grey and dull stereotype of socialist cities.
As the 1970s opened, Leonid Brezhnev allowed more choice to the architects, soon housing of varying calibres were opened. Slowly the flat blocks gained height in floors and in external decoration, large mosaics on their side became a feature. Public buildings were built with varying themes. Some, like the White House of Russia made direct connections with earlier Stalinist Architecture.
Modern Russia
As the Soviet Union fell apart many of its projects were put on hold, and some cancelled altogether. However for the first time, there was no longer any control over what theme or how high a building should be. As a result, and with generally improving financial conditions, architecture blossomed in unbelieving rates. For the first time modern methods of skyscraper buildings were implemented and resulted in an ambitious business centre being built in Moscow Moskva-Siti. In other cases architects returned to the most successful designs, particulary Stalinist architecture which resulted in buildings like Triumph Palace in Moscow.
References
- "Architecture: Kievan Rus and Russia" in Encyclopædia Britannica (Macropedia) vol. 13, 15th ed., 2003, p. 921.
- William Craft Brumfield, Landmarks of Russian Architecture: A Photographic Survey. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach, 1997
- John Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolaus Pevsner. "Russian Architecture" in The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 5th ed., 1998, pp. 493–498, London: Penguin. ISBN 0-67-088017-5.
- Russian art and architecture, in The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001–05.
- Encyclopædia BritannicaWestern architecture retrieved 12 August 2005
- About.com feature on Russian architecture retrieved 12 August 2005
- Grove Art Online articles on Russian architecture Oxford University Press 2005 retrieved 12 August
- Russian Life July/August 2000 Volume 43 Issue 4 "Faithful Reproduction" an interview with Russian architecture expert William Brumfield on the rebuilding of Christ the Saviour Cathedral
Further reading
- William Craft Brumfield, A History of Russian Architecture. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2004. ISBN 0-295-98393-0
External links
- Template:Ru icon Russian photosite of Orthodox architecture
- Template:Ru icon Russian society of arhitects
- Template:En icon The William C. Brumfield Collection, part of Meeting of Frontiers: Siberia, Alaska, and the American West
- Template:Uk icon "Architectural links between Ukraine and Russia" by Igor Grabar
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