Russian Architecture - Early Muscovite Period (1230-1530)

Early Muscovite Period (1230-1530)

The Mongols looted the country so thoroughly that even capitals (such as Moscow or Tver) could not afford new stone churches for more than half a century. Novgorod and Pskov escaped the Mongol yoke, however, and evolved into successful commercial republics; dozens of medieval churches (from the 12th century and after) have been preserved in these towns. The churches of Novgorod (such as the Saviour-on-Ilyina-Street, built in 1374), are steep-roofed and roughly carved; some 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 constructed numerous buildings during the 15th century (including the Deposition Church of the Moscow Kremlin (1462) and the Holy Spirit Church of the Holy Trinity Lavra, built in 1476).

The 14th-century churches of Muscovy are few, and their ages are disputed. Typical monuments—found in Nikolskoe (near Ruza, possibly from the 1320s) and Kolomna (possibly from the second decade of the 14th century)—are diminutive single-domed fortified churches, built of roughly-hewn ("wild") stone and capable of withstanding brief sieges. By the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod (possibly in 1399), Muscovite masons regained the mastery of pre-Mongol builders and solved some of the construction problems which had puzzled their predecessors. Signature monuments of early Muscovite architecture are found in the Holy Trinity Lavra (1423), Savvin Monastery of Zvenigorod (possibly 1405) and St. Andronik Monastery in Moscow (1427).

By the end of the 15th century Muscovy was so powerful a state that its prestige required magnificent, multi-domed buildings on a par with the pre-Mongol cathedrals of Novgorod and Vladimir. As Russian masters were unable to build anything like them, Ivan III invited Italian masters from Florence and Venice. They reproduced ancient Vladimir structures in three large cathedrals in the Moscow Kremlin, and decorated them with Italian Renaissance motifs. These ambitious Kremlin cathedrals (among them the Dormition and Archangel Cathedrals) were imitated throughout Russia during the 16th century, with new edifices tending to be larger and more ornate than their predecessors (for example, the Hodegetria Cathedral of Novodevichy Convent from the 1520s).

Apart from churches, many other structures date from Ivan III's reign. These include fortifications (Kitai-gorod, the Kremlin (its current towers were built later), Ivangorod), towers (Ivan the Great Bell Tower) and palaces (the Palace of Facets and the Uglich Palace). The number and variety of extant buildings 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.

• Church of the Transfiguration on Ilin Street in Veliky Novgorod (1374)

• Episcopal palace in Suzdal (15th century)

• The Cathedral of the Dormition (1475-1479)

• Tsarevich Dmitry palace in Uglich (1482)

• Palace of Facets (1487-1492)

• Spasskaya Tower in Moscow Kremlin (1491)

• Old English Court - headquarters of English Muscovy Company (ca. 1490-1510)

• Ivan The Great Bell Tower (1505-1508)