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Mykola Zharkikh (Kyiv)

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New cathedral from the west

New cathedral of Donskoy monastery…

New cathedral of Donskoy monastery (Moscow). View from the west.
Photo by N.I.Zharkikh, February 10, 1977.

The new cathedral, as well as old, dedicated to Don icon of the Virgin. It was founded in 1684 by tsar Fedor Alekseevich. At that time Ukrainian impact on Russian culture reached its maximum, and cathedral – a vivid example of Ukrainian architecture.

The basis of its plan – a cross with rounded arms (in Ukraine these arms were pentahedral). Between the angles of the cross builded additional smaller rooms. Five cathedral domes placed over middle room and arms – as in the Ukrainian five-domed cathedrals (in Russia side domes are traditionally placed above the diagonal rooms).

There in the cathedral and typically Russian elements – for example, closed ring gallery. Cathedral finished in 1698.