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The St. Basil's Cathedral is located in the center of Moscow, in the Red Square. It is also known as Pokrovsky Cathedral and its official name is The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. The temple was built by the orders of czar Ivan The Terrible in the middle of XVI century by Russian builders in 5 years. It is a symbol of victory; most of its churches commemorate the victory over the Kazan Khanate. Some historians believe that the Kazan Kul-Sharif Mosque was used as a basis of architectural plan for Cathedral. According to legendsm after the capture of the city of Kazan, russian czar Ivan the Terrible ordered to destroy a mosque, and to take its gilded domes to Moscow. It is sometimes said that eight chapters of Moscow church allegedly repeat configuration of Kul-Sharif Mosque, and the highest, the ninth, is a symbol of victory that dominates over them. It is also known that when Napoleon first saw St. Basil's Cathedral, he called it "the mosque" The Cathedral combines nine independent churches, standing on the same basement. Every church has an iconostasis of XVI – XIX century. The churches are connected by two galleries: internal goes around the Central Church, and the outer bypass gallery goes around all nine churches. Two elegant porches with white stone stairs flank the western side of the temple. In 1588 the tenth Church was joined to the Pokrovsky Cathedral, it was built over the burial place of St. Basil who was a canonized Moscow holy fool, who lived during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and didn’t fear to tell truth in the face of czar. The name of this holy fool, who was popular among the people, became the second, folk name of the Pokrovsky Cathedral. In 80-ies of the XVIII century, the first overhaul of the building was produced; at that time the head of the Cathedral became colored. During the Napoleon invasion the Cathedral was badly damaged; its basement was used as stables. In 1812, Napoleon, leaving Moscow, ordered to blow up the Kremlin tower as well as St. Basil's Cathedral, but his orders were not executed due to haste and economy of gunpowder. In 1918, the Cathedral was one of the first monuments to be named as a monument of national and global importance, in 1923, the Cathedral received the status of historical and architectural museum. The Cathedral went through several major restorations (1921-1949, 1954-1965, 1967-1969, 1978-1980, 2001-2011), which resulted in a full restoration of the original appearance of the XVI-XVII centuries. Religious worships started again from 1990 in the Church of the Intercession, and from 1997 in the Church of St. Basil. The Cathedral is a branch of the State Historical Museum. In 2008, the Council was named one of the Seven Wonders of Russia.
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