I C O N S
A glimpse into the most
famous landmarks around
the network
St Basil's
PHOTOS
ALAMY
St Basil's Cathedral
THE FACTS
REAL NAME
CATHEDRAL OF THE
PROTECTIONOFMOST
HOLY THEOTOKOSON
THEMOAT
LOCATION
MOSCOW
AGE
452
YEARS
ADULT COST
OF ENTRY
100
ROUBLES
ANNUAL VISITORS
1
MILLION+
Named
for a
nudist
Designed
by a
madman
DID YOU KNOW?
Created in 1984 by a Russian computer
engineer, TETRIS opens with
a picture of St Basil's.
1943
Stalin orders the
building destroyed,
but a conservationist
intercedes on the
building's behalf. He's
then imprisoned
As a child, he threw
his pets out of Kremlin
windows
He also blew people
up with explosives
Fried them in a
giant frying pan
Killed his son and heir
with an iron bar
He's ranked 31st
of All-timeWorst
People in History by
ranker.com, behind
Hitler (Δ1) and
Justin Bieber (Δ19)
year joined UNESCOWorld Heritage list
1990
FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING
NOWAND VENN
A VIOLENT HISTORY
1561
Church
commissioned by Ivan
the Terrible who then
blinds the architect
so he can never make
anything so beautiful.
2011
Lady Gaga almost
arrested, allegedly
for wearing leather,
while sightseeing at
the bonfire-shaped
building.
1812
Napoleon wants to
take the church home
with him. When he
finds he can't, he tries
to blow it up but rain
puts the fuses out
.
HOW TERRIBLE WAS IVAN?
The building's commissioner, Tsar
Ivan IV of Russia, wasn't a very nice guy
2/8
St Basil's Day
9
onion domes
2
spires
81
height in metres
1552
Death of St Basil, or
Basil the Blessed, aged
88.
He was famous for
living entirely naked
and rebuking the tsar
for being ungodly.
1 8 6
