I came across a book by Valerian Kiprianov “The Picturesque History of Russian Architecture, and then a Review of the Climate, Customs and Development of Civilization in this Country” by Valerian Kiprianov, published in 1864 in St. Petersburg in French in 1864.
The book contains 55 illustrations, made, in all likelihood, by Kiprianov himself, because they are all made in the same style, and the other author is not listed there. Unfortunately, in Russian, I could not find this book. Its author is briefly said at the beginning of the book itself:
But I found the content of the book interesting enough to share it with readers. In the introduction to the book, Kiprianov, referring to Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Alexander II), says that he wrote this book to acquaint foreigners with the ancient monuments of Russia. Obviously this is why it is written in French. Or knew that time poorly knew Russian?
Dark ages of Russian architecture
At the beginning of the book, Kiprianov reports that there are not so many surviving medieval monuments in Russia:
And information about construction and construction technologies was hidden, and for some reason the chroniclers confused the dates of construction with reconstructions:
But maybe the chroniclers didn't confuse anything, but did it quite consciously? Perhaps Kiprianov is describing the birth of a falsified story?
In fact, this is certainly not the case. They left traces, and there are a lot of traces, the name was only changed: they were nomadic Scythians, but they became sedentary Slavs. Maybe, and most likely, I think that they did not change their names. It is quite possible that others did it for them - those who later wrote down in "history" that "de disappeared, wandering around, leaving no trace …". My version of why they began to move from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one is the climatic and ecological situation, and the reason for this forced nomadic life began to change for the better. Those. there are more clean water sources, more vegetation. That made it possible to already live in one place, and not move constantly in search of water and food. What kind of disaster it was and when, I will not consider here. I think they happened periodically. And the last major one, apparentlyjust happened before the appearance of the nomadic peoples of the Scythians in the communal expanses of the Eurasian continent:
World map according to Strabo.
Read more about this in the article "Ancient India and Beyond"
Peasant houses of White Russia.
Peasant houses of Little Russia.
In Little Russia, houses were built at some distance from each other - each house had some kind of land plot. As actually now in Ukrainian villages. While in Great Russia, houses were located streets - one after another. Therefore, if one house caught fire, then the fire easily spread to nearby ones. And so many houses were burned out. What did not happen in Little Russia. Further, the author writes that all the ancient Russian cities were surrounded by fortress walls and dug in deep ditches. But, in fact, this principle of construction was typical not only for Ancient Russia, but also for other countries of that time. Apparently, communication between different countries was then already well established, or people had the same ideas.
Kiprianov writes that the walls of the Tula Kremlin were the most difficult contraction of this type:
Stone construction start
Since the 9th century, two types of bricks have been produced in Russia: raw bricks dried in the sun and refractory bricks. Unfortunately, Kiprianov does not report anything about the technologies for making refractory bricks in the 9th century. Because some modern alternatives doubt that it was possible in principle without using the technologies of the 18-19 centuries, given the complex process of firing large masses of bricks. Which, undoubtedly, was necessary for the construction of fortress walls, towers, temples and palaces.
The oldest surviving house from the mid-19th century, Kiprianov considers the Kiev house of Artemisia, named after its first owner, who lived during a great devastating plague. This house, also known as the house of the parents of St. Demetrius Rostov, was built of stone and covered with tiles.
House of Artemisia in Kiev.
It's a pity he does not specify in what year or century this plague was. The very first known in Europe raged in the 14th century. Dimitri of Rostov lived in the 17th century. It is interesting that already in 1864 this house was covered with a "cultural layer" up to the very top of the first floor. Although, maybe it's the basement strangles peeping out of the ground?
The first stone church, known as the Church of Dime (tithe), was erected in Kiev in 989 by the Grand Duke Vladimir and survived until 1240, before the invasion of Tartars, which, under the leadership of Batu, ravaged the country.
The tartars were still remembered in 1864, and the phrase "Tatar-Mongols", apparently, had not yet been invented. The concept of "yoke", apparently, also did not exist yet, but the ruin of the native country (Little Tartary in this case) was already attributed to the tartars, and construction was attributed to foreigners. For example, it was believed that this church was built by the Greeks.
View of the church built in Kiev on the ruins of the old church of Dima.
The names of these Greeks, apparently, had already been lost by the 19th century. But the logic here is simple: if the Russians have just adopted Christianity and have never built churches before, then who will build their first churches for them? Of course, the Greeks. The fact that churches in Russia were built before the adoption of Christianity was either not known (?) Or was modestly hushed up. In addition, it is quite possible that all the dates of the buildings were pushed back into the past in accordance with European dates.
This is how the building materials from which this temple was built are described:
The next ancient building is St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev:
Plan and facade of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.
Of course, not all Greek architects work hard, you can sometimes help them. It became interesting to see what the Greeks were building at that time in their homeland? The search engine stubbornly gives out antique architecture with porticoes and columns under a gable roof. The Middle Ages, of course, also exist, but their architecture differs from the Russian one. So what does it do? We arrived in Russia, and let's create a Russian style? And where did it come from then - the Russian style, if the architects were not Russian?
From the bell tower of St. Sophia Cathedral, it is very clearly visible that it has grown into the ground by 6 meters:
Or, in any case, the lowest part of this bell tower should be no lower than the middle part, and ideally a little higher, following the basic architectural principles that were applied even before our era, and which were also known in ancient Russia.
Kiev-Pechersky Monastery was built at the same time -11 century. And several other temples. One of them:
Plan and facade of the monastery church of St. Michael with golden domes in Kiev.
going to the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod.
Now I think that he had in mind not Greek, but Byzantine architects. The Byzantine style is recognizable, but it is different from the Russian style. Basically, the shape of the domes - they are flat, resembling a basin, and not an onion (the most famous example of Byzantine architecture is the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople). Although they built similar ones in Russia:
Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir, 12th century.
Kiprianov does not have an illustration of it, but there is a description:
The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow was built in 1475. At the same time, the Germans themselves still cover the roofs mainly with tiles. As, in general, the whole of Europe.
Old Russian fortification architecture
During the 11th century, Russia is gradually switching to stone in the construction of fortress walls, towers, monasteries. The monasteries of that time performed a triple function: civil, religious and military.
Tower of the Novgorod Fortress.
Fence tower of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, near Moscow.
Interesting knobs on the corners of this tower. Apparently metal balls. But probably quite large. And at the tip of the spire there is some kind of bird. Possibly a duck. And if so, then this is the Duck Tower, named after this duck. But in our time, this tower looks completely different.
Description of the Moscow Kremlin:
The explanation to the text says that the name Kremlin (Kremnik) comes from Krymgorod or the city of Crimea, which means: surrounded by battlements with loopholes. Vyshgorod is a common name for settlements in Russia, in Ukraine, and also the elevated part of Tallinn, an ancient fortress in Prague, settlements in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia with various variations: Vyshegor, Vysehrad. In Detinets, I think, children were gathered not only during attacks, but in peacetime they were used as places for teaching children the art of war and sciences. Something like the Suvorov schools, for example. Names of the same type in different places may indicate the presence of a single statehood in these territories.
Plan of Moscow, 1663
Map legend:
a Kremlin, b Kitay-gorod, c White City, d Earthen City, e surroundings outside the Moscow River, f surroundings outside the Yauza River, 1 Cathedral, 2 Ivan the Great, 3 Spasskaya Tower, 4 Terem, 5 Basil the Blessed, 6 River Moscow, 7 Yauza River, 8 Neglinnaya River
Freemasons and Italian architects
Kiprianov mentions Masons in a completely different way than we are used to understanding it now:
It turns out that masons were called masons in the middle of the 19th century. Well, not simple, perhaps bricklayers, but masters of their craft. And again, a foreign architect was invited for serious construction, this time an Italian one.
The most detailed description of the labor activity of Aristotle Fioraventi (1415-1486) is given by the Russian Wikipedia, which reports that in his homeland he became famous for having moved the 24-meter tower more than 13 meters to the side to make room for construction new building. This is also reported by the Italian Wikipedia (in less detail), as well as that he carried out engineering work in the Podestà palace in Bologna, together with his brother Bartolomeo. In other foreign Wikipedias, he is mentioned only in connection with the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. The fact that he was building something else is not reported. Even the Italian Wikipedia does not report that he was an architect.
Of course, the reason for such a paucity of information may be the antiquity of the centuries, the 15th century after all. But the fact is that the same exact situation, to a greater or lesser extent, develops with other foreign architects who built something on the territory of Russia. And in the aggregate of all this information, the conclusion suggests itself: were they in general, these foreign architects who built Russian cities? An interesting fact about the displaced 24-meter tower (this is the height of an 8-storey building!) It is so unusual in nature that it inspires confidence in its reliability. Because, I think, no fantasy would have been enough to come up with such a thing.
This is how Kiprianov describes the Assumption Cathedral:
Plan and facade of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin in Moscow.
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin served as a model for the construction of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.
Plan and facade of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in Moscow.
It is less original than another cathedral - the Annunciation:
Plan and facade of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow.
This cathedral was built in 1416. Its style resembles the churches of Athos or Kerch, which date back to the 10th century. Its domes were covered with gilded copper plates. The foundations were made of white stone, the walls were made of bricks. It is paved with slabs of jasper and agate, which, according to Karamzin, were taken from the cathedrals of Rostov and Suzdal; it is traditionally believed that they were brought from Constantinople.
Kiprianov mentions another Italian architect - Mark Fryazin:
The Faceted Chamber, or a large stone room in Moscow, was built in 1840.
Mark Fryazin, also known as Marco Ruffo, in addition to the Faceted Chamber, also took an active part in the construction of the towers of the Moscow Kremlin, but is not mentioned in contemporary Italian sources. All the buildings he allegedly built were completed by other architects. Peter and Anthony, apparently, are also Fryazins. Because the old Russian "fryaz" means "foreigner", "stranger", as the Italian Wikipedia reports. Further Kiprianov:
Terem or the Tsars' apartment in the Moscow Kremlin, restored in 1840
Also Italian architect Aleviz. There were two of them, and they called them New Aleviz and Old Aleviz. In Italy, both of these Alevises are not known. Here is what the Italian Wikipedia writes about Aleviz New:
And about Aleviz the Old:
It appears that the Pietro Antonio Solari mentioned here was famous in Italy:
For some reason, the French Wikipedia writes in more detail about his labor activity (referring to Russian sources):
Continued: Part 2
Author: i_mar_a