Neo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian Empire

Cathedral of Saint Vladimir in Kyiv was the first Neo-Byzantine design approved for construction in the Russian Empire (1852). It was not the first to be completed though, since construction started in 1859 and continued until 1889.

Naval Cathedral, Kronstadt

Russian-Byzantine architecture (Russo-Byzantine architecture, Russian: русско-византийский стиль) is a revivalist direction in Russian architecture and decorative and applied arts, based on the interpretation of the forms of Byzantine and Kievan Rus' architecture. As part of eclecticism could be combined with other styles.

The style originated in the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century. The founder of this style is considered to be Konstantin Thon. Formed in the early 1830s as an entire direction, the Russian-Byzantine style was inextricably linked with the concept of nationality, expressing the idea of cultural self-sufficiency of Russia, as well as its political and religious continuity in relation to Byzantine Empire. In a narrow sense, the Russian-Byzantine style referred as the style of Konstantin Thon, common in the second third of the 19th century, and post Thon style, that began in the 1850s and more similar to the Byzantine architecture, called the Neo-Byzantine style.

Russian-Byzantine style became an officially endorsed preferred architectural style for church construction during the reign of Alexander II of Russia (1855–1881). Although Alexander III changed state preferences in favor of late Russian Revival, Neo-Byzantine architecture flourished during his reign (1881–1894) and continued to be used until the outbreak of World War I. Émigré architects who settled in the Balkans and in Harbin after the Russian Revolution worked on Neo-Byzantine designs there until World War II.

Initially, Byzantine architecture buildings were concentrated in Saint Petersburg and the Crimea, with two isolated projects launched in Kiev and Tbilisi. In the 1880s, Byzantine designs became the preferred choice for Orthodox expansion on the frontiers of the Empire – Congress Poland, Lithuania, Bessarabia, Central Asia, North Caucasus, the Lower Volga and the Cossack Hosts; in the 1890s, they spread from the Urals region into Siberia along the emerging Trans-Siberian Railway. State-sponsored Byzantine churches were also built in Jerusalem, Harbin, Sofia and on the French Riviera. Non-religious construction in Byzantine style was uncommon; most extant examples were built as hospitals and almshouses during the reign of Nicholas II.

History

Background

Church of Dmitry Solunsky in Saint Petersburg (1861–1866) by Roman Kuzmin – an earliest example of the style

The last decade of Alexander I's rule was marked by state enforcement of the Empire style as the only architectural style for religious, public and private construction. This monopoly of a single style was lifted in the early 1830s; as Nicholas I promoted Konstantin Thon's eclectic church designs, architects (Mikhail Bykovsky) and art circles in general (Nikolai Gogol) called for general liberalization of building permit procedures, insisting on the architect's freedom to choose a style best fitting the building's functions and the client's preferences. As a result, by the end of the 1840s Russian civil architecture diversified into various revival styles (Gothic Revival by Bykovsky, Neo-Renaissance by Thon) while new church projects leaned towards Thon's "Album of model designs" or neoclassicism.

The reign of Nicholas I was marked by persistent expansion of Russia – either in the form of colonization of territories acquired earlier in the West and South (partitions of Poland–Lithuania, Novorossiya, the Crimea, the Caucasus) or in the form of increasing intervention in the Eastern Question. Nicholas shared his predecessors' aspirations for the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and engaged in a dispute with France for control over Holy Land shrines, which provoked the Crimean War. The eastern policies of the state aroused public interest and sponsored academic studies in Byzantine history and culture. The expansion of Russian Orthodoxy into the new territories created new large-scale construction projects that needed to be integrated into local environments.

The Imperial Academy of Arts, closely supervised by Nicholas, supported studies of the Orient and specifically Byzantium, but Nicholas himself despised Byzantine architecture. Ivan Strom, one of the architects of the cathedral of Saint Vladimir in Kyiv, recalled Nicholas saying "I cannot stand this style, yet, unlike others, I allow it" (Russian: "Терпеть не могу этого стиля но, не в пример прочим разрешаю"). Royal approval was made possible by the academic studies of the architecture of Kievan Rus in the 1830s–1840s that, for the first time, attempted to reconstruct the initial shape of Kievan cathedrals and established them as the missing link between Byzantium and the architecture of Veliky Novgorod.

The cathedral of Saint Vladimir became the first neo-Byzantine project approved by the Emperor (1852). The Crimean War, lack of funds (the cathedral was financed through private donations) and severe engineering errors delayed its completion until the 1880s. The first neo-Byzantine projects to be completed appeared after the death of Nicholas: the interiors of the Saint Sergius of Radonezh church in the Strelna Monastery, designed by Alexey Gornostaev (1859), and a small chapel of Mariinsky Palace designed by Grigory Gagarin (1860).

Royal endorsement

Composition of Tbilisi cathedral became de facto industry standard well before it was completed. Note the small, fully detached belltower in the back yard.

Prince Grigory Gagarin, who had served in Constantinople and the Caucasus as a diplomat, became the most influential supporter of the Byzantine style – through his published studies of vernacular Caucasian and Greek heritage as well as through his service to empress Maria Alexandrovna and grand duchess Maria Nikolayevna (Alexander II's sister and president of the Imperial Academy of Arts). As early as 1856, empress Maria Alexandrovna expressed her will to see new churches executed in Byzantine style.

The first of these churches was built in 1861–1866 on the Greek Square of Saint Petersburg. Architect Roman Kuzmin (1811–1867) loosely followed the canon of the Hagia Sophia – a flattened main dome blended into a cylindrical arcade resting on a cubical main structure. Kuzmin, however, added a novel feature – instead of two apses, typical of the Byzantine prototypes, he used four. This cross-shaped layout was refined in 1865 by David Grimm, who extended Kuzmin's flattened structure vertically. Although Grimm's design remained on paper for over 30 years, its basic composition became nearly universal in Russian construction practice.

Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesos by David Grimm

Another trend was launched by David Grimm's design of the Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesus (1858–1879). The church, built on the ruins of an ancient Greek cathedral, was sponsored by Alexander II. Grimm, also a historian of Caucasian heritage, was picked by Maria Alexandrovna, most likely upon advice by Gagarin and Maria Nikolaevna. His cross-shaped structure used a complex succession of staggered simple shapes. Grimm restricted the use of curvilinear surfaces to the main dome only; apses and their roofing were polygonal – in line with Georgian and Armenian prototypes. This "linear" variety of Byzantine architecture remained uncommon in the 19th century but surged in popularity in the reign of Nicholas II.

Despite the support of the royal family, the reign of Alexander II did not produce many examples of the style: the economy, crippled by the Crimean War and further stressed by Alexander's reforms, was too weak to support mass construction. Once started, projects were delayed for decades. For example, Aleksei Avdeyev's draft of the Sevastopol Cathedral was approved in 1862, but actual work started only in 1873. The foundations, built before the war, were already in place yet construction dragged on slowly until 1888, literally consuming the architect's life. David Grimm's Tbilisi cathedral, designed in 1865, was started in 1871 and soon abandoned; construction resumed in 1889 and was completed in 1897. Grimm died one year later.

Proliferation

In 1888 Vasily Kosyakov found the ultimate proportion of a single-dome design. Blueprints of his Astrakhan church were copied in Kamianets-Podilskyi before the original was completed (1895–1904).

Church construction and economy in general rebounded in the reign of Alexander III (1881–1894). In thirteen and a half years, the properties of the Russian Orthodox church increased by more than 5,000 places of worship; by 1894 there were 47,419 temples including 695 major cathedrals. Most of the new temples, however, belonged to the late 19th century variant of Russian Revival that became the official style of Alexander III. The turn in state preferences was signalled in 1881–1882 by two architectural contests for the design of the Church of the Savior on Blood in Saint Petersburg. Both contests were dominated by Neo-Byzantine designs, yet Alexander dismissed them all and eventually awarded the project to Alfred Parland, setting the stylistic preference of the next decade. Highly publicized features of Savior on the Blood – a central tented roof, excessive ornaments in red brickwork and a clear reference to Moscow and Yaroslavl relics of the 17th century – were instantly copied in smaller church buildings.

Nearly all of the 5,000 churches attributed to Alexander III were financed through public donations. 100% state financing was reserved for a few palace churches directly catering to the royal family. The "military" churches built in military and naval bases were co-financed by the state, the officers, and through popular subscription among civilians. For example, the Byzantine church of the 13th infantry regiment in Manglisi (Georgia), designed to accommodate 900 worshipers, cost 32,360 roubles, of which only 10,000 were provided by the state treasury.

Preference for Russian Revival did not mean aversion to Byzantine architecture. Alexander displayed a clear aversion to 18th century baroque and neoclassicism that he despised as symbols of Petrine absolutism; Byzantine architecture was an acceptable "middle road". Byzantine-style architects of the previous reign formed a numerous school with loyal clients, including senior clergy. Paradoxically, the Byzantine school was concentrated in the Institute of Civil Engineers which also provided a department chair to Nikolay Sultanov, informal leader of Russian Revival and an advisor to Alexander III. Sultanov's graduate, Vasily Kosyakov, made himself famous by the Byzantine churches in Saint Petersburg (1888–1898) and Astrakhan (designed in 1888, built in 1895–1904), but was just as successful in Russian Revival projects (Libava Naval Cathedral, 1900–1903). Two schools coexisted in a normal working atmosphere, at least in Saint Petersburg.

Neo-Byzantine architecture of Alexander III's reign dominated in three geographical niches. It was the style of choice for Orthodox clergy and the military governors in Congress Poland and Lithuania (cathedrals in Kaunas, Kielce, Łódź, Vilnius); in the southern regions (Kharkov, Novocherkassk, Rostov-na-Donu, Samara, Saratov and numerous settlements of Cossack Hosts); and in the Urals (Perm to Orenburg); in 1891 the list expanded with Siberian towns along the emerging Trans-Siberian Railway.

St. Michael the Archangel Church in Kaunas was built in Roman-Byzantine style

Western and southern provinces engaged in large Byzantine projects designed by alumni of the Institute of Civil Engineers. Provincial architecture was frequently dominated by a single local architect (Alexander Bernardazzi in Bessarabia, Alexander Yaschenko in southern Russia, Alexander Turchevich in Perm), which explains regional "clusters" of apparently similar churches. Architects usually followed the standard established by Kuzmin and Grimm, or the classical five-dome layout, with some notable exceptions. Kharkov Cathedral (1888–1901) was designed for 4,000 worshipers and equalled in height Ivan the Great Belltower in the Kremlin. The Cathedral of the Kovno fortress (1891–1895, 2,000 worshipers), contrary to Byzantine canon, was adorned by Corinthian columns, giving rise to the "Roman–Byzantine" style.

Alexander's indifference to Byzantine architecture actually increased its appeal to private clients: the style was not reserved for the Church anymore. Elements of Byzantine art (rows of arches, two-tone striped masonry) were a common decoration of brick style factories and apartment buildings. They easily blended with Romanesque or Moorish revival traditions, as in the Tbilisi Opera, designed by Victor Schroeter. Byzantine-Russian eclecticism became the preferred choice for municipal and private almshouses in Moscow. The trend was started by Alexander Ober's church of the Rukavishnikov almshouse (1879) and culminated in the extant Boyev almshouse in Sokolniki (Alexander Ober, 1890s). Moscow clergy, on the contrary, did not commission a single Byzantine church between 1876 (church of Kazan Icon at Kaluga Gates) and 1898 (Epiphany cathedral in Dorogomilovo).

Reign of Nicholas II

Boyev almshouse in Sokolniki, Moscow, completed shortly after the ascension of Nicholas II. The tented roofs of the side towers are borrowed from contemporary Russian Revival toolset.

The personal tastes of the last emperor were mosaic: he promoted 17th-century Russian art in interior design and costume, yet displayed aversion to Russian Revival architecture. Nicholas or his Ministry of the Court did not demonstrate a lasting preference for any style; his last private commission, the Lower dacha in Peterhof, was a Byzantine design following a string of neoclassical revival buildings. State-funded construction was largely decentralised and managed by individual statesmen with their own agendas. For a short period preceding the disastrous Russo-Japanese War, Byzantine style apparently became the choice of state, at least of the Imperial Navy which sponsored high-profile construction projects at metropolitan and overseas bases.

The architecture of the last twenty years of the Russian Empire was marked by a rapid succession of Art Nouveau and neoclassical revival. These styles dominated the private construction market but failed to get a firm niche in official Orthodox Church projects. However, Art Nouveau ideas slowly infiltrated traditional Byzantine architecture. Its influence was obvious in the furnishings of traditional Byzantine churches (Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt). Members of Art Nouveau (Fyodor Schechtel, Sergey Solovyov) and neoclassical (Vladimir Adamovich) schools created their own versions of the Byzantine style – either highly decorative (Schechtel's church in Ivanovo) or, on the contrary, "streamlined" (Solovyov's church in Kuntsevo). Eventually, the "northern" variety of Art Nouveau (Ilya Bondarenko) became the style of the legalized Old Believers.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Novosibirsk

Fragmentation of style in small-scale projects developed in parallel to four very large, conservatively styled Neo-Byzantine cathedrals: the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, cathedrals in Tsaritsyn, Poti (present-day Georgia) and Sofia (Bulgaria). Three of them (Kronstadt, Poti, Sofia) were a clear homage to the Hagia Sophia; their authors apparently dismissed the "golden rule" of single-dome designs established in the previous decades. Exact reasons for this change in style are unknown; in case of the Kronstadt cathedral it can be traced to direct intervention by Admiral Makarov.

Poti cathedral, designed by Alexander Zelenko and Robert Marfeld, was unusual in being the first major church project built in reinforced concrete. It was structurally completed in a single construction season (1906–1907); the whole project took less than two years (November 1905 – July 1907), an absolute record for the period. Kronstadt cathedral, also employing concrete, was structurally complete in four construction seasons (1903–1907) due to delays caused by the Russian Revolution of 1905. Other projects did not fare as well; Dorogomilovo cathedral in Moscow (1898–1910), designed to be the city's second largest, was plagued by money shortages and in the end consecrated in an incomplete, stripped-down form.

Emigration

The Russian branch of Byzantine architecture was terminated by the revolution of 1917 but found an unexpected afterlife in Yugoslavia through the personal support of King Alexander Karadjordjevic. Alexander sponsored Byzantine church projects by emigre architects in Belgrade, Lazarevac, Požega and other towns. Serbia and Montenegro became a new home to over a thousand construction workers and professionals from Russia. Russian immigration to Yugoslavia, estimated at 40–70 thousands, was welcomed by the government as a quick replacement of professionals killed in World War I. Vasily Androsov alone is credited with 50 Byzantine churches built in the interwar period. Russian painters created the interiors of the Monastery of Presentation and the historical Ružica Church.

The Russian diaspora in Harbin produced two interwar Byzantine cathedrals. The larger Cathedral of Annunciation, designed and built by Boris Tustanovsky in 1930–1941, was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. It was notable as one of the few large Russian Orthodox basilicas. A smaller, still extant Church of Protection, a single-dome structure designed in 1905 by Yury Zhdanov, was built in a single season in 1922. It has been Harbin's sole Orthodox place of worship since 1984.

Style defined

The church of the Theotokos Orans (Our Lady of the Sign) in Vilnius (1899–1903) demonstrates typical features of developed Russian-Byzantine architecture: exposed two-tone, striped, masonry; four symmetrical apses tightly fused into the main dome, creating a tall triangular outline; arcades blending into the domes; and a relatively small belltower, clearly subordinate to the main dome.

Details

Byzantine revival architecture, unlike contemporary revival styles, was easily identifiable by a rigid set of decorative tools. Some examples of the style deviated into Caucasian, neoclassical and Romanesque, yet all followed the basic dome and arcade design rule of medieval Constantinople:

• Hemispherical domes. Byzantine churches were always crowned with simple hemispherical domes. Sometimes, as in the Theotokos Orans (Our Lady of the Sign) church in Vilnius, they featured a small curvilinear pointed top at the base of a cross, otherwise the cross was mounted directly at the flattened apex of the dome. Onion domes and tented roofs of vernacular Russian architecture were ruled out; they remained exclusive features of Russian Revival architecture sponsored by Alexander III, and were considerably heavier and more expensive than domes of the same diameter.
• Blending of arches and domes. The most visible feature of Byzantine churches is the absence of a formal cornice between the dome and its support. Instead, the supporting arcade blends directly into dome roof; tin roofing flows smoothly around the arches. Arches were designed for maximum insolation via wide window openings. A few designs (Sevastopol Cathedral, 1862–1888, Livadia church, 1872–1876) also had wooden window shutters with circular cutouts, as used in medieval Byzantium. In the 20th century this pattern was reproduced in stone (Kuntsevo church, 1911), actually reducing insolation.
• Exposed masonry. The Neoclassical canon enforced by Alexander I required masonry surfaces to be finished in flush stucco. Byzantine and Russian revival architects radically departed from this rule; instead, they relied on exposing exterior brickwork. While exposed brickwork dominated the scene, it was not universal; exterior stucco remained in use, especially in the first decade of Alexander II's reign.
• Two-tone, striped masonry. Russian architects borrowed the Byzantine tradition of adorning flat wall surfaces with horizontal striped patterns. Usually, wide bands of dark red base brickwork were interleaved with narrow stripes of yellow of grey brick, slightly set back into the wall. Reverse (dark red stripes over grey background) was rare, usually associated with Georgian variety of churches built in Nicholas II period. The importance of colour pattern increased with building size: it was nearly universal in large cathedrals but unnecessary in small parish churches.

Church plans and proportions

According to 1870s studies by Nikodim Kondakov, the architecture of the Byzantine Empire employed three distinct church layouts:

• The earliest standard of a symmetrical, single-dome cathedral ("Hagia Sophia standard") was set in the 6th century by Justinian I. Traditional Byzantine cathedrals had two pendentives or apses; the Russian standard developed by Kuzmin, Grimm and Kosyakov employed four.
• The "Ravenna standard" of Byzantine Italy employed elongated basilicas. It remained common in Western Europe but was rarely used in Russia.
• The five-domed type emerged in the 9th century and flourished during the Macedonian and Comnenian dynasties. It was the preferred plan for Russian Orthodox churches for centuries.

Large Neo-Byzantine cathedrals erected in Russia followed either the single-dome or the five-dome plan. The single-dome plan was standardized by David Grimm and Vasily Kosyakov, and used throughout the Empire with minimal changes. Five-dome architecture displayed greater variety as architects experimented with proportions and placement of the side domes:

Proportions of five-dome cathedrals
Saint Petersburg, 1908–1915	Tomsk, 1909–1911	Novocherkassk, 1891–1905	Kharkiv, 1888–1901

Smaller churches almost always followed the single-dome plan. In a few cases (as in the Saint George church in Ardon, 1885–1901) very small side domes were mechanically added to a basic single-dome floorplan. Basilica churches emerged in the last decade of the Empire; all examples were small parish churches like the Kutuzov Hut Chapel in Moscow.

Belltower problem

The Neoclassical canon dictated that the belltower should be substantially taller than the main dome. A lean, tall belltower ideally balanced the relatively flat main structure. As early as the 1830s, Konstantin Thon and his followers ran into the "belltower problem": the compact vertical shapes of Thon's Russo-Byzantine cathedrals did not blend well with traditional belltowers. Thon's solution was to remove the belltower altogether, installing bells on a small detached belfry (Cathedral of Christ the Saviour), or integrating the belfry into the main structure (Yelets cathedral). The same problem persisted in Neo-Byzantine designs, at least in the conventional tall structures inspired by Grimm's Tbilisi cathedral. Grimm himself placed the bells in a fully detached, relatively low tower situated far behind the cathedral. However, the clergy clearly preferred integrated belltowers; detached belfries remained uncommon.

Ernest Gibert, author of the Samara cathedral (1867–1894), on the contrary, installed a massive tall belltower right above the main portal. Gibere deliberately placed the belltower unusually close to the main dome, so that at most viewing angles they blended in a single vertical shape. This layout was favored by the clergy but bitterly criticized by contemporary architects like Antony Tomishko (architect of Kresty Prison and its Byzantine church of Alexander Nevsky). It was reproduced in Tashkent (1867–1887), Łódź (1881–1884), Valaam Monastery (1887–1896), Kharkov (1888–1901), Saratov (1899) and other towns and monasteries. Most of the Byzantine buildings, however, followed the middle road: the belltower was also set above the portal, but it was relatively low (on par with side domes or apses or even lower), and spaced aside from the main dome (Riga cathedral, (1876–1884), Novocherkassk cathedral (1891–1904) and others).

Legacy

Destruction

Byzantine architecture, like Russian Revival, had the least chance to survive the anti-religious campaign of the 1920s. Destruction peaked in 1930, targeting large downtown cathedrals with no apparent logic: Kharkov cathedral of Saint Nicholas was demolished "to streamline tram lines", while the larger cathedral of Annunciation remained standing. Most of remaining churches were closed, converted to warehouses, cinemas or offices, and left to rot without proper maintenance. Nevertheless, majority of Byzantine churches survived past the fall of the Soviet Union. The table below, including all major Byzantine cathedrals and large parish churches, summarized current (2008) state of destruction and preservation:

Table: Neo-Byzantine cathedrals of the Russian Empire

Location Country (2007 borders) Building name Other wiki Architect Construction began Construction completed Fate Notes Ardon, North Ossetia–Alania Russia Church of Saint George .. .. 1885 1901 Extant Astrakhan Russia Church of Saint Vladimir commons Vasily Kosyakov 1895 1902 Extant Bakhchisaray Ukraine Church of Saint Innocenty of Irkutsk .. .. .. 1896 Damaged by earthquake in 1927, demolished in the 1930s Białowieża Poland Church of Saint Nicholas :pl, commons Friedrich Przhezslavsky 1895 1897 Extant Birsk Russia Church of Three Saints of Kazan .. .. 1895 1899 Extant; renamed Church of Saint Nicholas Căpriana monastery Moldova Cathedral of Saint George commons Attr.to Alexander Bernardazzi .. 1903 Extant Chersonesos Ukraine Church of Saint Vladimir (Chersonesus Cathedral) :de David Grimm 1861 1879 Extant Chişinău Moldova Church of Saint Panteleimon .. Alexander Bernardazzi 1889 1891 Extant Chita Russia Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. 1899 1909 Demolished in 1936-1937 Feodosiya Ukraine Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. .. 1871 Demolished Feodosiya Ukraine Church of Kazan Icon in Teplovsky Monastery .. Keil .. 1907 Extant Fergana Uzbekistan Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Sakovich 1891 1899 Demolished in 1936 Ganja Azerbaijan Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. .. 1887 Extant Gelendzhik Russia Church of Ascension .. Vasilyev 1905 1909 Extant Hlukhiv Ukraine Church of Saint Anastasios .. Andrey Huhn 1884 1893 Extant Gurzuf Ukraine Church of Dormition .. attr. to Dmitry Chichagov 1887 1891 Demolished Irkutsk Russia Cathedral of Kazan Icon .. Heinrich Rosen 1875 1892 Demolished in the 1930s Irkutsk Russia "City" Church of Kazan Icon commons Unknown 1885 1892 Extant; Byzantine domes were rebuilt into tented roofs Irkutsk Russia Church of Annunciation .. .. 1888 1891 Demolished in the 1920s Ivanovo Russia Church of the Saviour commons Fyodor Schechtel 1898 1903 Demolished in 1937 Kalisz Poland "Russian" church .. .. .. 1876 Demolished Kamianets-Podilskyi Ukraine Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. 1891 1898 Demolished in 1932; replica built in 2000 Kars Turkey "Military" Cathedral .. .. .. .. Demolished Kaunas Lithuania Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul in Kovno fortress .. K. H. Limarenko 1891 1895 Extant, converted to Roman Catholic church Kharkiv Ukraine Church of Saint Nicholas :ru Vladimir Nemkin 1887 1896 Demolished in 1930 Kharkiv Ukraine Cathedral of Annunciation :ru Mikhail Lovtsov 1888 1901 Extant Kharkiv Ukraine Church of Kazan Icon .. Vladimir Nemkin 1904 1912 Extant, never closed Kharkiv Ukraine Church of the Ozerian Icon on the Cold Hill :ru Vladimir Nemkin 1892 1901 Extant Kherson Oblast Ukraine Trinity Cathedral of Annunciation Convent .. .. 1900 1909 Demolished Khotkovo Convent Russia Cathedral of Saint Nicholas commons Alexander Latkov 1899 1904 Extant Kielce Poland Church of Saint Nicholas ("Garrison Church") :pl, commons Stanisław Szpakowsky 1902 1904 Extant, converted to Roman Catholic church Kotly, Leningrad Oblast Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. Nikolay Nikonov 1882 1910 Extant Kislovodsk Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. .. .. 1888 Demolished; eponymous cathedral built in 1993-2006 in different style Kolomna Russia Church of Holy Trinity .. Max Hoeppener 1892 1907 Extant, heavily damaged Krasnodar Russia Cathedral of Saint Catherine .. Ivan Malgerb 1898 1914 Extant Krasnodar Russia Church of Resurrection .. .. 1887 1892 Demolished in the 1930s Kronstadt Russia Cathedral of Saint Nicholas (Naval Cathedral) :ru, commons Vasily Kosyakov 1901 1913 Extant Kronstadt Russia Church of Saint Nicholas (Hospital Church) .. Vasily Kosyakov .. 1905 Extant Kultaevo, Perm Krai Russia Church of Saint John the Baptist .. .. 1911 1917 Extant Kyiv Ukraine Cathedral of Saint Vladimir .. Various architects 1862 1897 Extant Kyiv Ukraine Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. .. 1888 Demolished in 1939 Kyiv Ukraine Church of Annunciation commons .. .. .. Demolished in the 1930s Kyiv Ukraine Church of Presentation commons .. .. .. Demolished in the 1930s Livadia Ukraine Church of the Cross of our Lord in Livadia Palace commons Ippolit Monighetti Nikolay Krasnov 1862 1866 Extant Livadia Ukraine Church of Ascension .. Alphonse Vincennes 1872 1876 Destroyed by earthquake in 1927 Łódź Poland Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky :pl Karl Maevsky 1880 1884 Extant Luga, Leningrad Oblast Russia Church of Kazan Icon .. Nikolay Kudtyavtsev 1901 1904 Extant Lviv Ukraine Church of Saint George :ru Vincent Ravsky 1897 1901 Extant Lysva Russia Church of Holy Trinity .. Alexander Turchevich 1891 1898 Demolished in 1930 Maloyaroslavets Russia Cathedral of the Dormition of Theotokos in Saint Tikhon Monastery .. Boleslav Savitsky 1894 1905 Extant Maloyaroslavets Russia Cathedral of Transfiguration of our Saviour in Saint Tikhon Monastery .. Boleslav Savitsky 1894 1897 Extant Manglisi Georgia Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul ("Military Church") .. .. .. 1897 Demolished Moscow Russia Church of Kazan Icon by Kaluga Gates commons Nikolay Nikitin 1876 1886 Demolished Moscow Russia Church of Saint John Chrysostom in Donskoy Monastery .. Alexander Vincennes 1888 1891 Extant Moscow Russia Church of Theotokos Orans in Aksinyino commons Alexander Weydenbaum 1883 1900 Extant Moscow Russia Church of Saint Demetrios in Devichye Pole commons Konstantin Bykovsky 1886 1895 Extant Moscow Russia Cathedral of the Epiphany in Dorogomilovo .. Vasily Sretensky 1898 1910 Demolished Moscow Russia Church of Theotokos of Vatopedi .. Vladimir Adamovich 1908 1909 Extant Moscow Russia Church of Theotokos Orans in Kuntsevo commons Sergey Solovyov 1911 1913 Extant Moscow Russia Church of Archangel Michael by Kutuzov's Hut commons Mikhail Litvinov 1911 1912 Extant Moscow Russia Church of Saint George in Georgian Sloboda commons Vasily Sretensky 1879 1899 Externally extant, converted to college classes inside Moscow Russia Church of Protection of Theotokos (Old Believers) commons Vladimir Desyatov 1908 1910 Extant Mykolaiv Ukraine Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky of the Naval Hospital .. .. .. 1886 Heavily damaged, under reconstruction Narva Estonia Church of Resurrection commons Pavel Alish 1890 1896 Extant New Athos monastery Georgia (Abkhazia) Monastery of Saint Simon Cannaanite .. Nikolay Nikonov 1888 1900 Extant Nikolaevka, Birsk District, Bashkortostan Russia Church of Archangel Michael .. .. 1907 1917 Abandoned, slowly decaying as at November 2006 Nizhny Novgorod Russia Cathedral of Transfiguration of our Saviour .. Pavel Malinovsky 1900 1904 Extant Nizhnyaya Salda Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Segey Kozlov .. 1905 Extant, under reconstruction Noul Neamţ Monastery Moldova Winter church .. .. 1902 1905 Extant Novocherkassk Russia Cathedral of Ascension ("Military Cathedral") commons Alexander Yaschenko 1891 1905 Extant Novocherkassk Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. N. E. Anokhin 1888 1903 Extant Novoosetinovskaya, North Ossetia–Alania Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. Alexander Bogdanov 1911 1918 Extant, under reconstruction Novosibirsk Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky commons N. Solovyov 1896 1899 Extant Oboyan, Kursk Oblast Russia Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Vladimir Slesarev .. 1907 Extant Odessa Ukraine Church of Prophet Elijah in eponymous monastery .. .. .. 1886 Extant Odessa Ukraine Church of the Icon of Our Lady Feeding Milk .. .. .. 1896 Demolished Orenburg Russia Cathedral of Kazan Icon .. Alexander Yaschenko 1886 1895 Demolished in 1932-1936 Ostroh Ukraine Church of the Epiphany (rebuild of a medieval church) .. .. 1887 1891 Extant Plastunovskaya, Krasnodar Krai Russia Church of Ascension .. .. 1870 1899 Extant Polotsk Belarus Cathedral of Saint Euphrosyne monastery commons Vladimir Korshikov 1893 1899 Extant Ponyri Vtorye, Kursk Oblast Russia Church of Holy Trinity .. Nikolay Grushetsky 1903 1910 Extant Poti Georgia Poti Cathedral .. Alexander Zelenko, Robert Marfeld 1905 1907 Demolished Prokhladnaya, Kabardino-Balkaria Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. Vladimir Grosmann Mikhail Surmievich 1882 1886 Extant Riga Latvia Cathedral of Nativity of Christ .. Robert Pflug 1875 1884 Extant Rostov-na-Donu Russia Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Alexander Yaschenko 1891 1908 Demolished in the 1920s Rostov-na-Donu (Nor Nakhichevan) Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Alexander Pomerantsev .. 1898 Demolished in 1937 Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Demetrios of Thessaloniki in Greek Square .. Roman Kuzmin 1861 1866 Received direct bomb hit in World War II, demolished in 1959 Saint Petersburg Russia Church in memoria of grand duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna at the Model Orphanage .. Fyodor Kharlamov 1867 1876 Demolished in 1938 Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Saviour (Shuvalovskoe Cemetery) .. Konstantin Kuzmin 1876 1880 Extant Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Blessed Andrew in Timenkov Almshouse .. Karl Wehrheim 1871 1877 Demolished Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Kazan Icon in Yeliseev Almshouse .. Karl Wehrheim, Ferdinand Miller 1881 1885 Demolished in 1929 Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Our Lady the Merciful :ru, commons Vasily Kosyakov 1888 1898 Extant, operated by the Navy, poor condition Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Kresty Prison .. Antony Tomishko 1889 1890 Extant Saint Petersburg Russia Convent of Saint John by Karpovka River :ru Nikolay Nikonov 1899 1911 Extant. Official residence of the Patriarch in Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Dormition and Saint Basil .. Nikolay Nikonov 1905 1908 Demolished in 1932-1933 Saint Petersburg Russia Church of Kazan Icon (Novodevichy Convent) :ru Vasily Kosyakov 1908 1915 Extant Samara Russia Church of Smolensk Icon .. .. .. .. Demolished Samara Russia Cathedral of Resurrection of our Saviour .. Ernest Gibere 1886 1894 Demolished in 1930 Samara Russia Church of Saint Nicholas in Saint Nicholas Monastery .. .. .. .. Demolished in 1930 Saratov Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. .. 1901 1904 Demolished Saratov Russia Church in the Convent of the Cross .. Yury Terlikov 1899 1904 Demolished Serpovoye, Tambov Oblast Russia Church of Resurrection .. Unknown 1900 1909 Extant Sevastopol Ukraine Cathedral of Saint Vladimir :ru, :es Aleksei Avdeyev 1873 1888 Extant Sevastopol Ukraine Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. .. .. 1896 Demolished Stary Oskol, Kursk Oblast Russia Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky commons .. 1900 1903 Extant, Cathedral of Belgorod Diocese since 1995 Strelna Russia Church of Resurrection of our Saviour in Trinity-Sergiev Pustyn .. Alfred Parland, Ignaty Malyshev 1872 1874 Demolished in the 1960s Strelna Russia Church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh in Trinity-Sergiev Pustyn .. Alexey Gornostaev 1854 1859 Demolished in the 1960s Struzhany, Ryazan Oblast Russia Church of Dormition .. .. .. 1909 Extant Sunzha, North Ossetia–Alania Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. .. 1866 1876 Demolished in the 1930s Svencionys Lithuania Church of Lifegiving Trinity .. .. .. 1898 Extant Szlachtowa, Ruś Szlachtowska Poland Church of the Intercession commons .. .. .. Extant Tashkent Uzbekistan Cathedral of Transfiguration of our Saviour :ru Ludwig Urlaub 1871 1882 Demolished in the 1930s Tbilisi Georgia Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky commons David Grimm 1871 1897 Demolished in 1930 Tomsk Russia Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul commons August Lange 1909 1911 Extant Valaam Monastery Russia Church of Transfiguration of our Saviour commons Alexey Silin, Grigory Karpov 1887 1896 Extant Valuyky Monastery, Kursk Oblast Russia Church of Saint Nicholas in Valuyki Monastery .. .. .. 1913 Demolished Verkhoturye Russia Church of the Cross in Saint Nicholas Monastery .. Alexander Turchevich 1905 1913 Extant Vilnius Lithuania Church of Archangel Michael .. .. 1893 1895 Extant Vilnius Lithuania Church of Theotokos Orans (Our Lady of the Sign Church) .. .. 1899 1903 Extant Vilnius Lithuania Church of Saint Paraskeva :ru Martzinovsky .. 1864 Extant Vilnius Lithuania Church of Saint Nicholas in Lukishki prison commons .. .. 1899 Extant Visim, Perm Krai Russia Church of Saint Anatoly and Saint Nicholas .. .. 1889 1895 Extant, heavily damaged Volgograd Russia Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Alexander Yaschenko 1901 1918 Demolished in 1932 Voznesenka, Bashkortostan Russia Church of Ascension .. .. .. 1910 Extant Yekaterinburg Russia Church of All Saints in New Tikhvin Convent :ru, commons .. 1900 1902 Extant Yermashevo, Republic of Bashkortostan Russia Church of Kazan Icon .. .. .. 1904 Extant Yelovo, Perm Krai Russia Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul .. .. .. 1891 Extant Yershovka, Perm Krai Russia Church of Saint Nicholas .. Alexander Turchevich 1899 1908 Extant Yevpatoria Ukraine Cathedral of Saint Nicholas commons Alexander Bernardazzi 1897 1899 Extant Yevpatoria Ukraine Greek Church of Prophet Elijah commons attr. to A.A.Heinrich 1911 1918 Extant, converted to Russian Orthodoxy Włocławek Poland Church of Saint Nicholas .. .. 1902 1905 ..

Table: Neo-Byzantine cathedrals and churches built by Russian Empire overseas

Location Country (2007 borders) Building name Other wiki Architect Construction began Construction completed Fate Notes Biarritz France Church of Nativity of Theotokos commons Nikolay Nikonov 1888 1892 Extant Jerusalem Israel Cathedral of Holy Trinity (Russian Compound) :image .. .. .. Extant Jerusalem Israel Church of Resurrection (Russian Compound) .. .. .. .. Extant Jerusalem Israel Church of Kazan Icon (Russian Compound) .. .. .. .. Extant Harbin China Cathedral of Annunciation commons Boris Tustanovsky 1930 1941 Demolished in 1966 Harbin China Church of Protection of Theotokos .. Yury Zhdanov 1922 1922 / 1930 Designed in 1905. Extant. Operates as the only Orthodox church in Harbin since 1984 Bad Kissingen Germany Church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh .. Victor Shroeter 1898 1901 .. Nice France Chapel in memoria of the late Nicholas Alexandrovich .. David Grimm 1866 1868 Extant Sofia Bulgaria Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky .. Alexander Pomerantsev 1904 1912 Extant Varna Bulgaria Cathedral of Dormition of Theotokos commons Ivan Maas 1880 1886 Extant, seat of Bishop of Varna and Preslav

Revival of 1990s–2000s

Contemporary imitation of Byzantine style in concrete, Saint Petersburg, 1998–2008

The Byzantine style remains uncommon in contemporary Russian architecture. There have been projects attempting to imitate the outline and composition of typical Neo-Byzantine cathedrals in reinforced concrete, omitting the elaborate brickwork of historical prototypes (e.g. Church of Presentation of Jesus in Saint Petersburg).

Restoration of historical churches so far has a mixed record of success. There is at least one example of a Byzantine design ("City" church of Kazan Icon in Irkutsk) "restored" to imitate Russian Revival by adding tented roofs. While major cathedrals have been restored, churches in depopulated rural settlements or in the military bases (i.e. church of Our Lady the Merciful in Saint Petersburg) remain in dilapidated conditions.

See also

• Bristol Byzantine – a regional English variant

References

• (in Russian) Savelyev, Yu. R. Vizantiysky stil v architecture Rossii (Савельев, Ю. Р. Византийский стиль в архитектуре России. - СПБ., 2005) Saint Petersburg, 2005. ISBN 5-87417-207-6
• (in Russian) Savelyev, Yu. R. Iskusstvo istorizma i gosudarstvernny zakaz (Савельев, Ю. Р. Искуство историзма и государственный заказ. - М., 2008) Moscow, 2008. ISBN 978-5-903060-60-3
• (in Russian) Kaminsky, A. S. (editor) Khudozhestvenny sbornik russkih arhitektorov i inzhenerov (Художественный сборник русских архитекторов и инженеров), 1890–1893, electronic reissue by Russian Public History Library (Moscow), 2002–2004
• (in Russian) Naschokina, M. V. Architektory moskovskogo moderna. (Нащокина М. В. Архитекторы московского модерна. – М.: Жираф, 2005) Moscow, 2005. ISBN 5-89832-043-1
• (in English) Richard S. Wortman. Scenarios of Power. Princeton University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-691-02947-4

External links

• Russian Neo-Byzantine Architecture