St Basil’s an icon of Russia

One of the world’s most recognizable buildings sits in the very heart of Moscow. Do you know what it is? St. Basil’s Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his victory over the Kazan Khanate, and is veiled in enigma. There’s an old legend that Ivan blinded the architects so they could never again build anything so beautiful, others say its dazzling domes were brought from Kazan. With architectural echoes of Gothic churches and even the Taj Mahal, its officially name is ‘the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat’ but it’s much more widely known as St. Basil’s in honor of Basil the Blessed. This revered holy figure, who it’s said performed miracles, even scared the fearless Ivan. What other secrets lie within its walls?