St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, also known as the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God or the Pokrovsky Cathedral, adorns the Red Square of Russia's capital. Until the 17th century, the Intercession Church was often called the Trinity Church, after the wooden church that stood on this site earlier. Intercession Cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the victory over the Kazan Khanate after the capture of Kazan, which happened on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. In 1588, a church was added to the northeastern part of the cathedral over the grave of St. Basil the Blessed, a well-known Moscow holy fool who, after his death, was canonized. The cathedral consists of 9 temples, a chapel of St. Basil the Blessed and a bell tower, in total it has 11 domes.
In 1918, the Intercession Cathedral was taken under state protection as a monument of national and world significance. In 1923, in the status of a historical and architectural museum, it was opened to the public. Currently, the Intercession Cathedral is used jointly by the Russian Orthodox Church and the State Historical Museum.