Russian architecture has its roots in the Eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus' and has been influenced by Byzantine architecture. Major developments include the rise of tent-roofed churches in the 16th century and the introduction of Baroque and Neoclassical styles during the rule of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union saw the rise of Constructivist and Stalinist architecture before more modern international styles emerged in post-Soviet Russia. Russian art has been led by realist painters like Vasily Perov and Ilya Repin as well as history painters like Vasily Surikov. Important Impressionist and Expressionist artists include Valentin Serov and Alexei von Jaw

1. RUSSIA
By: Josefino Tulabing Larena AB, CPS,
CPE ,MPA
Humanities 101

2. ARCHITECTURE

3. Russian architecture
• Russian architecture follows a tradition whose
roots were established in the Eastern Slavic
state of Kievan Rus'. After the fall of Kiev,
Russian architectural history continued in the
principalities of Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod,
the succeeding states of the Tsardom of
Russia, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union,
and the modern Russian Federation.

4. Kievan Rus' (988–1230)
• The medieval state of Kievan Rus' was the predecessor of Russia, Belarus and
Ukraine and their respective cultures (including architecture). The great churches
of Kievan Rus', built after the adoption of Christianity in 988, were the first
examples of monumental architecture in the East Slavic region. The architectural
style of the Kievan state, which quickly established itself, was strongly influenced
by Byzantine architecture. Early Eastern Orthodox churches were mainly built
from wood, with their simplest form known as a cell church. Major cathedrals
often featured many small domes, which has led some art historians to infer how
the pagan Slavic temples may have appeared.

5. Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod
• The Cathedral of St.
Sophia (the Holy
Wisdom of God) in
Veliky Novgorod is
the cathedral church
of the Archbishop of
Novgorod and the
mother church of the
Novgorodian
Eparchy.

6. Early Muscovite period (1230–1530)
• The Mongols looted the country so thoroughly that even capitals
(such as Moscow or Tver) could not afford new stone churches for
more than half a century. Novgorod and Pskov escaped the Mongol
yoke, however, and evolved into successful commercial republics;
dozens of medieval churches (from the 12th century and after) have
been preserved in these towns. The churches of Novgorod (such as
the Saviour-on-Ilyina-Street, built in 1374), are steep-roofed and
roughly carved; some contain magnificent medieval frescoes. The
tiny and picturesque churches of Pskov feature many novel
elements: corbel arches, church porches, exterior galleries and bell
towers. All these features were introduced by Pskov masons to
Muscovy, where they constructed numerous buildings during the
15th century (including the Deposition Church of the Moscow
Kremlin (1462) and the Holy Spirit Church of the Holy Trinity Lavra,
built in 1476).

7. Andronikov Monastery
• Andronikov Monastery of the
Saviour (Russian:
Андро́ников монасты́ рь,
Спа́со-Андро́ников
монасты́ рь, or Андро́ников
Нерукотво́рного Спа́са
монасты́ рь) is a former
monastery on the left bank of
the Yauza River in Moscow,
consecrated to the Holy Image
of Saviour Not Made by Hands
and containing the oldest
extant (i.e. outside the
Kremlin) building in Moscow. It
is home to Andrei Rublev
Museum of Old Russian Art,
named after the most famous
monk of this abbey.

8. Middle Muscovite period (1530–1630)
• In the 16th century, the key development was the introduction of the tented roof
in brick architecture. Tent-like roof construction is thought to have originated in
northern Russia, since it prevented snow from piling up on wooden buildings
during long winters. In wooden churches (even modern ones), this type of roof has
been very popular. The first tent-like brick church is the Ascension church in
Kolomenskoe (1531), designed to commemorate the birth of Ivan the Terrible. Its
design gives rise to speculation; it is likely that this style (never found in other
Orthodox countries) symbolized the ambition of the nascent Russian state and the
liberation of Russian art from Byzantine canons after Constantinople's fall to the
Turks.
• Tented churches were popular during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Two prime
examples dating from his reign employ several tents of exotic shapes and colors,
arranged in an intricate design: the Church of St John the Baptist in Kolomenskoye
(1547) and Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square (1561). The latter church unites
nine tented roofs in a striking circular composition.

9. Late Muscovite period (1630–1712)
• After the Time of Troubles the church and state were bankrupt,
unable to finance any construction works; an initiative was taken by
rich merchants in Yaroslavl, on the Volga. During the 17th century,
they built many large cathedral-type churches with five onion-like
cupolas, surrounding them with tents of bell towers and aisles. At
first the churches' composition was sharply asymmetrical, with
different parts balancing each other on the "scale-beam" principle
(e.g., the Church of Elijah the Prophet, 1647–50). Subsequently the
Yaroslavl churches were strictly symmetrical, with cupolas taller
than the building itself, and amply decorated with polychrome tiles
(e.g., the Church of John the Chrysostom on the Volga, 1649–54). A
zenith of Volga architecture was reached in the Church of St John
the Baptist (built 1671-87)—the largest in Yaroslavl, with 15 cupolas
and more than 500 frescoes. The brick exterior of the church, from
the cupolas down to the tall porches, was elaborately carved and
decorated with tiles.

10. Imperial Russia (1712–1917)
• In 1712, Peter I of Russia moved the capital from
Moscow to St Petersburg, which he planned to design
in the Dutch style usually called Petrine baroque. Its
major monuments include the Peter and Paul
Cathedral and Menshikov Palace. During the reign of
Empress Anna and Elizaveta Petrovna, Russian
architecture was dominated by the luxurious baroque
style of Bartolomeo Rastrelli; Rastrelli's signature
buildings include the Winter Palace, the Catherine
Palace and the Smolny Cathedral. Other distinctive
monuments of the Elizabethan Baroque are the bell
tower of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra and the Red Gate.

11. Post-Revolution (1917–1932)
• In the first year of Soviet rule all architects refusing to emigrate
(and the new generation) denounced any classical heritage in
their work and began to propagate formalism, the most influential
of all Revivalist themes. Great plans were drawn for large,
technically advanced cities. The most ambitious of all was the
Tower of the Third Internationale, planned in 1919 by Vladimir
Tatlin (1885–1953)—а 400-meter spiral, wound around a tilted
central axis with rotating glass chambers. Impossible in real life,
the Tatlin Tower inspired a generation of constructivist architects
in Russia and abroad. The Shukhov Tower, rising 160 metres (520
ft) above Moscow, was completed in 1922. According to the initial
plans the Hyperboloid Tower by Vladimir Shukhov (with a height
of 350 metres (1,150 ft) had an estimated mass of 2,200 tonnes
(2,200,000 kg), while the Eiffel Tower in Paris (with a height of 350
metres (1,150 ft)) weighs 7,300 tonnes (7,300,000 kg).

12. Lenin's Mausoleum
• Lenin's Mausoleum (Russian:
Мавзоле́й Ле́нина, tr. Mavzoléy
Lénina; IPA: [məvzɐˈlʲej ˈlʲenʲɪnə])
also known as Lenin's Tomb,
situated in Red Square in the
center of Moscow, is the
mausoleum that serves as the
current resting place of Vladimir
Lenin. His embalmed body has
been on public display there since
shortly after his death in 1924
(with rare exceptions in wartime).
Aleksey Shchusev's diminutive but
monumental granite structure
incorporates some elements from
ancient mausoleums, such as the
Step Pyramid and the Tomb of
Cyrus the Great.

13. Postwar Soviet Union
• Stalinist architecture put a premium on conservative monumentalism.
During the 1930s there was rapid urbanisation as a result of Stalin's
policies, and there was an international competition to build the
Palace of the Soviets in Moscow at that time. After 1945, the focus was
on both rebuilding structures destroyed in World War II and erecting
new ones: seven high-rise buildings were built at symbolic points in
the Moscow area. The construction of Moscow University (1948–
1953), by Lev Rudnev and associates, is particularly notable for its use
of space. Another example is the Exhibition Centre in Moscow, built
for the second All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) in 1954. This
featured a series of pavilions, each decorated in representative style.
Other well-known examples are the stations of the Moscow and Saint
Petersburg Metros built during the 1940s and 1950s, famous for their
extravagant design and vivid decoration. In general, Stalinist
architecture changed the appearance of many post-war cities; much
survives to this day in central avenues and public buildings.

14. Stalinist architecture
• Stalinist architecture (Russian: ста́линский ампи́р –
Stalin's Empire style or Russian: ста́линский
неоренесса́нс – Stalin's Neo-renaissance), also
referred to as Stalinist Empire style, or Socialist
Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the
Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin,
between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace
of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955,
when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of
the past decades and disbanded the Soviet
Academy of Architecture. Stalinist architecture is
associated with the socialist realism school of art
and architecture.

15. Modern Russia
• As the Soviet Union fell apart many of
its projects were put on hold, and
some cancelled altogether. However,
for the first time there was no longer
any control over what theme a
building should have or how high it
should be. As a result, with generally
improving financial conditions
architecture grew at a high rate. For
the first time modern methods of
skyscraper construction were
implemented; this resulted in an
ambitious business centre in Moscow,
Moscow City. In other cases, architects
returned to successful designs of
Stalinist architecture, which resulted in
buildings like the Triumph Palace in
Moscow.

16. Triumph Palace
• Triumph Palace (Russian: Триу́мф-
Пала́с, transliterated as Triumf Palas)
is the tallest apartment building in
Moscow and all of Europe. It is
sometimes called the Eighth
Sister[citation needed] because it is
similar in appearance to the Seven
Sisters skyscrapers built in Moscow by
Joseph Stalin through the 1950s.
Construction began in 2001.
• The 57-storey building, containing
about 1,000 luxury
apartments[citation needed], was
topped out on 20 December 2003,
making it Europe's[1] and Russia's
tallest skyscraper at 264.1 metres (866
ft) until the inauguration in 2007 of
Moscow's 268 metre Naberezhnaya
Tower block C.

17. VISUAL ART

18. Vasily Perov (1833-82)
• One of the most important Russian artists to follow the
socially sympathetic but non-political generation of
subject/genre painters such as Alexei Venetsianov (1780-
1847) and Mikhail Shibanov (1749–1790), Vasily Perov
pioneered the new style of critical realism in Russian art
which was later greatly advanced by the likes of Ilya Repin
(1844-1930), Konstantin Savitsky (1844-1905), Nikolai
Kasatkin (1859-1930) and Sergei Ivanov (1864-1910). A
founding member of the Wanderers (Itinerants) artist
group, Perov painted a number of famous genre paintings
(all purchased by Pavel Tretyakov for the Tretyakov Gallery,
Moscow) including: Easter Procession in the Country
(1861), The Last Farewell (1865), The Drowned Girl (1867),
and Hunters at Rest (1871). But Perov was by no means
restricted to genre painting. He also produced outstanding
landscapes such as The Last Tavern at the Town Gate
(1868, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow); works of portraiture
such as Portrait of the Playwright Alexander Ostrovsky
(1871 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), Portrait of the Author
Ivan Turgenev (1872 Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), and
Portrait of the Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1872 Tretyakov
Gallery, Moscow); and history paintings like The
Condemnation of Pugachev (1879, The History Museum,
Moscow). Lastly, he was an excellent teacher at the
Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture, whose pupils
included Isaac Levitan (1860-1900) and Abram Arkhipov
(1862-1930).

19. Vasily Surikov (1848-1916)
• The Siberian Cossack painter Vasily Surikov, along with Ilya Repin
(1844-1930) is one of the greatest ever Russian artists to explore
the genre of history painting. Based in Moscow, he travelled to
Northern and Southern Russia, as well as to Italy, Germany,
France and Spain. He was a member of the progressive artist
group known as The Association of Travelling Art Exhibitions (aka
The Wanderers, or Itinerants) and was frequently represented in
their exhibitions. While Surikov's main contribution to Russian art
is his series of large-scale historical canvases, he also painted
landscapes, portraits, and watercolours. Patronized by several art
collectors including Pavel Tretyakov (1832-98), and Savva
Mamontov (1841-1918), his greatest masterpieces include
narrative works, like The Morning of the Execution of the Streltsy
(1878-81, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), Menshikov at Beriozov
(1883, Tretyakov) and The Boyarina Morozova (1887, Tretyakov);
portraiture, like Portrait of Unknown Girl Against a Yellow
Background (1911, Russian Museum, St Petersburg) and Man with
an Injured Arm (1913, Russian Museum); landscapes, like
Zubovsky Boulevard in Winter (Tretyakov), and genre works like
The Taking of the Snow Fortress (1891, Russian Museum, St
Petersburg).

20. Valentin Serov (1865-1911)
• One of the last great Russian exponents of
portrait art before the Bolshevik revolution,
Valentin Serov ranks among the great modern
artists of the late 19th century. Born into a
privileged, though enlightened family, and
schooled by some of Russia's best portrait
artists, his contribution to Russian art - in
particular his pioneer exploration of
Impressionism - was immense. Among the
best known masterpieces of his relatively
short life are: Girl with Peaches (1887),
Portrait of Isaac Levitan (1893), and Portrait
of Maria Yermolova (1905), all in the
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; In Summer (1895,
Russian Museum, St Petersburg), and his
chilly landscape Colts at a Watering Place,
Domotkanovo (1904, Tretyakov). He remains
one of the great Russian artists of the pre-
Revolutionary period.

21. Alexei von Jawlensky (1864-1941)
• One of the best portrait artists of the Expressionism school,
and ranked among the great modern artists from Russia,
Alexei von Jawlensky, was classically trained at the Academy
of Fine Arts in St Petersburg, under Ilya Repin (1844-1930).
Jawlensky however was not destined to develop into a
traditional artist, and instead became one of Europe's leading
Expressionist painters. In 1896 he moved to Germany and
became a founding member of the New Munich Artist's
Association. Later he became one of the five core artists in
Der Blaue Reiter - one of the most influential groups involved
in German Expressionism. Known as the "Russian Matisse",
Jawlensky vivid colourism and passionate brushstrokes were
key features of his art. Early influences came from Henri
Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky and Van Gogh. Jawlensky is best
known for his portrait art, notably his sequences of Heads,
including Mystical Heads (1917-19); Saviour's Faces (1918-20)
and later a group of abstract/ constructivist Heads. His best
known expressionist paintings include Landscape Murnau
(1909, Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf), Portrait of the
Dancer Alexander Sakharov (1909, Lenbachhaus, Munich),
Head (1910, Museum of Modern Art, New York); Head of a
Woman (1911, Gallery of Modern Art, Scotland), Abstract
Head (1928, private collection), and Schokko (1910, private
collection). Jawlensky's expressionism is instantly
recognizable and, along with that of Modigliani, ranks among
the most sought after work from the early 20th century.

22. Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)
• Arguably the most innovative and versatile figure in
Russian art of the late 19th century, and one of the
best modern artists in Europe, the painter and
designer Mikhail Vrubel is regarded as the finest
exponent of Symbolism in his country. Known for his
portraiture, as well as his symbolic expressionist
paintings, his fragmented brushwork calls to mind the
jigsaw patterns of medieval mosaic art. One of the
leading Russian artists involved in the Art Nouveau
decorative movement, he became increasingly
absorbed in his pictorial representation of Mikhail
Lermontov's poem "The Demon", an activity that sadly
paralleled his increasing ill-health and descent into
insanity. Despite this, Vrubel's reputation was assured
by the time of his death, and although scholars remain
divided as to whether he was closer to late Byzantine
art or Art Nouveau, his influence on other early 20th
century Russian artists should not be underestimated.
His most famous works include The Seated Demon
(1890, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), Portrait of
Konstantin Artsybushev (1897, Tretyakov Gallery,
Moscow), and Girl against a Persian Carpet (1886,
Museum of Russian Art, Kiev, Ukraine). Vrubel was also
a highly talented sculptor.

23. Saint Basil's Cathedral
• The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed
(Russian: Собор Василия Блаженного),
commonly known as Saint Basil's
Cathedral, is a church in Red Square in
Moscow, Russia. The building, now a
museum, is officially known as the
Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most
Holy Theotokos on the Moat (Russian:
Собор Покрова пресвятой Богородицы,
что на Рву) or Pokrovsky Cathedral
(Russian: Покровский собор).[5] It was
built from 1555–61 on orders from Ivan
the Terrible and commemorates the
capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. A world
famous landmark[6][7] it was the city's
tallest building until the completion of the
Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.[8]

24. MUSIC

25. The Five
• The Five, also known as "The Mighty Handful", a circle of influential
Russian musical nationalists, during the Romantic period in music:
1. Mily Balakirev (1837–1910)
2. Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), perhaps best known for
Polovtsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor
3. César Cui (1835–1918)
4. Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881), perhaps best known for
Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain
5. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), perhaps best known

26. Mily Balakirev
• Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (Russian:
Ми́лий Алексе́евич Бала́кирев, IPA:
[ˈmʲilʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲeɪvʲɪtɕ bɐˈlakʲɪrʲɪf]; 2 January
1837 [O.S. 21 December 1836] – 29 May
[O.S. 16 May] 1910) was a Russian pianist,
conductor and composer known today
primarily for his work promoting musical
nationalism and his encouragement of
more famous Russian composers, notably
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his
career as a pivotal figure, extending the
fusion of traditional folk music and
experimental classical music practices
begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. In the
process, Balakirev developed musical
patterns that could express overt
nationalistic feeling. After a nervous
breakdown and consequential sabbatical,
he returned to classical music but did not
wield the same level of influence as
before.

27. Alexander Borodin
• Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (Russian:
Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич Бороди́н; IPA:
[ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲirʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin] (
listen), 12 November 1833 – 27 February
1887)[1] was a Russian Romantic
composer, doctor and chemist. He was a
member of the group of composers
called The Five (or "The Mighty
Handful"), who were dedicated to
producing a specifically Russian kind of
art music. He is best known for his
symphonies, his two string quartets, In
the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera
Prince Igor. Music from Prince Igor and
his string quartets was later adapted for
the US musical Kismet.
• He was a notable advocate of women's
rights and a proponent of education in
Russia and was a founder of the School of
Medicine for Women in St. Petersburg.

28. Modest Mussorgsky
• Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Russian: Модест
Петрович Мусоргский; IPA: [mɐˈdʲɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ
ˈmusərkskʲɪj]; 21 March [O.S. 9 March] 1839 – 28
March [O.S. 16 March] 1881) was a Russian
composer, one of the group known as "The Five".
He was an innovator of Russian music in the
romantic period. He strove to achieve a uniquely
Russian musical identity, often in deliberate
defiance of the established conventions of Western
music.
• Many of his works were inspired by Russian history,
Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes. Such
works include the opera Boris Godunov, the
orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and
the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.
• For many years Mussorgsky's works were mainly
known in versions revised or completed by other
composers. Many of his most important
compositions have recently come into their own in
their original forms, and some of the original scores
are now also available.

29. César Cui
• César Antonovich Cui (Russian:
Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́; 18 January
[O.S. 6 January] 1835 – 13 March
1918)[2] was a Russian composer and
music critic of French and Lithuanian
descent. His profession was as an
army officer (he rose to the rank of
Engineer-General (compared to full
general) of The Russian Imperial
Army) and a teacher of fortifications,
and his avocational life has particular
significance in the history of music. In
this sideline he is known as a
member of The Five, a group of
Russian composers under the
leadership of Mily Balakirev
dedicated to the production of a
specifically Russian type of music.

30. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
(Russian: Никола́й Андре́евич
Ри́мский-Ко́рсаков; IPA: [nʲɪkəˈlaj
ɐˈndrʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈrʲimskʲɪj ˈkorsəkəf] (
listen); 18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844[a
1] – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) was a
Russian composer, and a member of
the group of composers known as The
Five. He was a master of orchestration.
His best-known orchestral
compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the
Russian Easter Festival Overture, and
the symphonic suite Scheherazade—
are staples of the classical music
repertoire, along with suites and
excerpts from some of his 15 operas.
Scheherazade is an example of his
frequent use of fairy tale and folk
subjects.

31. SOURCES
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Russian_
composers
• http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-
artists.htm
• http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-
artists.htm#russianlandscape

32. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!