History of Kievan Rus' architecture

Russian architecture of 10th-11th centuries

Russian religious architecture owes its origin to Byzantine models, and throughout its long and rich development, it has retained the central plan for churches because of its arrangement's suitability to Orthodox liturgical requirements. In 989 Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev married Princess Anna, sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II, and brought Byzantine craftsmen back with him from Constantinople to build and decorate churches in his newly converted principality as well as to instruct local artisans.
In 1037 construction of the magnificent Cathedral of Hagia at Kiev was begun. This church, in Byzantine style, with five aisles surrounded on three sides by an open arcade, has thirteen domes, representing the number of Christ and the Apostles.
Its mosaics date from 1043 to 1046. The apse mosaics have miraculously survived the abandonment and partial ruin of the cathedral in the sixteenth century, its rebuilding in the seventeenth century, and its partial destruction in World War II.
A monument Theotokos in orant position adorns the semidome; her drapery folds are powerful. She appears to stand in the golden niche, supporting its arch like one of the maidens of the Erechtheum. Below her unfolds an extraordinary scene, seldom represented in Western art - the Communion of the Apostles. Christ officiates as priest at the central altar, distributing bread on the left and wine on the right.

Notice: Kievan Rus' was the early, predominantly East Slavic state dominated by the city of Kiev from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century

Literature: Book "Russian art" A.P. Minyar-Belorucheva