Third Rome

After the downfall of the roman empire and the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire the Grand Duchy of Moscow saw itself as the legal successor and the only force left to protect the Christian faith. At the same time Ivan, The Terrible had successfully vanquished the Tartar tribes in the east and expanded his authority as well as the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church. To celebrate this success, he started the construction of the iconic Sankt Basil's cathedral.