The
Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed , 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 or
Pokrovsky Cathedral . It was built from 1555–61 on orders from
Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the
capture of Kazan and
Astrakhan. A world famous landmark, it was the city's tallest building until the completion of the
Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.