Historical Nonfiction

St. Basil’s Cathedral, in Moscow, was built by Ivan the Terrible in honor of Basil the Fool.  The story goes that in the 1500s, an apprentice shoemaker/serf named Basil stole from the rich to give to the poor. He also went naked, weighed himself with chains, and rebuked Ivan the Terrible for not paying attention in church. Normally, this is where we would write “And Ivan had him executed” but apparently Ivan liked Basil, and instead had the cathedral built for him after Basil’s death. Ivan then had the architect executed, so he could never design a more beautiful building.

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