Russian architecture Architectural style that began as a regional variety of Byzantine in the 10th century with the Christianization of Russia. Important centres of architecture developed at Kiev, Novgorod, and Pskov. Early churches were built of wood. The Cathedral of Sancta Sophia in Kiev (1018–37) was the first stone construction. The distinctive onion-shaped dome was introduced in the 12th century at the Cathedral of Sancta Sophia, Novgorod. During the 15th century, Russia was subject to western European trends, and Italian architects built the Kremlin in a Renaissance style. Peter I (the Great) and Catherine II (the Great) brought rococo and neo-classicism to St Petersburg. In the 19th century, there was a revival of medieval Russian architecture.

Russian art Paintings and sculpture produced in Russia after c.ad 1000, as distinct from the earlier Scythian art. In the Middle Ages, Russian art carried on Byzantine art traditions, and was primarily religious. After the fall of Constantinople (1453), Russia regarded itself as the spiritual heir of Byzantium. Even so, its finest artworks were largely produced by foreigners. This began to change in the latter part of the 19th century, when Ilya Repin and the Wanderers breathed new life into Russian art. This led to an extraordinarily fruitful period in the early 20th century, when Russia was at the heart of new developments in modernism, suprematism, and constructivism.