Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 5 Rubles 1991, Y# 271, Russia, Soviet Union (USSR), Cathedrals and Monuments, Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow
  • 5 Rubles 1991, Y# 271, Russia, Soviet Union (USSR), Cathedrals and Monuments, Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow
Description

The Cathedral of the Archangel is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the Great Kremlin Palace and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It was the main necropolis of the Tsars of Russia until the relocation of the capital to St. Petersburg. It was constructed between 1505 and 1508 under the supervision of an Italian architect Aloisio the New on the spot of an older cathedral, built in 1333. Now it also serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

Obverse

The State Emblem of the Soviet Union (fourth version, 1956–1991), abbreviation USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), denomination and date.

The State Emblem of the Soviet Union is composed of a sickle and a hammer on a globe depicted in the rays of the sun and framed by ears of wheat wrapped around a ribbon with 15 turns. At the top of the Emblem is a five-pointed star.

СССР
5
РУБЛЕЙ
1991

Reverse

Depicts the Cathedral of the Archangel, surrounded by the inscriptions Cathedral of the Archangel above and Moscow below.

In 1505, Grand Duke Ivan III, already in the midst of major renovation project for the Kremlin, turned his attention to the church, as in the case of the rebuilding of the Assumption Cathedral two decades earlier, turned to architects from Italy for assistance. An Italian, Lamberti Aloisio da Mantagnana (Aloisio the New) was invited to Moscow, and ground was broken for a new cathedral on 21 May 1505. Ivan died in the autumn of the same year, and was buried in the still unfinished building. Work on the cathedral was completed by the end of 1508, but it was not formally consecrated until 8 November 1509.

The new building incorporated many elements of the Italian Renaissance, and numerous of these details (considered “exotic” by Moscow standards) disappeared during later repairs and restorations. The interior walls were not painted with frescoes until the 1560s. A fresco of Lazar of Serbia was painted in 1564. In addition, inside the cathedral are the depictions of Saint Sava, Stefan Nemanja (Saint Simeon) and Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos attesting to Ivan the Terrible's connection to his Serbian roots. His mother Elena Glinskaya was a daughter of Prince Vasili Lvovich Glinsky of Lithuania and Serb Princess Ana Jakšić.

АРХАНГЕЛЬСКИЙ СОБОР
1508
МОСКВА

Edge

Denomination

ПЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ ⋆ ПЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ ⋆

5 Rubles

Cathedrals and Monuments
Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow

Subscribe series
Y# 271 Schön# 224
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 19.8 g
Diameter 35 mm
Thickness 2.6 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Leningrad Mint (LMD)

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