The beauty of 12th century Russian churches as the expression of the national spiritual ideal

The article is concerned with the artistic language of church architecture within Vladimir land of the second half of the 12th century from the perspective of its national character and spiritual and conceptual value. The author shows that it was in the era of emerging Great Russian ethos when a type of church which is now perceived as typically Russian comes into being. The Byzantine crossdomed church structure, Romanesque tradition of white-stone architecture, and fretwork carved facades provided the foundation for creation of churches that were ultimately distinctive in their national architectural conception. Their beauty became the artistically exquisite epitome of Russian spiritual ideal, a representation of Russian culture.