«Кремлевские вдовы»: Жены великих князей московских и архитектурно-художественные работы в Кремле XIV–XV веков
«Kremlin widows»: Wive of the great princes of Moscow and construction and decoration works in Kremlin in the 14th – 15th centuries

Summary/Abstract: In the history of Russian medieval architecture, the white-stone cathedral of the Ascension Convent in Kremlin is the only example of an astonishing delayed construction. Founded in 1407, the cathedral had completed only in 1467. Besides — and this is also a unique case — the cathedral construction was funded not by great princes of Moscow, but by widowed great princesses: Evdokiya Dmitrievna, widow of Dmitriy Ivanovich Donskoy; Sof’ya Vitovtovna, widow of Vasiliy Dmitrievich; and Mariya Yaroslavna, widow of Vasiliy Vasilyevich Temnyy. The cathedral was being built every once in a while; what’s interesting, the construction works under Evdokiya Dmitrievna were suspended in 1407 immediately after her decease; and were resumed at the second time by Sofya Vitovtovna in 1452–1453 and were suspended again after her decease, though the construction of the cathedral was almost complete. The construction was resumed again in 1467 by a widowed by that time Mariya Yaroslavna, who finally accomplished the construction of the cathedral. All the «Kremlin widows» — churchwardnes enjoyed a high status in the family of Moscow sovereigns, having at their disposal considerate finances and personal administration, which allowed them, among other sings, to initiate and maintain constructive works during their lives. After their decease, their treasury had passed to the oldest sons — the ruling great princes, which became the reason why the construction was being conducted for sixty years.

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