Upon entering the door leading from the Tsar’s front porch into the upper church, visitors encounter a broad marble staircase, recreated in our time in the place of the original, destroyed during the Soviet years.
The Tsar’s staircase (1914)
Prior to closure of the Church, the walls of the Tsar’s stairs were decorated with scenes from sacred history in the style of the old Yaroslavl and Rostov paintings of the 17th century. These were the only murals in the Cathedral – its internal volume was never painted. Today, this painting can be seen only in part – in the form of fragments cleared during the restoration.