Novodivechy Convent is a fortified cluster of churches and convent buildings outside the inner ring of Moscow's architectural center, near the former Olympic site. We were so fortunate to be there on a golden fall day, when the sun reflected brilliantly off the golden spires. Though off the beaten track, it is one of Russia's most remarkably well-preserved architectural ensembles, intact for 400 years. It has served as a religious center, hospital, orphanage, convent and a place where royal women could be confined and usually successfully sidelined by Russian history. This became necessary in disputes over succession, as we shall see. Constructed in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasily III (the father of Ivan the Terrible), it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Novodivechy has marked dramatic turns of Russia's history, beginning with Ivan the Terrible. Having removed his son Ivan's first two wives to convents on charges of infertility, Ivan the Terrible also insured the third of his son's wives would end up in confinement--at Novodivechy. She had not produced an heir, since her father-in-law (the Terrible) had struck her while she was pregnant and she miscarried. But the real drama was about her husband, the favorite son. His own father, in a fit of rage, struck the younger Ivan on the head with his sceptre, leading to his death within a few days. Thus Yelena Seremeteva was forced to take the veil.

Ivan's throne was passed on to Feodor, a kinder or, according to some, feeble-minded son. His wife, Irina Gudonova, could not conceive either. It was not known whether this was due to Feodor's inherent weaknesses or Irina's. In any case, when he died, Irina took the veil under the name of Aleksandra at Novodevichy. She resided there along with her brother Boris Gudonov, until he was asked to assume the throne.

Fast forward almost a century. Two small boys inherited the throne, sons of a Romanov father and different mothers: Peter and Ivan V--their double throne can be seen at the Armory Museum in the Kremlin. In actuality their sister Sophia Alexeievna governed as regent. Later, when Peter succeeded in taking power (and in becoming Peter the Great), Sophia was confined at Novodivechy. She had been involved with a rival faction whose archers had risen up against the archers who came into power with Peter. This dissident faction continued to support her, and attempted a coup when Peter was out of the country. Peter the Great executed 1,200 archers, many of whose corpses were hung outside her windows at the convent. She died 6 years later.

And the convent continued to collect royal women. Peter the Great's first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina, also wound up there. His mother had arranged the marriage with Eudoxia whose conservative views militated against his reforms. He couldn't stand her. She was confined to the convent and was said to have found a lover there, a military man who was executed by being quartered.

The convent is currently housing nuns and holding religious services, and is also partly under reconstruction. A few buildings, open to visitors, have been converted to museums that give a glimpse of the icons, paintings and splendor of the original interiors, dating back to the 16th century. A number of famous Russians are buried on the convent grounds, including Anton Chekov.  

An adjoining cemetery, vast in scope, harbors the graves of innumerable notables, including Nikita Khruschev, the writer Gogol, the cinematographer Eisenstein, the theatre genius Mayakovsky, and the writer Ilia Ehrenbourg.