Church of Boris and Gleb, Kideksha

12th-century white-stone church at Kideksha, one of the oldest buildings in Russia

The Church of Boris and Gleb stands in the village of Kideksha, about 4 kilometres east of Suzdal at the confluence of the Kamenka and Nerl rivers. Built in 1152 on the orders of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, it is one of the oldest surviving stone buildings in Russia — a small, spare white structure in the Vladimir-Suzdal Romanesque style, with simple carved decoration and thick walls that have kept it standing for nearly 900 years.

The church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal. The interior preserves fragments of 12th-century fresco, though much was lost over the centuries. The setting — low meadows beside two rivers, with a 17th-century bell tower alongside — is very peaceful. A taxi or bicycle from Suzdal takes about 20 minutes; there is no regular bus service.

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A story
Boris and Gleb were sons of Vladimir the Great who were murdered by their brother Svyatopolk in 1015 in a struggle for the Kievan throne. They chose not to resist their killers, became the first saints canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church, and their cult spread rapidly. Prince Yuri Dolgoruky — who would later found Moscow — built this church at the site where Boris had reportedly camped on the night before his death, consecrating it with the relics of both princes.