The tiered composition is indicated by cornices of a complex profile, vertically the surfaces of all walls are divided by flat Pilasters, between which decorated niches are located.

It is decorated with various stucco ornaments, which are interwoven with bas-reliefs and dynamic figures of angels, Ukrainians, images of Cupids, flowers in baskets, bouquets, Garlands, Baldachins over niches, heraldic double-headed eagles and more.

The eastern facade, facing Sophia Square (Sophiska Ploshcha), is decorated on the third tier with figures of Andrew the Apostle and Prince Volodymyr – the founders of Christianity in Rus-Ukraine.

In all variants, the color of modeling and decoration remained white or ivory, and the walls were painted in turquoise tones of varying intensity.

Nowadays, the ornaments are painted in bright white, the walls-in turquoise, which in combination with the radiance of the golden cupola creates a tinge of solemn conviviality for the bell tower.

[1][2][4] The first known historical bell tower was wooden and stood[15] on the north-eastern side of the cathedral, in contrast to the modern one, which was built to the south-east of it.

[16] The wooden bell tower is depicted both in a drawing by the Dutch artist Abraham van Westerfeld (1651) and in a plan of the city of Kyiv by Colonel Ushakov (1695).

[17] It was probably built by Petro Mohyla during the reconstruction of St. Sophia Cathedral in 1633–1647 – at the same time a convent was established here with his help, and its territory was surrounded by a high wooden fence or wall.

[18] This bell tower was four-tiered,[16][19] with an entrance arch in the form of a semicircle on the first tier, over which loopholes were made in the log house.

[1][18] A Syrian traveler, Paul of Aleppo, who visited Kyiv in 1654 and 1656, when describing Saint Sophia Cathedral, mentioned a very tall wooden bell tower, the tallest he had ever seen.

[1][20] It has been suggested that the tall wooden building with a quadrangular top, shown in the figure of 1651 to the left of the cathedral, is another bell tower.

In the documents, there is only a mention of one of the builders – the "stone business apprentice" Savva Yakovlev, a resident of the Kyiv Pechersk town.

The bell tower was built in this place to form a clear urban planning ensemble: thus, a visual connection was achieved with the similar bell tower of the St. Michael's monastery, and the perspective from all four gates of the Upper City was closed: Saint Sophia, Pechersk, Golden and Lviv.

The new dome also had a spire and, according to measurement drawings, generally repeated the shape of the old one, but because of its not very good proportions, the bell tower seemed somewhat squat.

This was reinforced by the fact that by the middle of the 19th century, the surrounding area was already built up with multi-story buildings, and the bell tower began to lose its dominant position in the development of both the Square and the Upper City.

[1][3][4][20] During the repair and restoration works of 1851–1852 in the complex of buildings of the former Sophia Monastery, it was decided that the height and appearance of the bell tower did not correspond to its significance.

[23] In 1930, the bell tower together with St. Sophia Cathedral was closed for worship and became a part of the All-Ukrainian Museum Complex, which was established in 1926 in the area of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

It is thought that only this bell was left because it has an extremely original ornament and it had great artistic value, so it was decided to leave it as a museum piece.

Therefore, the question of updating the appearance of the bell tower and its restoration arose during the preparations around 1950 for the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the Pereiaslav Council.

Under the supervision of overseers, the workers tore the paint and the gilding from the bell tower, put it all in containers, and sent it to the mint in Leningrad.

Due to the fact that the solution began to pour out directly from the arches of the internal premises, the work was not fully completed.