By its architectural type, the Uspensky Cathedral belonged to the cross-in-square church structures. It was a large-scale temple. The floor plan was rectangular, elongated from west to east, and featured three naves, measuring 32.4 × 21.6 meters. On the eastern side, three faceted apses adjoined the main structure. Inside, the church was divided by six cruciform piers (pillars) into four transverse and three longitudinal sections (naves). The intersection of the central nave and transept formed the under-dome space in the shape of a cross.

The central space of the church was covered by a drum with a hemispherical dome resting on pendentives. The height of the cathedral in its central part reached 43 meters.

On the eastern side, three additional rooms were attached – the prothesis, the altar, and the sacristy; on the western side – the narthex. The narthex occupied a third of the structure, and above it, along with the side naves, galleries were built.

The entrance doors, with arched openings, were located in the northern, southern, and western walls. The windows, arranged in two tiers, had a similar arched shape and alternated with decorative shallow semicircular niches. The external walls of the cathedral were vertically segmented by pilasters, which divided the western facade into three sections, while the northern and southern facades were split into four sections, corresponding to the internal division created by the supporting pillars. At the top, the pilasters converged into arches, giving each wall section a semicircular form. Above the entrances on the northern wall, there were triple windows. Below the curved gables, a red slate cornice ran along the walls. The eastern facade was adorned with a meander ornament above the cornice.

In ancient times, a large-diameter single dome rose over the central part of the church. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1230 but was later rebuilt. During the Old Rus period, the dome and vault coverings were made of lead sheets laid directly on the structure. Later, the dome was gilded, and the cross was entirely gold. The cathedral remained a single-domed structure until the mid-17th century.