way. Because of the complexity of the system, a simplification was developed by Ivan Shaidurov around 1600, called "red marks" (Russian: киноварные знаки (kinovarnye znaki)), which consisted of small letters in red and which were placed before each Znamenny sign. These indicate the highest note of the sign it stands before. This is generally regarded as the first step towards a certain simplification of the system. The use and evolution of the system stopped in the middle of the 17th century, after the church reforms by Patriarch Nikon. From that time Western music started to penetrate into Russian culture, and the Russian-Orthodox Church introduced a "Latin", polyphonic way of singing, based on Polish, German and Italian harmonies. The term "Latin" however was considered derogatory, since it also referred to "heretical Latin faith". Znamenny Chant, however, has been preserved to a certain degree in the chanting traditions that are directly descended from it. Currently, stolp notation (Znamenny signs) continues to be used by Russian Old Believers, mostly in combination with the above-mentioned "red marks", as shown in the first illustration. In the 19th century Edinovertsy, particularly outside Russia, have tried to move to the modern neumatic form of notation that tries to capture exact relations between pitches; and they currently use a standard linear notation. Chanting traditions that preserve and/or are descended from the Znammeny chant include the following: Chanting traditions of the Russian Old Believers Znamenny chant proper (Знамя, Большое Знамя) Stolpovoy chant Demesvenny chant or Demestvo (Демество) Pomorsky chant Kievan chant 'Ukrainian Chants' The chanting tradition of Galicia (known as Samoilka chant) Prostopinije (or Plain Chant) of the Carpatho-Rusyns Valaam chant Doukhobor Psalm chant may also be derivative or at least related The Strochnoy chant (early Russian polyphony) was also based on Znamenny chants, although it is not widely used in church practice now, it can occasionally be performed by some choirs. Many Russian composers (Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Grechaninov, Maximilian Steinberg, and Vladimir Martynov) studied Znamenny chants and used them in their compositions. There are also many adaptations of Znamenny melodies for four-part choir, popular in both Russia and abroad. Unicode Znamenny notation was added to the Unicode Standard in September, 2021 with the release of version 14.0. The Unicode block for Znamenny Musical Notation is U+1CF00–U+1CFCF: Performing practice Since the Znamenny Chant requires a specific manner of performance, the chant books contain several instructions as to dynamics and