In the Russian language,kremlin denotes a 'fortress within a city', and there are many historical cities with Kremlin of their own. However, the Moscow Kremlin, the best known, also serves an international-politicsmetonym that identifies theGovernment of Russia.[2] During theCold War (1947–1991), the termThe Kremlin meant theGovernment of the Soviet Union and the termKremlinology meant the study of the decisions of the Soviet leaders and of Russian and Soviet politics. When open to the public, the Kremlin of Moscow offers supervised tours of theMoscow Kremlin Museums.[3][4]
The site had been continuously inhabited by theMeryans since the 2nd centuryBCE. TheSlavs occupied the south-western portion ofBorovitsky Hill as early as the 11th century, as evidenced by a metropolitan seal from the 1090s which was unearthed by Soviet archaeologists in the area. TheVyatichi built afortified structure (or "grad") on the hill where theNeglinnaya River flowed into theMoskva River.
Up to the 14th century, the site was known as the "grad of Moscow". The word "Kremlin" was first recorded in 1331[5] (though etymologistMax Vasmer mentions an earlier appearance in 1320[6]). The grad was greatly extended by PrinceYuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by theMongols in 1237 and rebuilt in oak byIvan I Kalita in 1339.[7]
Grand Prince Ivan III organised the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting a number of skilled architects fromRenaissance Italy, includingPietro Antonio Solari, who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, andMarco Ruffo who designed the new palace for the prince. It was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, andthe Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city andMuscovite Russia was theIvan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505–1508 and augmented to its present height in 1600. The Kremlin walls as they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495.[7]Spasskie gates of the wall still bear a dedication in Latin praising Pietro Antonio Solari for the design.
After construction of the new kremlin walls and churches was complete, the monarch decreed that no structures should be built in the immediate vicinity of the citadel. The Kremlin was separated from the walled merchant town (Kitay-gorod) by a 30-meter-wide moat, over whichSaint Basil's Cathedral was constructed during the reign ofIvan the Terrible. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfather's palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinitymetochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by theTrinity Monastery and contained the gracefultower church ofSt. Sergius, which was described by foreigners as one of the finest in the country.
The Golden Hall, a throne room with murals painted probably after 1547, was destroyed to make place for the Kremlin Palace, commissioned byElizabeth of Russia and designed by the Italian architectFrancesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1752.[8]
The Kremlin in 1910; many of the buildings were later demolished by the Soviet government.
Although still used for coronation ceremonies, the Kremlin was neglected until 1773, whenCatherine the Great engagedVasili Bazhenov to build her new residence there. Bazhenov produced a bombasticNeoclassical design on a heroic scale, which involved the demolition of several churches and palaces, as well as a portion of the Kremlin wall. After the preparations were over, construction was delayed due to lack of funds. Several years later the architectMatvey Kazakov supervised the reconstruction of the dismantled sections of the wall and of some structures of theChudov Monastery and built the spacious and luxuriousOffices of the Senate, since adapted for use as the principal workplace of the President of Russia.
During the Imperial period, from the early 18th and until the late 19th century, the Kremlin walls were traditionally painted white, in accordance with fashion.[9]
French forces occupied the Kremlin from 2 September to 11 October 1812, following theFrench invasion of Russia. Subsequently, whenNapoleon retreated from Moscow, he ordered the whole Kremlin to be blown up. TheKremlin Arsenal, several portions of the Kremlin Wall and several wall towers were destroyed by explosions and theFaceted Chamber and other churches were damaged by fire. Explosions continued for three days, from 21 to 23 October 1812. However, rain damaged thefuses, and the damage was less severe than intended. Restoration works were undertaken in 1816–1819, supervised byOsip Bove. During the remainder of the reign ofAlexander I, several ancient structures were renovated in a fanciful neo-Gothic style, but many others, including all the buildings of the Trinity metochion, were condemned as "disused" or "dilapidated" and were torn down.
On visiting Moscow for his coronation festivities, TsarNicholas I was not satisfied with the Grand Palace (alias Winter Palace), which had been erected in the 1750s to the design ofFrancesco Rastrelli. The elaborateBaroque structure was demolished, as was the nearby church of St. John the Precursor, built byAloisio the New in 1508 in place of the first church constructed in Moscow. The architectKonstantin Thon was commissioned to replace them with theGrand Kremlin Palace, which was to rival theWinter Palace in St. Petersburg in its dimensions and in the opulence of its interiors. The palace was constructed in 1839–1849, followed by the re-building of theKremlin Armoury in 1851.
TheSoviet government moved fromPetrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg) to Moscow on 12 March 1918.Vladimir Lenin selected theKremlin Senate as his residence.Joseph Stalin also had his personal rooms in the Kremlin. He was eager to remove all the "relics of the tsarist regime" from his headquarters. Golden eagles on the towers were replaced by shiningKremlin stars, while the wall nearLenin's Mausoleum was turned into theKremlin Wall Necropolis.
TheChudov Monastery andAscension Convent, with their 16th-centurycathedrals, were demolished to make room for the military school. The Little Nicholas Palace and the old Saviour Cathedral were pulled down as well.
During theSecond World War, in order to confuse the German pilots, the towers were repainted with different colors and covered with wooden tents. Every roof was painted rusty brown so as to make them indistinguishable from typical roofs in the city. The grounds, paved with cobblestone, were covered up with sand. Tents painted to look like roofs were stretched over the gardens, and the facades of the buildings were also painted.[10]
Kremlin in bird's-eye view in 1987
The residence of the Soviet government was closed to tourists until 1955. It was not until theKhrushchev Thaw that the Kremlin was reopened to foreign visitors. The Kremlin Museums were established in 1961, and the complex was among the first Soviet patrimonies inscribed on theWorld Heritage List in 1990.
Although the current director of the Kremlin Museums,Elena Gagarina (Yuri Gagarin's daughter), advocates a full-scale restoration of the destroyed cloisters, recent developments have been confined to expensive restoration of the original interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which were altered during Stalin's rule.
Overall, during the Soviet rule (1917–1991), 28 out of 54 historic buildings in the Kremlin were destroyed (among them 17 out of 31 churches and cathedrals), most of them centuries-old.[11]
TheState Kremlin Palace (alias Kremlin Palace of Congresses), was commissioned byNikita Khrushchev as a modern arena for Communist Party meetings and was built within the Kremlin walls 1959–1961. Externally the palace is faced with white marble and the windows are tinted and reflective. The construction replaced several heritage buildings, including the old neo-classical building of the State Armoury, and some of the rear parts of theGrand Kremlin Palace. The Palace was constructed and integrated into the larger complex of theGreat Kremlin Palace with walkways linking it to thePatriarchal Chambers and theTerem Palace.
The existingKremlin walls andtowers were built by Italian masters from 1485 to 1495. The irregular triangle of the Kremlin wall encloses an area of 275,000 square metres (2,960,000 sq ft). Its overall length is 2,235 metres (2,444 yards), but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres (16 to 62 ft), depending on the terrain. The wall's thickness is between 3.5 and 6.5 metres (11 and 21 ft).
Originally there were eighteenKremlin towers, but their number increased to twenty in the 17th century. All but three of the towers are square in plan. The highest tower is theTroitskaya, which was built to its present height of 80 metres (260 ft) in 1495. Most towers were originally crowned with wooden tents. The extant brick tents with strips of colored tiles date to the 1680s.
The other notable structure is theIvan the Great Bell Tower on the north-east corner of the square, which is said to mark the exact center of Moscow and resemble a burning candle. Completed in 1600, it is 81 metres (266 feet) high. Until the Russian Revolution, it was the tallest structure in the city, as construction of buildings taller than that was forbidden. Its 21 bells would sound the alarm if any enemy was approaching. The upper part of the structure was destroyed by the French during the Napoleonic Invasion in 1812 and has been rebuilt. TheTsar bell, the largest bell in the world, stands on a pedestal next to the tower.
The oldest secular structure still standing isIvan III'sPalace of Facets (1491), which holds the imperial thrones. The next oldest is the first home of the royal family, theTerem Palace. The original Terem Palace was also commissioned by Ivan III, but most of the existing palace was built in the 17th century. The Terem Palace and the Palace of Facets are linked by theGrand Kremlin Palace. This was commissioned byNicholas I in 1838. The largest structure in the Kremlin, it cost 11 millionrubles to build and more than one billion dollars to renovate in the 1990s. It contains dazzling reception halls, a ceremonial red staircase, private apartments of the tsars, and the lower story of the Resurrection of Lazarus church (1393), which is the oldest extant structure in the Kremlin and the whole of Moscow.
The haloalkaliphilic methylotrophic bacteriumMethylophaga muralis (first calledMethylophaga murata) was first isolated from deteriorating marble in the Kremlin.[12]
To stop disruptions to traffic caused by motorcades, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin authorized the construction of a helipad within the Kremlin grounds. The helipad was completed in May 2013. The Russian President will now typically commute back and forth to the Kremlin using aMil Mi-8 helicopter. Careful consideration was taken in choosing the location of the helipad; its location is said to be of no threat to the architecture of the Kremlin.[13]
^Paul, Michael C. (January 2004). "The Military Revolution in Russia 1550–1682". The Journal of Military History. 68 (1): 31.doi:10.1353/jmh.2003.0401. S2CID 159954818.
^"Кремль" [Kremlin].Vasmer Etymological dictionary.Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved2 June 2014.
^Фасмера, Макс."Этимологический Словарь Фасмера" [Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian). p. 321.Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved12 October 2012.
^abcPaul, Michael C. (January 2004). "The Military Revolution in Russia 1550–1682".The Journal of Military History.68 (1): 31.doi:10.1353/jmh.2003.0401.S2CID159954818.
Nenakormova, Irina S. (1987).Государственные музеи Московского Кремля [Art treasures from the Museums of the Moscow Kremlin] (in Russian). Moscow: Iskusstvo.
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