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The Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin, a historic fortified complex at the very heart of Moscow, is one of Moscow’s must-see sights. In fact you can’t really miss it. It overlooks the Moskva River (to the south), Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves is the Russian president’s official residence.

The history of thå Moscow Kremlin goes back to olden times. The first written record of Moscow dates back to 1147, to the reign of Great PrinceYuri of Kiev, Vladimir Monomakh's son. He was nicknamed "Dolgoruky" (Long-armed), iof .e., one reaching out for other principalities, for his unification policy. Yuri Dolgoruky is considered to be the founder of Moscow and in commemoration of this an equestrian statue by the sculptor S.V. Orlov was erected in Tverskaya Street in 1954.

One of the most remarkable exhibits of the Kremlin museums linked to the genealogy of Russian princes is the Cap of Monomakh, the Russian Tsars' inherited crown. It even became proverbial. There is a saying: "How heavy you are, the Cap of Monomakh!" meaning the heavy burden of responsibility.

Since time immemorial the Moscow Kremlin has been the centre of Russian statehood, the residence of Russian tsars and hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Under Dmitry Donskoy in 1367-1368, the white-stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected and Moscow began to be called "white-stone". In 1485-1495, the Kremlin was totally rebuilt. It was then that the first brickbuildings appeared there and it largely acquired its present appearance and dimensions.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I transferred the capital of Russian to St.Petersburg, however, according to tradition, the Russian tsars were coronated in Moscow.

In 1917 the Soviet government transferred the Russian capital back to Moscow. The Kremlin became the seat of the highest state bodies, a sort of preserve, where only those who lived or worked there were admitted. It was only in 1955 that its unique museums have again become accessible to everyone. Church services have recently been resumed in the old cathedrals and the Kremlin bells which have been silent for over 70 years have come to life.

The Kremlin has been the residence of the President of the Russian Federation and his Administration since 1992.

The Kremlin has been and remains a unique monument of Russian culture and a symbol of Russian statehood.

Moscow's Kremlin was founded as a fortress in the middle of the 12th century. The first wooden walls around it were erected in 1156. The scope of construction works was particularly wide in the years of Ivan Kalita's rule. It took only six years , from 1327 to 1333, to build several large stone temples: the Uspenskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Assumption), Church of Ioann Lestvichnik, Church of Spas (Savior) and Arkhangelskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Archangel). In 1367-68 fortified stone walls around the Kremlin were built. The modern Kremlin ensemble was being put together by the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries. By the end of the 15th century new brick walls and towers around the Kremlin were erected. The Italian craftsmen Pietro Antonio Solari, Aloizo de Karkano (Alevis Friazin), Anton Friazin and Mark Friazin were invited to build them. Architectural works were done under the direction of Aristotle Fioravanti. In the 15th century the Kremlin's walls and towers already looked as an integral ensemble. In 1485 the architect Anton Friazin built the Tainitskaya (Secret) Tower, the first one there. Then, from 1485 till 1516 work, though with interruptions but anyway consistent, was done on constructing the Towers: Beklemishevskaya (named after landlords Beklemishevs), Vodovzvodnaya (Water-Drawing), Blagoveshchenskaya (Annunciation) , Pervaya Bezimyannaya (First Nameless), Vtoraya Bezimyannaya (Second Nameless), Borovitskaya ("bor" means "dense forest" in English) , Konstantino-Eleninskaya (named after St.Constantine and St.Helen), Spasskaya (Savior), Nikolskaya (St.Nicholas), Uglovaya Arsenalnaya (Corner Arsenal), Senatskaya (Senate), Nabatnaya (Alarm Bell), Troitskaya (Trinity), Kutafya (Overdressed Woman), Srednyaya Arsenalnaya (Middle Arsenal), Komendantskaya (Commandant's), Oruzheynaya (Armory), Czarskaya (Czar's) and Petrovskaya (St.Peter's). At present after rebuilding and reconstruction works of all sorts there are 19 Towers along the Kremlin walls' perimeter. The Kutafya Tower is the 20th, bridgehead one. According to the plan the Kremlin looked like a triangle. Round and many-sided Towers (Vodovzvodnaya, Beklemisheskaya, Arsenalnaya) that differed from others by their height (over 60 meter high) were placed in its corners. The pass-through Towers (Borovitskaya, Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya) had tchetveriks (the old Russian word for architectural structure consisting of four different elements) at their base. The Kremlin walls and Towers were crowned with two-horned merlons having gun-slots and by their shape looking like swallows' tails. All in all, the Kremlin walls had 1045 such merlons. The total length of the walls was over 2.25 kilometers. Their height ranged from 8 to 19 meters and their thickness reached 3.5 - 6.5 meters. In the twenties of the 17th century construction works in the Kremlin were resumed on a wide scale. From 1625 till 1685 all the Towers except the Nikolskaya one were built on with hipped roofs having tiled coverings that made them especially picturesque. After the October revolution it was decided in 1918 to remove four heraldic eagles that crowned the tops of the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya and Troitskaya Towers and to replace them with five-pointed stars. All options were considered and in 1937 fluorescent ruby stars were installed. Their rays varied in size from 3 meters to 3.75 meters. Among 20 Towers of the Kremlin some deserve special attention. The Tainitskaya Tower with its pass-through gates was built in 1485 by Anton Friazin, the Italian architect. A well was dug out under the Tower and it had a secret passage to the Moscow River to get water during sieges. Exactly this passage gave name to the Tower (the word "taina" means "secret" in English). In the 17th century the Russian craftsmen added to the Tower's tchetverik an arched tchetverik that had a tetrahedral hipped roof with observation deck. With all additional storeys the Tower's height reached 38.4 meters. During the 18th-19th centuries the Tower was wrecked several times but again and again it was restored. In 1930-1933 its pass-through gates and secret well were liquidated. In 1488 the Vodovzvodnaya (Sviblova) Tower was built not far from the place where the Neglinnaya River was flowing into the Moscow River. This was a round tower with a well dug out inside. The secret passage from the Tower led to the river. Originally it was called the Sviblova Tower named so after boyar Sviblov. In the 17th century a water-drawing machine made under the direction of Christopher Galavey was installed in the Sviblova Tower. This water-drawing machine pumped water from the well and distributed it by pipes throughout the Kremlin. Because of the machine the Tower was renamed and became known as Vodovzvodnaya ( Water-Drawing). In the 17th century the Tower was built on with a tiered top having hipped roof. In the 19th century the Tower was destroyed quite a few times but whenever it happened the Tower was quickly restored. The height of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower with its star is 61.25 meters. The Borovitskaya pass-through Tower was being built in the nineties of the 15th century under the direction of the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. Before work to construct it on the west side started there was an exit gate from the Kremlin leading to the Neglinnaya River as well as to the Zhitniy Dvor and Konushenniy Dvor (courtyards). According to some old legend, the Tower's name was tied up with a dense coniferous forest that existed for ages at the top of the Kremlin hill. In the 15th century and particularly in the 17th century the Borovitskaya Tower was built on with several tchetveriks that were getting smaller on the way to the top. As a result, the Tower turned pyramid-shaped. Its top was crowned with a stone hipped roof. The pass-through gates led to a drawbridge across the Neglinnaya River. This bridge was destroyed in 1821when the river was set flowing by pipes. In 1937 the Tower got a ruby star installed on its top. The height of the Borovitskaya Tower up to its star is 50.7 meters and together with the star it is 54.05 meter high. The Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) Tower was built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The Frolovskaya Tower, as it was originally called, was placed at the site where the Kremlin main gates were located in ancient times. Czars and ambassadors were greeted at these gates, regiments went out on the march from there. The Kremlin main gates were considered sacred. There were two icons on the wall above the passage - the icon of Spas Smolenskiy from the side of Red Square and the icon of Spas Nerukotvorniy from the side of the Kremlin territory. And when in 1658 all Kremlin Towers were given new names, the Frolovskaya Tower was renamed Spasskaya exactly because of these icons. The Tower consists of five tiers. There are small pyramids with gilded weathercocks in the corners of the main tchetveric. The Tower's facades are ornamented with the white-stoned decor containing carved columns, small towers, statuettes of fabulous animals. The hipped top of the Tower was constructed by the Russian craftsman Bazhen Ogurtsov. Here at the top the main clock of the Russian state was put. The story of this clock began as early as in 1491 when for the first time it was placed on the just-completed Tower. In 1625 under the direction of Englishman Christopher Galavey the Russian craftsmen, the Zhdans' family, put a new clock on the Tower. Thirty bells for this clock were cast by founder Êirill Samoilov. In the 18th century this clock was replaced by the huge Dutch clock with music. The present clock was installed in 1851-1852 by the Butenops' brothers. The large clock occupies the Tower's three storeys (7-9). Bells cast by Russian and foreign craftsmen in the 17th -18th centuries are located on the 10th tier in open belfries under the hipped roof. This clock is usually called Chimes. The total weight of the clockwork is about 25 tons. The Chimes have four dial-plates, each being 6.12 meters in diameter. The length of the hour hand is around 3 meters and the length of the minute hand is 3.28 meters. The height of figures is 72 centimeters. Over the long time of their existence the Chimes underwent restoration more than once. The last restoration works took place in 1974. The Spasskaya Tower has only 10 storeys. Its height up to the ruby star is 67.3 meters and together with the star it is 71 meter high. By its importance the Troitskaya Tower was considered the second one (after the Spasskaya Tower) among the Kremlin Towers. This is the highest Tower. It was built in 1495. The Tower is a massive tchetverik of six tiers atop the two-tiered basement with strong walls. In 1516 a bridge from the Troitskaya Tower across the Neglinnaya River was built that connected the Tower with the Kutafya Tower, the bridgehead watchtower. The Troitskaya gates served as a passage to the palaces of Czarina (Czar's wife) and Czarevnas (Czar's daughters) as well as to the yard of Patriarch. Through these gates the clergy went out to meet the Czar returning home from marches. In 1985 the Tower was built on with multi-tiered top having a lot of decorations. In 1686 a clock was put on the Tower but it was never restored after the Moscow fire in 1812. From the side of the Kremlin the height of the Tower is almost 66 meters and together with its ruby star it is 69.3 meter high. From the side of the Aleksandrovskiy (Alexander) Garden the Tower's height up to its star is 76.3 meters and together with the star the tower is 80 meter high. The Kutafya Tower is the only one remaining bridgehead fortification of the Kremlin. The Tower was built in 1516 by the architect Alevis Friazin of Milan. The Tower, not high but very solid, was surrounded by water on all sides. Getting through the Tower was possible only by the inclined bridge that led to the Troitskaya Tower. In times of danger the gates were tightly shut up by the lifting part of the bridge. In 1685 the Kutafya Tower was built on with an open-work top having decor made of white stone. From the side of the city the Tower's height is 13.5 meters.

The Arsenal is located between the Troitskaya (Trinity) and Nikolskaya (St.Nickolas) Towers in the north-west part of the Kremlin. It was built under the order of Peter the1st by architects H.Konrad and D. Ivanov at the site of the former Zhitnie dvorie (the Grain courtyards) that were burnt down in the big Moscow fire in 1701. The building itself was meant to serve for storing arms and military outfit as well as a museum of battle trophies. Works on constructing this Zeughaus (armory) were started in 1702 but were interrupted because of war with Sweden. They were resumed in 1722 and continued till 1736. But in 1737 a serious fire happened again that slowed the restoration of the building and only in 1783-1787 it was completed under the design of architect Gerard. The final rebuilding works were directed by O. Bove during the restoration of the Kremlin damaged by Napoleon's gunners and the fire of 1812. The structure has two storeys and it is crowned with a massive cornice having fretted white-stoned frieze. The strength of the thick walls is underscored by the far-between double windows with sloping support beams. Since in the middle of the 19th century there were plans to set up a 1812 Patriotic war museum in the Arsenal building, its walls were decorated with moldings on war subjects. The Grand Kremlin Palace standing on the crest of the Borovitskiy hill is the largest Kremlin architectural ensemble incorporating secular as well as church edifices of the 14th-19th centuries. Its main facade is looking towards the Moscow River. The modern Palace was built in 1838-1849 by the group of Russian architects D.N.Tchichalov, P.A.Gerasimov, A.N. Bakarev, F. Rikhter and others under the guidance of K.A. Ton. It is located at the site of the old palace that was built in the 18th century under the design of V.Rastrelly. The Palace served as a temporary Imperial residence during visits to Moscow. There are three tiers of windows on the facade of the Palace but in fact the building has two floors. The first one is jutting out and it is forming an open terrace above. Arched windows with narrow piers make it look like a ceiled gallery or a loggia. The two-tired facade of the second floor is divided by pilasters and decorated with carved white-stoned window lintels made in a way typical for the Russian architecture of the 17th century. There is a gilded balustrade in the center of the structure. Clocks are placed on two sides of the roof slopes and there are clock bells on two others. The flagstaff is installed on the open upper deck. The Front Entrance Hall leads to premises set aside for solemn ceremonies. The Hall's flat vaults are supported by four monolithic granite-made columns. The Georgievskiy (St. Georgiy) Hall of the Palace is one of the most beautiful and impressive halls. It is named so in honor of Order of St.Georgiy, the Victorious, the highest order of the Russian army instituted in 1769 to award generals and officers. The Georgievskiy Hall is the biggest celebration front hall in the Palace. It is 61 meter long, 20.5 meter wide and 17.5 meter high. The 18 massive pillars support the vaulted ceiling decorated with moldings that depict various plants. The marble statues on pillars (sculptor I.Vitaly) allegorically symbolize provinces and local kingdoms that comprise the multinational State. The floor is covered with patterned parquet made of more than 20 different kinds of wood - birch, ash, the Indian rosewood, plane, plane-tree, etc. The Georgievskiy Hall is followed by the Vladimirskiy (St.Vladimir) Hall named in honor of Order of St.Vladimir instituted in 1782. The Hall was constructed at the site of the former Boyar's ground and it serves as a connecting link between the Palace's edifices built at different times. The Hall's cupola plays an important role in its composition and lighting. The cupola is constructed of ceramics and that considerably reduces its weight and improves the Hall's acoustics. The cupola is crowned with a lantern. The Hall's interior features alternating arches, columns, pilasters that are tilted with man-made marble. From the vestibule the wide front staircase made of stone leads to the Conference Hall, the biggest one in the Palace. It is situated next to the Georgievskiy Hall. The two-tiered windows of the Conference Hall are overlooking the Moscow River. The white walls divided by pilasters and the illuminated ceiling impart an air of solemnity and businesslike appearance to the Hall. It was designed by architect I.Ivanov and built in 1933-1934 on the basis of the Palace's Andreevskiy and Alexandrovskiy Halls that were functioning in the 19th century. The Ekaterinenskiy (St.Ekaterina) Hall was the Empress's throne-room. The smart appearance of the Hall is well combined with a special elegance of the interior decoration, coziness and chamber atmosphere. The Ekaterininskiy Hall was so named in honor of Order of St.Ekaterina, the only female order in Russia instituted in 1714 by Peter the 1st. The Order's symbols and its For love and Motherland motto can be seen on the walls and doors of the Hall. The walls are covered with the light gray bordered moire. This is the color of the Order's ribbon. The Hall is also distinguished by its pilasters with solid pillars in the corners of the entrances and the pattern made of malachite fragments. The cross vaults and cornices are decorated with gilded stucco molding. The Hall's parquet is of great artistic value because of the excellent selection of wood and high quality of work. The parquet's ornament was developed by academician F.Solntsev. Its composition is full of intricate combinations of geometric and plant-depicting ornaments. The Ekaterininskiy Hall in the Front Half of the Grand Kremlin Palace is followed by the Front Reception Room and the Front Bedchamber, both being sort of museums of the 19th century arts and crafts. Tables and doors of the Front Reception Room are encrusted in the 'Boulle' style (Boulle was the famous French joiner). The unique flower ornament of thevaulted ceiling was done under the drafts of artist D.Artari. The interior of the Front Bedchamber is dominated by the alcove with the monolithic columns made of gray-and-green marble that are in perfect harmony with the bright crimson upholstery of the walls and furniture. The coating of the fire-place is made of the green-and-blue jasper of a wavy pattern. The Front Half of the Grand Kremlin Palace would not be complete without the Walnut Cloakroom. Its walls and ceiling are coated with nut-tree panels. This is the work of K.Gerts, a Moscow master. The Cloakroom is lit up by the chandelier made of alabaster in the traditional classicism style. The first floor of the Grand Kremlin Palace is occupied by the so-called Own Half set aside for private use by Emperor and his family. Though the interiors of the Own Half are in tune with the monumental architecture of the Palace, there is an air of intimacy and comfort. When decorating the interiors, architects and artists applied methods as well as elements of baroque, rococo and classicism styles. Each of the seven rooms - the Dining Room, Drawing Room, Empress's Study, Boudoir, Bedroom, Emperor's Study and Reception Room - has its own style but taken together they come out as an artistic whole. The Own Half is divided by pillars into two parts - a suite-forming corridor and most of the fully furnished rooms. The interior decoration of the Dining Room is dominated by the influence of the classicism - the smooth combination of tints of the man-made marble, the white-marble statues of mythological characters, Borghese-style vases. Since much attention was paid to arranging the interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace, architects F.Rihter, N.Tchichalov and V.Bakarev were thoroughly working out designs of not only architectural decoration of premises, details of moldings and murals but also of doors, furniture, candelabra, fire-places, staircases and staircase railings, chandeliers, etc. Each crystal chandelier of the Palace was original, each one had its own structure and different shape of pendants because lighting was very important for filling up the interiors with proper solemnity. Bronze articles such as candelabra and clocks occupied a considerable place in the living quarters of the Palace. There were soft quilted sofas, couches, armchairs in the Drawing Room, Boudoir, Study and Empress's Bedroom. The furniture arrangement was well thought out and adjusted to architectural peculiarities of the rooms. The principal decoration of the Drawing Room used to be chinaware - vases, torchiers, a chandelier resembling a splendid bouquet of flowers with a pineapple on the top. They all were produced by the St. Petersburg Imperial porcelain works. Signs of the deliberate decorativeness characteristic of French palaces' interiors at the close of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th century are everywhere in Empress's Study. The prevailing color is dark raspberry. Huge mirrors which Russia started to produce during that time, chandelier multiple reflections in them, gilded stucco moldings of the walls and vaults, doors perfectly made of valued wood and encrusted with a tortoise shell, bronze, mother-of-pearl – all these certainly underline the effective smartness of the Study's interior. Each door in the numerous halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace is unique in its design. In each room there is a fabric of specific and definite color and design used for covering walls, furniture as well as for door-curtains. The Grand Kremlin Palace's ensemble incorporates the oldest public building extant in Moscow and that is the Granovitaya Palata (the Palace of Facets), the former throne-room of the Grand Prince Palace. The Palata was named Granovitaya because of the white faceted stone that was used for covering the east-side facade. It was built in 1487 – 1491 by Russian craftsmen working under the direction of Italian architects Friazin and Solari. The influence of Late Italian Gothic is evident in the single cubic structure of the building, the plain cornice, thinness of the columns at the Palata's corners. At the same time, however, its proportions and in particular its high ground floor, the design of the interior with traditional seni (a Russian word for a space between the premises and the porch) are typical of the old Russian architecture. The Granovitaya Palata's interior was remarkable in those years by its scale. In the spacious light hall like in the old Russian public premises there is a massive four-faceted pillar that supports the nine-meter-high sailing vaults. The most important role in the interior belongs to paintings covering in fact all the surfaces of the walls and vaults. For the first time the Palata was painted at the end of the 16th century but because of numerous fires the original paintings were lost. In the 16th century the Zolotaya Tsaritsina Palata ( Czarina's Golden Palace) served as the Front Reception Hall of Russian Czarinas. It is located next to the Granovitaya Palata on the high arched ground floor. The entrance had an added attractiveness because of the fretted gilded portal made of white stone. The Palata's original interior was changed at the end of the 17th century when new brick arches and iron links to strengthen the vaults were constructed. It was necessary to do so since in 1636 the Verkhospasskiy (Upper Spas) cathedral, one of the Czar's house-church, was built over the Palata. The Zolotaya Tsaritsina Palata was so named because its wall paintings were done on the golden background. The paintings depict scenes from lives of the famous Christian Czarinas and Princesses. In front of the Zolotaya Tsaritsina Palata there was seni called the Jiletskaya palata where usually the Palace guards and servants were quartered. House-churches are prominent in the ensemble's structure. The oldest and the only one of them remaining in Moscow is the white-stoned Voskreshenie Lazarya (Resurrection of Lazar) church built in the 14th century. The history chronicles report that the church was painted by Theophanus the Greek and Simeon Tcherniy, however, the frescos were lost. In 1514 the church was rebuilt and converted into the ground floor of a new brick church called Rozhdestvo Bogoroditsi (Birthday of the Virgin Mother) but later it was absolutely overshadowed by the ensemble's other edifices. The Verkhospasskiy cathedral built in 1636 by B.Ogurtsov, T.Sharutin, L.Ushakov and A.Konstantinov was also a house-church. Its interior has a chamber atmosphere and is dominated by the wooden gilded iconostasis with the splendid Baroque-style carving that dated back to the 17th-18th centuries. The iconostasis contains icons by icon-painters from the Oruzheinaya (Armory) Palata. In 1652 by the side of the Kremlin wall between the Komendantskaya (Commandant's) and Troitskaya (Trinity) Towers a palace was built for boyar N.D.Miloslavskiy. After his death it was redone and from 1679 the palace served as a theater. Various potekhi (amusements) were staged there for Czar's family. That is why the former Miloslavskiy mansion was called the Poteshniy dvorets ( the Amusement palace). In the 19th century new structures were added to the palace: a balcony on wide vessel-shaped pillars from the side of the Kremlin wall and from the street side a splendid fretted white-stoned portal with half columns. The upper tier of the palace forms a terem (tower-like chamber) with arches. Originally there was a house-church there. Over the church's refectory there remains a turret on four pillars that was used in its time as a bell and watch tower. In 1635-1636 works were started on building the Teremnoy (terem) Palace at the site of old structures. Bazhen Ogurtsov, Trefil Shaturin, Antip Konstantinov and Larion Ushakov are mentioned among its builders. The structure of this building imitates the Russian wooden palaces and this is reflected in its exterior as well as in its design. The Palace is a multi-tiered structure. New storeys were being built at some distance from the old walls and were rising up by stepped tiers. The features of the traditional Russian wood architecture might be also traced in the type of the roofing, in the design of the porch with a gable roof and of the rooms resembling the interior of Russian izba (peasant's log hut). Even before construction works on the Grand Kremlin Palace were started a watchtower with decorative kokoshniks (woman's headdress in old Russia) and eight-faceted roof was added to the Teremnoy Palace. Its main room called Prestolnaya or Tsarskiy kabinet (Czar's Study) was on the third floor. The room's middle window was decorated with fretted white-stoned window lintel on the side of the facade and it was called Tchelobitnaya (Petition). A special box was lowered down from this window and everyone could put his petition to the Czar in that box. The third floor was also occupied by Czar's private chambers - big rooms having three windows with the view of the Moscow River. The suite of the rooms on this floor ended up with the Spalnya (Bedroom) and Molelnya (Praying) rooms. There were two carved iconostasises with icons dated the 17th-18th centuries. The Senate was built in 1776-1788 by architect M.Kazakov in the classicism style. The building was constructed at the site of monastery churches and courtyards of princes Trubetskoy. After the Arsenal this was the second biggest building in the Kremlin of the end of the 18th century. The Senate building looked like a triangle with cut-off corners and three inner courtyards. This was due to the dimensions and configuration of the plot allotted for construction. The three-storied building with a high socle was constructed of bricks. The first floor is covered with coarsely trimmed stone, the second and the third ones are divided by pilasters smoothly alternating with windows. There is a passage to the inner courtyard made through the center of the main facade that looks towards the Arsenal. This passage is shaped like a triumphal arch with the four-column portico and pediment. In 1960- 1961 a new palace (The State Kremlin Palace, formerly known as the Palace of Congresses) was built on the territory of the ancient Kremlin. Congresses, conferences, theatrical performances and concerts are held there. This modern multipurpose public building was constructed in less than two years. The project implementation was directed by M.Posokhin. The State Kremlin Palace combines elements of the modern architecture with traditions of the age-old Russian one. The Palace was constructed as deep into the ground as an average height of a five-storied building. There are some office premises located there. So as to preserve traditions of the single palace complex the architects connected the Palace by one passage with a small winter garden and by the second suspended glazed passage with other Kremlin premises.

Cathedral Square is the Kremlin's main square. Basically its architectural ensemble emerged in the second half of the 15th century. All major events were marked there even in ancient times. Solemn services on the occasion of big religious feasts were held on the Square. All nobles of the Russian state gathered there for Russian Czars' weddings, crowning and funeral ceremonies. Foreign ambassadors were received on the Square in front of the Red Porch of the Granovitaya Palata (the Palace of Facets). There are outstanding monuments of the Old Russian architecture in Cathedral Square: the Uspenskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Assumption), the Archangelskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Archangel) and the Blagoveshchenskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Annunciation), the Church of Rizopolozheniya (the Church of Priestly Ordination), Granovitaya Palata (the Palace of Facets), Ivan the Great Bell Tower with a belfry, Patriarch's Palace and Residence. Besides their religious functions all oldest Kremlin Cathedrals located in Cathedral Square at present serve as museums of masterpieces of the Old Russian art. The Kremlin's Uspenskiy Cathedral is in the center of Cathedral Square as if guiding all other monuments around. The Cathedral is situated at the site where there were three temples before, in the 12th -14th centuries. The last one of them, the white-stoned cathedral was built in 1327 but by the end of the 15th century it became dilapidated and too small. In 1472 the Russian craftsmen Krivtsov and Myshkin began building a new cathedral similar to the Uspenskiy Cathedral in Vladimir. But because of bad wall laying the cathedral collapsed before work was completed. In 1475 the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravante was invited to supervise the construction of the Uspenskiy Cathedral. Using Vladimir's Uspenskiy Cathedral as a prototype Fioravante managed to create the plain and solemn temple with 5 cupolas that even today astonishes by the harmony and proportionality of all its architectural forms. The composition of its interior is absolutely unique for Russian temples. As designed by Fioravante it is a spacious secular hall with round pillars instead of traditional pillars. The original Iconostasis or icon wall of the Cathedral and wall paintings made by Russian masters under the direction of the famous icon-painter Dionisiy unfortunately did not last till our times (only a few fragments of them are still around its altar part and the Pokhvalskiy Pridel or side-altar in English). In 1642-43 these frescoes were replaced by the new ones which also were repeatedly "renovated" as times went by. But the themes of wall paintings were preserved. In 1653 the old Iconostasis was replaced by the new grand one. It was created by Russian icon-painters from Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ostashkov. Among them were such masters as Iosif Vladimirov and Konstantin Anan'in. The Iconostasis was adorned with silver-minted frameworks. Not only major religious, but state events as well were being marked in the Uspenskiy Cathedral from 1498 on. All of the Russian Czars were crowned there. In 1547 Ivan the Terrible was crowned in the Cathedral and in 1721 - Peter the1st. This is the Cathedral where metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Church lie buried. The oldest of the burial places is the one of Metropolitan Peter dating back to 1326. The 10th and last Russian Patriarch Adrian was buried in the Uspenskiy Cathedral in 1700. By the order of Peter the Great the Patriarchate was abolished in1703 and the Holy Synod took over the leadership of the Russian Church. The Blagoveshchenskiy Cathedral (the Cathedral of the Annunciation) is located next to the Grand Kremlin Palace. Originally it functioned as a house-church. The one-domed Blagoveshchenskaya church, that was standing there in the end of the 14th century, was considerably reconstructed. By the end of the 15th century the house-church was pulled down and on its ground floor a new cathedral was built in 1484-1489. Evidently, the architects from Pskov, who built it, were sticking by the basic structural parameters of the preceding temple. The Cathedral was crowned with 3 cupolas and surrounded by the open gallery for promenades that had passages leading to Cathedral Square. When in the sixties of the 16th century the Cathedral was being restored after the fire of 1547, the gallery was vaulted, its corners were decorated by four pillars made in the shape of one-domed churches and two more domes were installed on the top of the building itself. During that time the Cathedral gained a new status becoming the Czar's Palace temple. The gallery was connected with the Czar's Palace by the open passage. The Iconostasis of the Blagoveshchenskiy Cathedral is one of the oldest Russian ones. It contains icons of the 14th-19th centuries. Icons of Jesus with praying Mother of God and Ioann the Forerunner as well as the festive ones apparently date from the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. The central icons ( Jesus Christ, Mother of God, Ioann the Forerunner, the Apostle Pavel) and their general conception are ascribed to Theophanus the Greek and the icon of the Archangel Michael was probably the work of Andrei Rublev. Festive icons damaged in the fire of 1547 were believed to be done by Prokhor of Gorodets and Andrei Rublev. The Church of Priestly Ordination (Rizopolozheniye) is located on the west side of the Uspenskiy Cathedral. Architects from Pskov built it in 1484-85 at the site of the metropolitan's private church that was burned down. The Church is small but it is distinguished by a number of original decoration solutions and forms. All its frescoes were done in 1644 by the Czar's icon-painters Sidor Osipov, Ivan Borisov and Semen Abramov. The distinctive feature of the Church's wall murals is the absence of the Doomsday composition on its western wall. The four-tiered iconostasis was done in 1627 by the group of craftsmen under the direction of the well-known master Nazariy Istomin- Savin (the icon of Trinity, as is thought, was done by him). The Archangelskiy Cathedral stands on the south - princely - corner of Cathedral Square facing the Blagoveshchenskiy Cathedral. Under the order of Ivan Kalita the white-stoned temple, at that time the biggest one in the Kremlin, was built in 1333 instead of the wooden Church of the Archangel Michael occupying the site since the 13th century. From that moment and till the end of the 18th century the Cathedral served as the burial vault first of Grand Dukes and then of Czars as well. Under Ivan the 3d the dilapidated Cathedral was dismantled and the new Archangelskiy Cathedral was built at its site in 1505 – 1508 by the architect Alevisio Novi. The Cathedral's architectural structure is traditionally Russian: it is a five-domed, six-pillared temple with crosses and cupolas. The Renaissance influence on its decor still seems obvious. The interior draws attention by cross-like arrangement of pillars that is traditional for the Russian architecture. The architectural decor's horizontal divisions are matched by murals of the iconostasis and wall paintings. The Cathedral building was never rebuilt but it was burned and repaired many times. Under the design of V.Bazhenov in 1772 it was reinforced by the white-stoned counterfort on the south side. For the first time the Archangelskiy Cathedral was icon-painted in the second half of the 16th century (today only fragments of those murals remain). In 1652-1666 by the order of Alexey Michailovitch the Cathedral was repainted. Icon-painters worked under the supervision of Simon Ushakov. The main subject of the Cathedral's murals is the depiction of holy warriors and related topic, all devoted to the Archangel Michael accordingly. The Patriarshie Palatie (Patriarch's Palace) was built in the middle of the 17th century to the order of Patriarch Nickon. Construction works were done under the direction of Alexey Korolkov and Ivan Semenov. The Patriarshie Palatie is a single monolithic building with a house-church incorporated. The most considerable changes in its structure occurred in 1721 due to the abolition of the Patriarchate and establishment of the Holy Synod. Under the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles there were two through-passage arches that were used for getting to Patriarch's Palace from Cathedral Square. On the north side of the Palace there is an open gallery on pillars that connects it with the Patriarch's residential chambers. In 1922 the gallery was rid of all additionally built structures , the Palace's old chambers were opened up and portals of the original church were restored. The main outer entrance hall now comprises the historical and memorial section of the museum exposition. As a whole the exposition contains religious artwork and utensils used by Patriarchs of the Russian Church. The Krestovaya palata (the Cross chamber) surprised contemporaries by its size and wonderful vaults in the middle that had no pillars. It used to serve as a hall for grand receptions. The palata's original interior was lost. In 1793 the architect M.Kazakov rebuilt the vaults, changed the shape of windows and constructed new portals. There are different household articles exhibited in the palata's show-cases now and they help to imagine how the interior of chambers looked like in real life as well as all the diversity of kinds, genres and technique of arts and crafts as well as handicrafts not only in Russia but in other countries also. One can see copper-made items of the 17th century, tableware made of precious metals for grand occasions, the Gospel setting unique in minutest details of its implementation and smartness (for example, the front plate of the setting dating back to1633) as well as gifts from foreign ambassadors to the Czar's court, etc. The next exposition hall is the Trapeznaya (the Refectory) of the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles. It contains samples of the Russian decorative needlework of the 17th century. The Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was built at the site of the old Solovetskie tchudotvotsie (Solovets miracle men) temple and part of Boris Godunov's court. Originally it was called the Church of the Apostle Philipp. The Church's roofs and crosses were covered with copper sheets and gilded. In 1680 the Church was rebuilt and it was given the current name. Like other Kremlin structures the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was time and again repaired. The Iconostasis of the 17th century-the beginning of the 18th century was brought from the Cathedral of the Kremlin's Voznesenskiy Monastery. It is made of the carved gilt wood in the traditions of the Moscow Baroque style. Works of icon-painters belonging to the Stroganov school are of the most interest. Ivan the Great Bell Tower. In1505-1508 the architect Bon Friazin built a belfry of about 60 meter high at the site of the Church of Ioann Lestvitchnik. In 1598-1600 Boris Godunov decided to build a new temple that should have been higher than all Kremlin churches and cathedrals dominating the Kremlin ensemble. Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built on and became 81 meter high. Because of the new height it began to serve also as a fire and watch tower. The basic principle of the Bell Tower's architectural composition is a gradual transition from massive and solid lower tiers to lighter and well-proportioned upper ones. Besides the Bell Tower itself the whole ensemble also incorporates a belfry built in the thirties of the 16th century and the so-called Filaretova pristroika ( Filaretov's annex) built in 1624 with a hipped roof. Both structures were considerably damaged when Napoleon's gunners tried to blow them up. They were restored in the 1810s by the architect I.Gielyardy (the design was worked out by I. V. Egotov and L.Ruska) with their dimensions and shapes close to the original ones and features of the modern classicism added.

Read more about the Kremlin’s museums in Moscow Museums.

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