146-657: The following is a list of towers of the Moscow Kremlin . The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin , recognizable by the characteristic notches and its towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. The Kremlin is flanked by 19 towers with a 20th, the Kutafya Tower, not part of its walls. The Borovitskaya Tower ( Russian : Боровицкая башня , romanized : Borovitskaya bashnya )
292-513: A "Russe" and highlighting his "German" descent from Rurik. Such genealogies served to elevate the position of the Russian monarch in the eyes of his subjects and other European powers, who were also creating mythological ancestors for themselves. Despite calamities triggered by the Great Fire of 1547 , the early part of Ivan's reign was one of peaceful reforms and modernization. Ivan revised
438-537: A bellmaker Feodor Dmitriev cast the so-called Nabatny bell (alarm bell) weighing 150 poods (2.45 metric tons ) and installed it on the tower. The bell subsequently broke and was re-cast by Ivan Motorin on 30 July 1714. The sound from this bell served as a signal for the spontaneous uprising of the Muscovites during the plague outbreak in 1771, which would later be called the Plague Riot (Чумной бунт). By
584-477: A difficult position by 1579. The displaced refugees fleeing the war compounded the effects of the simultaneous drought, and the exacerbated war engendered epidemics causing much loss of life. Báthory then launched a series of offensives against Muscovy in the campaign seasons of 1579–81 to try to cut the Kingdom of Livonia from Muscovy. During his first offensive in 1579, he retook Polotsk with 22,000 men. During
730-509: A few thousand Azaps and Akıncıs were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and to begin the canal works while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov . In early 1570, Ivan's ambassadors concluded a treaty at Constantinople that restored friendly relations between the sultan and the tsar. The envoys were directed to tell to the sultan: "My Tsar is not an enemy of the Moslem faith. His servant Sain Bulat rules
876-411: A fledgling empire, but at an immense cost to its people and long-term economy. Ivan IV was the eldest son of Vasili III by his second wife Elena Glinskaya , and a grandson of Ivan III . He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him as tsar in 1547 at the age of 16. In the early years of his reign, Ivan ruled with
1022-701: 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. The State Kremlin Palace (alias Kremlin Palace of Congresses),
1168-592: A middle tower on the south side of the Moscow Kremlin. It was built in 1485 by Antonio Gilardi on the spot of the gates to Dmitry Donskoy 's whitestone Kremlin. The Taynitskaya Tower had a secret well and a tunnel leading to the Moscow River (hence, the name "Taynitskaya", or "secret"). In 1770, the tower was dismantled due to the construction of the Kremlin Palace by Vasili Bazhenov . It
1314-505: A new dimension of power that was intimately tied to religion. He was now a "divine" leader appointed to enact God's will, as "church texts described Old Testament kings as 'Tsars' and Christ as the Heavenly Tsar". The newly appointed title was then passed on from generation to generation, and "succeeding Muscovite rulers... benefited from the divine nature of the power of the Russian monarch... crystallized during Ivan's reign". Like
1460-677: A new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and contained the graceful tower church of St. Sergius , which was described by foreigners as one of the finest in the country. During the Time of Troubles , the Kremlin was held by the Polish forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlin's liberation by
1606-466: A small pyramid -shaped top was added to the tower. In 1821, when the Alexander Garden was laid out, an ancient-style grotto was built at the foot of the tower, designed by Osip Bove . Geographical coordinates: 55°45′13″N 37°36′56″E / 55.753667°N 37.615525°E / 55.753667; 37.615525 ( Middle Arsenalnaya Tower ) . The Troitskaya Tower
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#17327807930501752-558: Is a tower of the Moscow Kremlin. It was built in 1492 by an Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari . The construction of this tower completed the Kremlin's line of defence from the side of the Red Square . It was called the Sobakin Tower until the early 18th century (named so after a boyar Sobakin, whose house had been adjacent to the tower from the Kremlin side). The Corner Arsenalnaya Tower received its current name after
1898-563: Is a tower with a through-passage on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks the Red Square not far from the State Historical Museum . The Nikolskaya Tower was built in 1491 by an Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari . It was named after Nikolaevsky (Nikolsky) Greek Monastery, which is no longer there. In 1806, the tower was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style by an architect Luigi Rusca . In 1812,
2044-702: Is a Kremlin tower, built in 1495. It is located on the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall and overlooks the Alexander Garden . It is situated on the spot of a corner tower dating from the reign of Dmitry Donskoi . It was given its present name, the Middle Arsenal Tower, after the Arsenal was completed in the mid-18th century. Originally, it was called the Faceted Tower because of the shape of its façade . In 1680, an open lookout with
2190-460: Is a corner tower on the southeastern side of the Moscow Kremlin on the Moscow River. The tower was built in 1487-1488 by an Italian architect Marco Ruffo (known as Mark Fryazin in Russia ). It was named after a boyar Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev , whose house had been adjacent to the tower from the Kremlin side. The Beklemishevskaya Tower was constructed for protecting the ford and the crossing over
2336-588: Is a corner tower on the southwestern side of Kremlin, overlooking the Moskva River . It was built in 1488 by an Italian architect Antonio Gilardi (also known as Anton Fryazin). Initially, the tower was called the Sviblova Tower (Свиблова башня) after the Sviblov boyar family, who had lived in a house adjacent to the tower from the Kremlin's side. The tower was renamed to Vodovzvodnaya in 1633 after
2482-446: Is a corner tower with a through-passage on the west side of the Kremlin. It is named after Borovitsky Hill , one of the seven hills Moscow is standing on. The tower was constructed in 1490 on the spot of an old Kremlin gate by Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari (Petr Fryazin, from fryaz or fryag as Italians were called at that time) by order of Vasili III of Russia . In 1658 by orders of tzar Aleksey I of Russia
2628-532: Is a legend that he was so impressed with the structure that he had the architect, Postnik Yakovlev , blinded so that he could never design anything as beautiful again. However, in reality Postnik Yakovlev went on to design more churches for Ivan and the walls of the Kazan Kremlin in the early 1560s as well as the chapel over Saint Basil's grave, which was added to Saint Basil's Cathedral in 1588, several years after Ivan's death. Although more than one architect
2774-534: Is a tower in the southeastern section of the Kremlin wall , built in 1495. It is 38 metres (125 ft) in height. Traditionally, there has always been a bell on top of the Nabatnaya Tower, used for notifying citizens of fires and other misfortunes in the Kremlin or on the Red Square (hence, the name Nabatnaya, which derives from the old Russian word набат - nabat , meaning "alarm" or "tocsin"). In 1680,
2920-489: Is a tower on the eastern wall of the Kremlin, overlooking the so-called Basil Descent (Васильевский спуск), which begins at the Red Square and ends at the Moscow River. The tower was built in 1490 by an Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari on the spot of gates to the whitestone Kremlin. It was named after the Church of Constantine and Helene in the Kremlin (second half of the 17th century), which would be demolished by
3066-708: Is an outlying barbican tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Built in 1516 under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aloisio da Milano , in order to protect one end of the Neglinnaya River bridge that comes out of the West side of the Kremlin wall under the Troitskaya Tower. Initially, the Kutafya was surrounded by a moat and was the only access to the city through its lift bridge, nowadays the moat around
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#17327807930503212-489: Is named after the Church of Metropolitan Peter , which was part of the mission of the Ugreshi Monastery located near the tower in the Kremlin. The Petrovskaya Tower was destroyed by cannon fire during the Polish invasion in 1612 and then restored. In 1771, it was pulled down to construct the Kremlin Palace , but was rebuilt in 1783. In 1812, the tower was blown up by Napoleon’s retreating troops . In 1818, it
3358-607: Is now the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation . The Kremlin overlooks the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and Alexander Garden to the west. The name kremlin means 'fortress within a city' in Russian, and is often also used metonymically in international politics to refer to the Government of the Russian Federation . Likewise, during
3504-584: Is the Troitsky Bridge, which is protected by the Kutafia Tower and leads to the gates of the Troitskaya Tower. There was also a clock on top of the tower between 1585 and 1812. In 1707, due to a threat of Swedish invasion, the gun slots of the Troitskaya Tower were enlarged to fit heavy cannons . In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star on top of the Troitskaya Tower. Prior to Soviet rule
3650-651: Is the oldest extant structure in the Kremlin and the whole of Moscow. The northern corner of the Kremlin is occupied by the Arsenal , which was built for Peter the Great in 1701. The southwestern section of the Kremlin holds the Armoury building . Built in 1851 to a Renaissance Revival design, it is currently a museum housing Russian state Regalia and Diamond Fund . The haloalkaliphilic methylotrophic bacterium Methylophaga muralis (first called Methylophaga murata )
3796-549: Is the youngest and smallest tower of all, built in 1680. It is not a tower per se, it is rather a stone terem , a tent-shaped chamber placed directly on top of the wall. Previously, there was a small wooden turret , from which, according to legend, tsar Ivan IV liked to observe what was happening on the Red Square. Hence the name, the Tsar's Tower. The white stone bands around the posts, tall corner pyramids with gilt flags and tent roof topped with an elegant gilt weather vane make
3942-489: The oprichniki . Originally, it numbered 1000. The oprichniki were headed by Malyuta Skuratov . One known oprichnik was the German adventurer Heinrich von Staden . The oprichniki enjoyed social and economic privileges under the oprichnina . They owed their allegiance and status to Ivan, not heredity or local bonds. The first wave of persecutions targeted primarily the princely clans of Russia, notably
4088-550: The oprichnina and disbanded his oprichniki . In September or October 1575, Ivan proclaimed Simeon Bekbulatovich , his statesman of Tatar origin, the new grand prince of all Russia. Simeon reigned as a figurehead leader for about a year. According to the English envoy Giles Fletcher the Elder , Simeon acted on Ivan's instructions to confiscate all of the lands that belonged to monasteries, and Ivan pretended to disagree with
4234-551: The oprichnina and Tatar raids, the prolonged war and overpopulation caused a severe social and economic crisis in the second half of Ivan's reign. The 1560s brought to Russia hardships that led to a dramatic change in Ivan's policies. Russia was devastated by a combination of drought, famine, unsuccessful wars against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Tatar invasions and the sea-trading blockade carried out by
4380-655: The Annunciation Tower , was erected in 1487-1488. At its foundation are slabs of white limestone that have survived since the time of the white stone Kremlin of the 14th century. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible , the tower was used as a prison . The name of the tower comes from the miracle -working Icon of the Annunciation , which was once kept here, and is also associated with the Cathedral of
4526-552: The Ascension Convent in 1397. Grand Prince Ivan III organised the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting a number of skilled architects from Renaissance Italy , including Petrus Antonius Solarius , who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marcus Ruffus who designed the new palace for the prince. It was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and
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4672-619: The Baltic ports owned by Livonia. Russia remained isolated from sea trade. Ivan established close ties with the Kingdom of England . Russian–English relations can be traced to 1551, when the Muscovy Company was formed by Richard Chancellor , Sebastian Cabot , Sir Hugh Willoughby and several London merchants. In 1553, Chancellor sailed to the White Sea and continued overland to Moscow, where he visited Ivan's court. Ivan opened up
4818-648: The Cold War , it referred to the Government of the Soviet Union , which operated out of the city in the erstwhile Russian SFSR . The term " Kremlinology " is related to the metonym and refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics. Largely open to the public, the Kremlin offers supervised tours; the accompanying Moscow Kremlin Museums reportedly attracted 1,024,610 visitors in 2023. The site had been continuously inhabited by Finnic peoples (especially
4964-581: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania ), claimed descent both from Orthodox Hungarian nobles and the Mongol ruler Mamai (1335–1380). Born on 25 August, he received the name Ivan in honor of St. John the Baptist , the day of whose beheading falls on 29 August. In some texts of that era, it is also occasionally mentioned with the names Titus and Smaragd, in accordance with the tradition of polyonymy among
5110-705: The Habsburgs and other monarchs in Europe, the first Russian tsars adopted mythological genealogies that connected them to Ancient Rome . In The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir , their lineage is traced to Rurik , the first prince of Novgorod in northern Russia, while a certain Prus, an alleged brother of Augustus who ruled what would become Prussia , is mentioned as a direct ancestor of Rurik. Ivan IV often mentioned his apparent kinship with Augustus, claiming not to be
5256-811: The Kazan Khanate repeatedly raided northeastern Russia. In the 1530s, the Crimean khan formed an offensive alliance with Safa Giray of Kazan , his relative. When Safa Giray invaded Russia in December 1540, the Russians used Qasim Tatars to contain him. After his advance was stalled near Murom, Safa Giray was forced to withdraw to his own borders. The reverses undermined Safa Giray's authority in Kazan. A pro-Russian party, represented by Shahgali , gained enough popular support to make several attempts to take over
5402-578: The Kremlin is a fortified complex in Moscow , Russia . Located in the centre of the country's capital city, it is the best known of the kremlins (Russian citadels ) and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the Kremlin towers . Within the complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace , which served as the royal residence of the Emperor of Russia . It
5548-413: The Kremlin , which is no longer there. The tower's modern name comes from the icon of 'Spas Nerukotvorny' ( Russian : Спас Нерукотворный ) translated as 'The Saviour Not Made by Hands ', which was placed above the gates on the inside wall in 1658 and removed in 1917. The tower is also named for the wall-painted icon of 'Spas Smolensky' ( Russian : Спас Смоленский ) translated as 'Smolensky Saviour', which
5694-460: The Meryans ) since the 2nd century BCE . The Slavs occupied the south-western portion of Borovitsky 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. The Vyatichi built a fortified structure (or "grad") on the hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River . Up to the 14th century,
5840-662: The Moscow Uprising of 1682 , Tsar Peter escaped with much difficulty from the Kremlin and as a result developed a dislike for it. Three decades later in 1703, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg . The Golden Hall, a throne room with murals painted probably after 1547, was destroyed to make place for the Kremlin Palace, commissioned by Elizabeth of Russia and designed by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1752. Although still used for coronation ceremonies,
5986-538: The Oka River , which defined the border. The following year, Devlet launched another raid on Moscow, now with a numerous horde, reinforced by Turkish janissaries equipped with firearms and cannons. The Russian army, led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky , was half the size but was experienced and supported by streltsy , equipped with modern firearms and gulyay-gorods . In addition, it was no longer divided into two parts (the oprichnina and zemsky ), unlike during
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6132-799: The Rurikids . Baptized in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius by Abbot Joasaph (Skripitsyn), two elders of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery were elected as recipients—the monk Cassian Bossoy and the hegumen Daniel. Tradition says that in honor of the birth of Ivan, the Church of the Ascension was built in Kolomenskoye . When Ivan was three years old, his father died from an abscess and inflammation on his leg that developed into blood poisoning . The closest contenders to
6278-526: The Soviets in 1928. The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower had its own gates and a lift bridge , protected by guards at all times. In the late 18th century - early 19th century the gates were bricked up and the bridge was dismantled. The tower's height is 36.8 metres (121 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°45′04″N 37°37′20″E / 55.751179°N 37.622359°E / 55.751179; 37.622359 ( Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower ) . The Nabatnaya Tower ( Russian : Набатная башня )
6424-693: The Soviets installed a red star on top of the tower. Following the closure of the Spassky Gate in Red Square to all traffic at the end of the 1990s, the Borovitsky Gate became the main vehicle passageway. Together with the star, its height is 54.05 metres (177.3 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°44′56″N 37°36′45″E / 55.748909°N 37.612520°E / 55.748909; 37.612520 ( Borovitskaya Tower ) . The Vodovzvodnaya Tower ( Russian : Водовзводная башня , romanized : Vodovzvodnaya bashnya )
6570-1078: The Stroganov merchant family the patent for colonising "the abundant region along the Kama River", and, in 1574, lands over the Ural Mountains along the rivers Tura and Tobol . The family also received permission to build forts along the Ob River and the Irtysh River . Around 1577, the Stroganovs engaged the Cossack leader Yermak Timofeyevich to protect their lands from attacks of the Siberian Khan Kuchum . In 1580, Yermak started his conquest of Siberia. With some 540 Cossacks , he started to penetrate territories that were tributary to Kuchum. Yermak pressured and persuaded
6716-465: The fuses , and the damage was less severe than intended. Restoration works were undertaken in 1816–1819, supervised by Osip Bove . During the remainder of the reign of Alexander 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, Tsar Nicholas I
6862-494: The massacre of Novgorod by the oprichniki and the burning of Moscow by the Tatars . Ivan also pursued cultural improvements, such as importing the first printing press to Russia, and began several processes that would continue for centuries, including deepening connections with other European states, particularly England , fighting wars against the Ottoman Empire , and the conquest of Siberia . Contemporary sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's complex personality. He
7008-481: The 1571 defeat. On 27 July, the horde broke through the defensive line along the Oka River and moved towards Moscow. The Russian troops did not have time to intercept it, but the regiment of Prince Khvorostinin vigorously attacked the Tatars from the rear. The Khan stopped only 30 km from Moscow and brought down his entire army back on the Russians, who managed to take up defense near the village of Molodi . After several days of heavy fighting, Mikhail Vorotynsky with
7154-500: The 1680s. Cathedral Square is the heart of the Kremlin. It is surrounded by six buildings, including three cathedrals . The Cathedral of the Dormition was completed in 1479 to be the main church of Moscow and where all the Tsars were crowned. The massive limestone façade, capped with its five golden cupolas , was the design of Aristotele Fioravanti . Several important metropolitans and patriarchs are buried there, including Peter and Makarii . The gilded, three-domed Cathedral of
7300-431: The Annunciation added to the tower in the early 18th century and demolished in 1932. In the 17th century, the Portomoyniye Gates were built nearby so that palace laundresses could go to the Portomoiny raft on the Moscow River to rinse porty, or underclothes. These gates were bricked up in 1813. The height of the tower is 30.7 metres (101 ft) (32.45 metres (106.5 ft) together with the weather vane that replaced
7446-429: The Annunciation was completed next in 1489, only to be reconstructed to a nine-domed design a century later. On the south-east of the square is the much larger Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (1508), where almost all the Muscovite monarchs from Ivan Kalita to Ivan V of Russia are interred. Also Boris Godunov was originally buried there but was moved to the Trinity Monastery . There are two domestic churches of
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#17327807930507592-403: 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. The residence of
7738-402: The Kazan throne. In 1545, Ivan mounted an expedition to the River Volga to show his support for the pro-Russian party. In 1551, the tsar sent his envoy to the Nogai Horde , and they promised to maintain neutrality during the impending war. The Ar begs and Udmurts submitted to Russian authority as well. In 1551, the wooden fort of Sviyazhsk was transported down the Volga from Uglich all
7884-472: The Khanate of Kassimov; Prince Kaibula in Yuriev, Ibak in Suroshsk, and the Nogai Princes in Romanov.” In 1558, Ivan launched the Livonian War in an attempt to gain access to the Baltic Sea and its major trade routes. The war ultimately proved unsuccessful and stretched on for 24 years, engaging the Kingdom of Sweden , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Teutonic Knights of Livonia. The prolonged war had nearly destroyed
8030-442: The Kremlin from 2 September to 11 October 1812, following the French invasion of Russia . When Napoleon retreated from Moscow, he ordered the whole Kremlin to be blown up. The Kremlin Arsenal , several portions of the Kremlin Wall and several wall towers were destroyed by explosions and the Faceted Chamber and other churches were damaged by fire. Explosions continued for three days, from 21 to 23 October 1812. However, rain damaged
8176-415: The Kremlin was abandoned and neglected until 1773, when Catherine the Great engaged Vasili Bazhenov to build her new residence there. Bazhenov produced a bombastic Neoclassical 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
8322-399: The Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, the Church of the Twelve Apostles (1653–1656) and the exquisite one-domed Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe , built by Pskov artisans from 1484 to 1488 and featuring superb icons and frescoes from 1627 and 1644. The other notable structure is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower on the north-east corner of the square, which is said to mark
8468-697: The Moscow River. There was the so-called "listening" vault underneath the tower, which was used for preventing the enemy from tunneling his way to the Kremlin. The Beklemishevskaya Tower is 46.2 metres (152 ft) in height. During the October Revolution of 1917, the top of the tower was damaged by a shell. It was restored a year later by an architect I.V. Rylsky. Geographical coordinates: 55°44′59″N 37°37′24″E / 55.749742°N 37.623239°E / 55.749742; 37.623239 ( Beklemishevskaya Tower ) . The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower ( Russian : Константино-Еленинская башня , romanized : Konstantino-Eleninskaya bashnya )
8614-436: The Moscow government to gain a foothold on the Middle Volga kept provoking uprisings of local peoples, which was suppressed only with great difficulty. In 1557, the First Cheremis War ended, and the Bashkirs accepted Ivan's authority. In campaigns in 1554 and 1556, Russian troops conquered the Astrakhan Khanate at the mouths of the Volga River, and the new Astrakhan fortress was built in 1558 by Ivan Vyrodkov to replace
8760-427: The Ottoman Empire .) Khan Devlet I Giray of Crimea repeatedly raided the Moscow region. In 1571, the 40,000-strong Crimean and Turkish army launched a large-scale raid. The ongoing Livonian War left Moscow with a garrison of only 6,000 troops, which could not even delay the Tatar approach. Unresisted, Devlet devastated unprotected towns and villages around Moscow and caused the Fire of Moscow . Historians have estimated
8906-404: The Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan 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. Spasskie gates of the wall still bear a dedication in Latin praising Petrus Antonius Solarius for the design. After construction of
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#17327807930509052-415: The Palace of Facets are linked by the Grand Kremlin Palace . This was commissioned by Nicholas I in 1838. The largest structure in the Kremlin, it cost 11 million rubles 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
9198-428: The Print Yard being burned in an arson attack. The first Russian printers, Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets , were forced to flee from Moscow to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Nevertheless, the printing of books resumed from 1568 onwards, with Andronik Timofeevich Nevezha and his son Ivan now heading the Print Yard. Ivan had Saint Basil's Cathedral constructed in Moscow to commemorate the seizure of Kazan . There
9344-407: The Soviet government was closed to tourists until 1955. It was not until the Khrushchev 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 the World Heritage List in 1990. Although the current director of the Kremlin Museums, Elena Gagarina ( Yuri Gagarin 's daughter), advocates
9490-412: The Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585. It is usually referred to as the Kremlin chimes (Кремлёвские куранты) and designates official Moscow Time. The clock face has a diameter of 6 metres (20 ft). The gate of Spasskaya Tower was used to greet foreign dignitaries, and was used during formal ceremonies or processions held on Red Square. The Senatskaya Tower ( Russian : Сенатская башня )
9636-658: The Swedes, the Poles and the Hanseatic League . His first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, died in 1560, which was suspected to be a poisoning. The personal tragedy deeply hurt Ivan and is thought to have affected his personality, if not his mental health. At the same time one of Ivan's advisors, Prince Andrey Kurbsky, defected to the Lithuanians, took command of the Lithuanian troops and devastated the Russian region of Velikiye Luki . This series of treacherous acts made Ivan paranoically suspicious of nobility. On 3 December 1564 Ivan left Moscow for Aleksandrova Sloboda , where he sent two letters in which he announced his abdication because of
9782-414: The Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich ( Russian : Иван IV Васильевич ; 25 August 1530 – 28 March [ O.S. 18 March] 1584), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to
9928-437: The Terrible with a message that proclaimed Yermak-conquered Siberia to be part of Russia to the dismay of the Stroganovs, who had planned to keep Siberia for themselves. Ivan agreed to reinforce the Cossacks with his streltsy, but the detachment sent to Siberia died of starvation without any benefit. The Cossacks were defeated by the local peoples, Yermak died and the survivors immediately left Siberia. Only in 1586, two years after
10074-418: The Turks, Ivan sent in 1558 a delegation to Egypt Eyalet by Archdeacon Gennady, who, however, died in Constantinople before he could reach Egypt. From then on, the embassy was headed by Smolensk merchant Vasily Poznyakov, whose delegation visited Alexandria, Cairo and Sinai; brought the patriarch a fur coat and an icon sent by Ivan and left an interesting account of his two-and-a-half years of travels. Ivan
10220-422: The White Sea and the port of Arkhangelsk to the company and granted it privilege of trading throughout his reign without paying the standard customs fees. With the use of English merchants, Ivan engaged in a long correspondence with Elizabeth I of England . While the queen focused on commerce, Ivan was more interested in a military alliance. Ivan even proposed to her once, and during his troubled relations with
10366-405: The advisers from the Chosen Council and triggered the Livonian War of 1558 to 1583, which ravaged Russia and resulted in failure to take control over Livonia and the loss of Ingria , but allowed him to establish greater autocratic control over the Russian nobility , which he violently purged using Russia's first political police, the oprichniki . The later years of Ivan's reign were marked by
10512-620: The age of 16, Ivan was crowned at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin . The metropolitan placed on Ivan the signs of royal dignity: the Cross of the Life-Giving Tree , barmas, and the cap of Monomakh ; Ivan Vasilyevich was anointed with myrrh , and then the metropolitan blessed the tsar. He was the first Russian monarch to be crowned the tsar of all Russia , partly imitating his grandfather, Ivan III. Until then,
10658-493: The alleged embezzlement and treason of the aristocracy and the clergy. The boyar court was unable to rule in Ivan's absence and feared the wrath of the Muscovite citizens. A boyar envoy departed for Aleksandrova Sloboda to beg Ivan to return to the throne. Ivan agreed to return on condition of being granted absolute power. He demanded the right to condemn and execute traitors and confiscate their estates without interference from
10804-708: The architect Matvey Kazakov supervised the reconstruction of the dismantled sections of the wall and of some structures of the Chudov Monastery and built the spacious and luxurious Offices 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. French forces occupied
10950-486: The basic foundations of the current walls; this fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh . Dmitri's son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin. The newly built Cathedral of the Annunciation was painted by Theophanes the Greek , Andrei Rublev , and Prokhor in 1406. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitri's tutor, Metropolitan Alexis ; while his widow, Eudoxia , established
11096-410: The boyar council or church. Ivan decreed the creation of the oprichnina . The oprichnina was a separate territory within the borders of Russia, mostly in the territory of the former Novgorod Republic in the north. Ivan held exclusive power over the territory. The Boyar Council ruled the zemshchina ('land'), the second division of the state. Ivan also recruited a personal guard known as
11242-616: The boyars, he even asked her for a guarantee to be granted asylum in England if his rule was jeopardised. Elizabeth agreed on the condition that he provide for himself during his potential stay. Ivan corresponded with overseas Orthodox leaders. In response to a letter of Patriarch Joachim of Alexandria asking him for financial assistance for the Saint Catherine's Monastery , in the Sinai Peninsula , which had suffered by
11388-494: The boyars. There followed brutal reprisals and assassinations, including those of Metropolitan Philip and Prince Alexander Gorbatyi-Shuisky . Ivan ordered in 1553 the establishment of the Moscow Print Yard , and the first printing press was introduced to Russia. Several religious books in Russian were printed during the 1550s and 1560s. The new technology provoked discontent among traditional scribes, which led to
11534-413: The bridge has transformed into Alexander Garden . Kutafya is one of the lower height Kremlin towers which had two combat tiers and no spire, with the open-top upper landing equipped with arrowslits and machicolations , which made it a formidable obstacle to the besieging of the Kremlin fortress. Marking today the main public entrance to the Kremlin, the Kutafya tower was modified several times through
11680-461: The brother of Fredrick II and a former ally of Ivan, died in 1583, Poland invaded his territories in the Duchy of Courland , and Frederick II decided to sell his rights of inheritance. Except for the island of Saaremaa , Denmark had left Livonia by 1585. In the later years of Ivan's reign, the southern borders of Muscovy were disturbed by Crimean Tatars, mainly to capture slaves. (See also Slavery in
11826-497: The centuries: The Kutafya Tower is currently 13.5 m high; it used to be 18 m but the lower part of the tower was "submerged" by successive constructions that heightened the street-level ground. Geographical coordinates: 55°45′09″N 37°36′46″E / 55.752514°N 37.612649°E / 55.752514; 37.612649 ( Kutafya Tower ) . Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin or simply
11972-527: The city. The oprichniki burned and pillaged Novgorod and the surrounding villages and the city has never regained its former prominence. Casualty figures vary greatly from different sources. The First Pskov Chronicle estimates the number of victims at 60,000. According to the Third Novgorod Chronicle, the massacre lasted for five weeks. The massacre of Novgorod consisted of men, women and children who were tied to sleighs and run into
12118-558: The conquest of Kazan, the Siberian khan Yadegar and the Nogai Horde , under Khan Ismail, pledged their allegiance to Ivan in the hope that he would help them against their opponents. However, Yadegar failed to gather the full sum of tribute that he proposed to the tsar and so Ivan did nothing to save his inefficient vassal. In 1563, Yadegar was overthrown and killed by Khan Kuchum , who denied any tribute to Moscow. In 1558, Ivan gave
12264-776: The construction of the Arsenal . The tower still has a secret well . In 1707, due to a threat of Swedish invasion, the gun slots of the Corner Arsenalnaya Tower were enlarged to fit heavy cannons . In 1812, the tower was damaged by an explosion , set up by the retreating French army . It was restored in 1816-1819 by architect Osip Bove . The tower's current height is over 60 metres (200 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°45′18″N 37°36′59″E / 55.755110°N 37.616469°E / 55.755110; 37.616469 ( Corner Arsenalnaya Tower ) . The Middle Arsenalnaya Tower ( Russian : Средняя Арсенальная башня , i.e. "Middle Arsenal tower")
12410-727: The decision. When the throne was returned to Ivan in September 1576 he returned some of the confiscated land and kept the rest. In 1547, Hans Schlitte, the agent of Ivan, recruited craftsmen in Germany for work in Russia. However, all of the craftsmen were arrested in Lübeck at the request of Poland and Livonia . The German merchant companies ignored the new port built by Ivan on the River Narva in 1550 and continued to deliver goods in
12556-679: The economy, and the oprichnina had thoroughly disrupted the government. Meanwhile, the Union of Lublin had united the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland , and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired an energetic leader, Stephen Báthory , who was supported by Russia's southern enemy, the Ottoman Empire. Ivan's realm was being squeezed by two of the time's great powers. After rejecting peace proposals from his enemies, Ivan had found himself in
12702-509: The entrance on Red Square had been plastered over by Soviet authorities and was uncovered and restored in 2010 - similar to what took place on the Spasskaya Tower. Geographical coordinates: 55°45′16″N 37°37′04″E / 55.754421°N 37.617713°E / 55.754421; 37.617713 ( Nikolskaya Tower. ) The Corner Arsenalnaya Tower ( Russian : Арсенальная Угловая башня , i.e. "Corner Arsenal tower")
12848-638: 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. The Tsar bell ,
12994-522: The freezing waters of the Volkhov River, which Ivan ordered on the basis of unproved accusations of treason. He then tortured its inhabitants and killed thousands in a pogrom. The archbishop was also hunted to death. Almost every day, 500 or 600 people were killed, some by drowning, but the official death toll named 1,500 of Novgorod's "big" people (nobility) and mentioned only about the same number of "smaller" people. Many modern researchers estimate
13140-484: The grim conditions of the epidemic, a famine and the ongoing Livonian War, Ivan grew suspicious that noblemen of the wealthy city of Novgorod were planning to defect and to place the city under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A Novgorod citizen, Petr Volynets, warned the tsar about the alleged conspiracy, which modern historians believe not to have been real. In 1570 Ivan ordered the oprichniki to raid
13286-592: The group of reformers known as the Chosen Council and established the Zemsky Sobor , a new assembly convened by the tsar. He also revised the legal code and introduced reforms, including elements of local self-government, as well as establishing the first Russian standing army, the streltsy . Ivan conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan , and significantly expanded the territory of Russia. After he had consolidated his power, Ivan rid himself of
13432-598: 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 eighteen Kremlin 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 the Troitskaya , 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
13578-487: The helipad. The location chosen is said to be of no threat to the architecture of the Kremlin helipad. The nearest Moscow Metro stations to the Kremlin are: Okhotny Ryad and Biblioteka Imeni Lenina ( Sokolnicheskaya Line ), Teatralnaya ( Zamoskvoretskaya Line ), Ploshchad Revolyutsii ( Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line ), Arbatskaya ( Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line ), Alexandrovsky Sad ( Filyovskaya Line ), and Borovitskaya ( Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line ). Ivan
13724-500: The influential families of Suzdal. Ivan executed, exiled or forcibly tonsured prominent members of the boyar clans on questionable accusations of conspiracy. Among those who were executed were the Metropolitan Philip and the prominent warlord Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky. In 1566 Ivan extended the oprichnina to eight central districts. Of the 12,000 nobles, 570 became oprichniki and the rest were expelled. Under
13870-820: The installation of a water-supplying machine inside the tower ("vodovzvodnaya" may be translated as "water-lifting"). In 1805, the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was dismantled due to its dilapidation and built once again. In 1812, the retreating French army blew it up. The tower was restored in 1817-1819 by architect Osip Bove . Its height is 61.85 metres (202.9 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°44′53″N 37°36′49″E / 55.748106°N 37.613647°E / 55.748106; 37.613647 ( Vodovzvodnaya Tower ) . The Blagoveschenskaya Tower ( Russian : Благовещенская башня , romanized : Blagoveshchenskaya bashnya ), known in English as
14016-473: The largest bell in the world, stands on a pedestal next to the tower. The oldest secular structure still standing is Ivan III 's Palace of Facets (1491), which holds the imperial thrones. The next oldest is the first home of the royal family, the Terem 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
14162-700: The law code, creating the Sudebnik of 1550 , founded a standing army (the streltsy ), established the Zemsky Sobor (the first Russian parliament of feudal estates) and the council of the nobles (known as the Chosen Council) and confirmed the position of the Church with the Council of the Hundred Chapters (Stoglavy Synod), which unified the rituals and ecclesiastical regulations of
14308-461: The main part of the army flanked the Tatars and dealt a sudden blow on 2 August, and Khvorostinin made a sortie from the fortifications. The Tatars were completely defeated and fled. The next year, Ivan, who had sat out in distant Novgorod during the battle, killed Mikhail Vorotynsky. During Ivan's reign, Russia started a large-scale exploration and colonization of Siberia . In 1555, shortly after
14454-489: The mighty boyars from the Shuisky and Belsky families. In a letter to Andrey Kurbsky , Ivan remembered, "My brother Iurii, of blessed memory, and me they brought up like vagrants and children of the poorest. What have I suffered for want of garments and food!" That account has been challenged by the historian Edward Keenan, who doubts the authenticity of the source in which the quotations are found. On 16 January 1547, at
14600-800: The more modern connotations of English terrible such as "defective" or "evil". According to Edward L. Keenan , Ivan the Terrible's image in popular culture as a tyrant came from politicised Western travel literature of the Renaissance era. Anti-Russian propaganda during the Livonian War portrayed Ivan as a sadistic and oriental despot. Vladimir Dal defines grozny specifically in archaic usage and as an epithet for tsars: "courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience". Other translations have also been suggested by modern scholars, including formidable , as well as awe-inspiring . Ivan Vasilyevich
14746-406: 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 which Saint Basil's Cathedral was constructed during the reign of Ivan the Terrible . The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfather's palaces, added
14892-446: The new political system the oprichniki were given large estates but, unlike the previous landlords, could not be held accountable for their actions. The men "took virtually all the peasants possessed, forcing them to pay 'in one year as much as [they] used to pay in ten. ' " This degree of oppression resulted in increasing cases of peasants fleeing, which in turn reduced overall production. The price of grain increased ten-fold. Ivan
15038-495: The number of casualties of the fire to be 10,000 to 80,000. To buy peace from Devlet Giray, Ivan was forced to relinquish his claims on Astrakhan for the Crimean Khanate, but the proposed transfer was only a diplomatic maneuver and was never actually completed. The defeat angered Ivan. Between 1571 and 1572, preparations were made upon his orders. In addition to Zasechnaya cherta , innovative fortifications were set beyond
15184-409: The number of victims to range from 2,000 to 3,000 since after the famine and epidemics of the 1560s the population of Novgorod most likely did not exceed 10,000–20,000. Many survivors were deported. The oprichnina did not live long after the sack of Novgorod. During the 1571–72 Russo-Crimean War the oprichniki failed to prove themselves worthy against a regular army. In 1572, Ivan abolished
15330-706: The old Tatar capital. The annexation of the Tatar khanates meant the conquest of vast territories, access to large markets and control of the entire length of the Volga River. The subjugation of the Muslim khanates turned Russia into an empire. After his conquest of Kazan, Ivan is said to have ordered the crescent, a symbol of Islam, to be placed underneath the Christian cross on the domes of Orthodox Christian churches. In 1568, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha , who
15476-590: The order of Catherine the Great , the tongue of the bell was removed after this incident. The tongueless bell remained on top of the tower for 30 more years. In the early 19th century, it was removed and transferred to the Arsenal . In 1821, the bell was moved to the Armoury , where it remains to this day in the vestibule . Geographical coordinates: 55°45′07″N 37°37′19″E / 55.751843°N 37.621908°E / 55.751843; 37.621908 ( Nabatnaya Tower ) . The Tsarskaya Tower ( Russian : Царская башня , translated as "Tsar's tower")
15622-461: The original cross in 1932). Geographical coordinates: 55°44′55″N 37°36′55″E / 55.748722°N 37.615192°E / 55.748722; 37.615192 ( Blagoveschenskaya Tower ) . The Taynitskaya Tower ( Russian : Тайницкая башня , romanized : Taynitskaya bashnya ; it was also called Водяная башня ( Vodyanaya bashnya ), or the Water Tower) is
15768-484: The rulers of Moscow were crowned as grand princes, but Ivan III assumed the title of sovereign of all Russia and used the title of tsar in his correspondence with other monarchs. Two weeks after his coronation, Ivan married his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna , a member of the Romanov family , who became the first Russian tsaritsa . By being crowned tsar, Ivan was sending a message to the world and to Russia that he
15914-677: The second, in 1580, he took Velikie Luki with a 29,000-strong force. Finally, he began the Siege of Pskov in 1581 with a 100,000-strong army. Narva , in Estonia , was reconquered by Sweden in 1581. Unlike Sweden and Poland, Frederick II of Denmark had trouble continuing the fight against Muscovy. He came to an agreement with John III of Sweden in 1580 to transfer the Danish titles of Livonia to John III. Muscovy recognised Polish–Lithuanian control of Livonia only in 1582. After Magnus von Lyffland ,
16060-478: The site was known as the "grad of Moscow". The word "Kremlin" was first recorded in 1331 (though etymologist Max Vasmer mentions an earlier appearance in 1320 ). The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237 and rebuilt in oak by Ivan I Kalita in 1339. Dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak palisade with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on
16206-579: The throne, a man whose rule and subsequent childless death led directly to the end of the Rurik dynasty and the beginning of the Time of Troubles . The English word terrible is usually used to translate the Russian word grozny ( грозный ) in Ivan's epithet, but this is a somewhat archaic translation. The Russian word grozny reflects the older English usage of terrible as in "inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful" (i.e., similar to modern English terrifying or formidable ). It does not convey
16352-562: The throne, except for the young Ivan, were the younger brothers of Vasily. Of the six sons of Ivan III , only two remained: Andrey and Yuri . Ivan was proclaimed the grand prince at the request of his father. His mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent, but died in 1538, when Ivan was eight years old; many believe that she was poisoned. The regency then alternated between several feuding boyar families that fought for control. According to his own letters, Ivan, along with his younger brother Yuri , often felt neglected and offended by
16498-524: The top of the tower was blown up by the retreating French army . It was restored in 1816 by an architect Osip Bove . The Nikolskaya Tower was once again severely damaged by the artillery fire in October 1917 and was later restored by an architect Nikolai Markovnikov . In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star on top of the tower. Its current height with the star is 70.4 metres (231 ft). The original icon of Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk , placed above
16644-633: The tower had an icon of the Holy Trinity atop its outward face. Because this tower was the formal entrance for huge Communist Party Congresses the icon was totally removed rather than just plastered over as were those on the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya Towers. The Komendantskaya Tower ( Russian : Комендантская башня ) was completed in 1495. It used to be called Kolymazhnaya after the Kremlin’s coach yard, where carriages and coaches had been kept. It
16790-533: The tower look like some structure from a fairy tale . Geographical coordinates: 55°45′08″N 37°37′18″E / 55.752284°N 37.621608°E / 55.752284; 37.621608 ( Tsarskaya Tower ) . The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari . Initially, it was named the Frolovskaya Tower after the Church of Frol and Lavr in
16936-532: The tower there are three tiers of vaulted chambers. In 1860, the flat tower was topped with a stone tent roof crowned, in turn, with a gilt weather vane . The tower contains a through-passage that allows VIPs to travel from the kremlin to Red Square. Its height is 34.3 metres (113 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°45′12″N 37°37′10″E / 55.753449°N 37.619548°E / 55.753449; 37.619548 ( Senatskaya Tower ) . The Nikolskaya Tower ( Russian : Никольская башня )
17082-485: The tower was blown up by Napoleon’s retreating troops , but it was soon restored to its original form by architect Osip Beauvais . Its height is 34.15 metres (112.0 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°44′58″N 37°37′08″E / 55.749495°N 37.618968°E / 55.749495; 37.618968 ( First Unnamed Tower ) . The Second Unnamed Tower ( Russian : Вторая Безымянная башня , romanized : Vtoraya Bezymyannaya bashnya )
17228-564: The tower was renamed to Predtechenskaya (from the Russian word предтеча , the forerunner ) after the Church of John the Forerunner , which was later destroyed during the construction of the Kremlin Armoury ( Oruzheynaya Palata ). The new name, however, never became popular. In 1812, the tower was damaged by an explosion staged by the retreating French army . In 1817-19, the tower was restored by architect Osip Bove . In 1935,
17374-559: The towers were replaced by shining Kremlin stars , while the wall near Lenin's Mausoleum was turned into the Kremlin Wall Necropolis . The Chudov Monastery and Ascension Convent , with their 16th-century cathedrals , were demolished to make room for the military school. The Little Nicholas Palace and the old Saviour Cathedral were pulled down as well. During the Second World War , in order to confuse
17520-551: The various family-based tribes to change their loyalties and to become tributaries of Russia. Some agreed voluntarily because they were offered better terms than with Kuchum, but others were forced. He also established distant forts in the newly conquered lands. The campaign was successful, and the Cossacks managed to defeat the Siberian army in the Battle of Chuvash Cape , but Yermak still needed reinforcements. He sent an envoy to Ivan
17666-417: The volunteer army of prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin from Nizhny Novgorod paved the way for the election of Mikhail Romanov as the new tsar. During his reign and that of his son Alexis and grandson Feodor , the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate , Terem Palace , Amusement Palace and the palace of Patriarch Nikon were built. Following the death of Alexis's son, Feodor, and
17812-454: The way to Kazan. It was used as the Russian place-of-arms during the decisive campaign of 1552. On 16 June 1552, Ivan led a strong Russian army towards Kazan. The last siege of the Tatar capital commenced on 30 August. Under the supervision of Prince Alexander Gorbaty-Shuisky, the Russians used battering rams, a siege tower, undermining, and 150 cannons. The Russians also had the advantage of efficient military engineers. The city's water supply
17958-485: The whole country. He introduced local self-government to rural regions, mainly in northeastern Russia, populated by the state peasantry. In 1553 Ivan suffered a near-fatal illness and was thought not able to recover. While on his presumed deathbed Ivan had asked the boyars to swear an oath of allegiance to his eldest son, an infant at the time. Many boyars refused since they deemed the tsar's health too hopeless for him to survive. This angered Ivan and added to his distrust of
18104-552: Was assassinated by Ivan Kalyayev . These monuments were destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The Soviet government moved from Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg) to Moscow on 12 March 1918. Vladimir Lenin selected the Kremlin 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
18250-423: Was associated with that name, it is believed that the principal architect is the same person. Other events of the period include the introduction of the first laws restricting the mobility of the peasants, which would eventually lead to serfdom and were instituted during the rule of the future Tsar Boris Godunov in 1597. (See also Serfdom in Russia .) The combination of bad harvests, devastation brought by
18396-501: Was blocked and the walls were breached. Kazan finally fell on 2 October, its fortifications were razed and much of the population massacred. Many Russian prisoners and slaves were released. Ivan celebrated his victory over Kazan by building several churches with oriental features, most famously Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. The fall of Kazan was only the beginning of a series of so-called " Cheremis wars". The attempts of
18542-410: Was built in 1491 by an architect Pietro Antonio Solari and was purely defensive in nature: it guarded the Kremlin on the Red Square side. For a long time it remained nameless. It was only in 1787, after architect Matvei Kazakov constructed the Kremlin Senate on the Kremlin’s territory, that it was given its present name. The dome of the Senate can be seen from Red Square. Inside the central part of
18688-603: Was built in 1495. It was given its present name in the 19th century after the construction of the Armory . Before then, it was known as the Konyushennaya Tower , a reference to the royal stables that stood behind it. Geographical coordinates: 55°44′58″N 37°36′46″E / 55.749428°N 37.612714°E / 55.749428; 37.612714 ( Oruzheynaya Tower ) . The Kutafya Tower ( Russian : Кутафья башня formerly Predmostnaya tower)
18834-540: Was built in 1495–1499 by an Italian architect Aloisio da Milano (known in Russia as Aleviz Fryazin Milanets ). The tower has borne several names, including Rizopolozhenskaya, Znamenskaya, and Karetnaya. It received its current name in 1658 from the Troitskaya Coaching Inn (Троицкое подворье) in the Kremlin. The two-story basement of the tower housed a prison in the 16th–17th centuries. There
18980-563: Was built in the middle of the 15th century. It had purely defensive functions. In 1680, a quadrangular structure and a tall pyramidal tent roof with a watchtower were added to the top of the tower. It is crowned with an eight-sided hipped cupola with a weather vane . Geographical coordinates: 55°44′59″N 37°37′13″E / 55.749615°N 37.620363°E / 55.749615; 37.620363 ( Second Unnamed Tower ) . The Petrovskaya Tower ( Russian : Петровская башня , romanized : Petrovskaya bashnya )
19126-483: Was built next to the Taynitskaya Tower in the 1480s. It performed strictly defensive functions. In 1547, the tower was destroyed by fire after the gunpowder stored there exploded, and was rebuilt in the 17th century. In 1770, the tower was taken apart to clear the site for the Kremlin Palace . After the construction of the palace ended, the tower was rebuilt in 1783, closer to the Taynitskaya Tower. In 1812,
19272-477: Was commissioned by Nikita 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 the Grand Kremlin Palace . The Palace
19418-566: Was constructed and integrated into the larger complex of the Great Kremlin Palace with walkways linking it to the Patriarchal Chambers and the Terem Palace . The existing Kremlin walls and towers 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
19564-459: Was created in the 16th century on the outside wall of tower, plastered over in 1937, but reopened and restored in 2010. The Spasskaya Tower was the first tower of the many Moscow Kremlin Towers to be crowned with the hipped roof in 1624–1625 by architects Bazhen Ogurtsov and Christopher Galloway (a Scottish architect and clock maker). According to a number of historical accounts, the clock on
19710-413: Was described as intelligent and devout, but also prone to paranoia, rage, and episodic outbreaks of mental instability that worsened with age. Historians generally believe that in a fit of anger, he murdered his eldest son and heir, Ivan Ivanovich ; he might also have caused the miscarriage of the latter's unborn child. This left his younger son, the politically ineffectual Feodor Ivanovich , to inherit
19856-456: Was first isolated from deteriorating marble in the Kremlin. To stop disruptions to traffic caused by motorcades, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the construction of a helipad in the Kremlin. The helipad was completed in May 2013. The Russian President will now commute back and forth to the Kremlin using a Mil Mi-8 helicopter. Careful consideration was taken in choosing the location of
20002-748: Was given its present name, the Commandant ’s Tower, in the 19th century when the commandant of Moscow took up residence in the Kremlin’s Poteshny – or Amusement – Palace. Like all Kremlin towers, it was supplemented with a tent roof and watchtower in 1676-1686. The height of the tower on the side of the Alexander Garden is 41.25 metres (135.3 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°45′02″N 37°36′49″E / 55.750575°N 37.613518°E / 55.750575; 37.613518 ( Komendantskaya Tower ) . The Oruzheynaya Tower ( Russian : Оружейная башня , translated as Armory Tower)
20148-649: Was not satisfied with the Grand Palace (alias Winter Palace), which had been erected in the 1750s to the design of Francesco Rastrelli . The elaborate Baroque structure was demolished, as was the nearby church of St. John the Precursor, built by Aloisio the New in 1508 in place of the first church constructed in Moscow. The architect Konstantin Thon was commissioned to replace them with the Grand Kremlin Palace , which
20294-419: Was now the only supreme ruler of the country, and his will was not to be questioned. According to historian Janet Martin, the new title "symbolized an assumption of powers equivalent and parallel to those held by the former Byzantine caesar and the Tatar khan, both known in Russian sources as tsar. The political effect was to elevate Ivan's position". The new title not only secured the throne but also granted Ivan
20440-556: Was rebuilt by the architect Osip Bove . The Petrovskaya Tower was used as a service building by the Kremlin's gardeners . Its height is 27.15 metres (89.1 ft). Geographical coordinates: 55°44′59″N 37°37′19″E / 55.749700°N 37.622015°E / 55.749700; 37.622015 ( Petrovskaya Tower ) . The Beklemishevskaya Tower ( Russian : Беклемишевская башня , romanized : Beklemishevskaya bashnya , also known as Москворецкая башня ( Moskvoretskaya bashnya ), or Moskvoretskaya Tower)
20586-465: Was rebuilt in the 1770s. In 1930-1933, the Soviets bricked up the gateway and filled up the well. The Taynitskaya Tower is 38.4 metres (126 ft) in height. Geographical coordinates: 55°44′58″N 37°37′04″E / 55.749374°N 37.617863°E / 55.749374; 37.617863 ( Taynitskaya Tower ) . The First Unnamed Tower ( Russian : Первая Безымянная башня , romanized : Pervaya Bezymyannaya bashnya )
20732-457: Was repentant after the death of his son and his actions with the oprichnina , and afterwards, he sent out lists compiling the deaths of his Christian victims killed by the system and asked monasteries to pray for every known one. Conditions under the oprichnina were worsened by the 1570 epidemic, a plague that killed 10,000 people in Novgorod and 600 to 1,000 daily in Moscow. During
20878-541: Was the first ruler to begin cooperating with the free cossacks on a large scale. Relations were handled through the Posolsky Prikaz diplomatic department; Moscow sent them money and weapons, while tolerating their freedoms, to draw them into an alliance against the Tatars. The first evidence of cooperation surfaces in 1549 when Ivan ordered the Don Cossacks to attack Crimea. While Ivan was a child, armies of
21024-548: Was the first son of Vasili III by his second wife, Elena Glinskaya . Vasili's mother, Sophia Palaiologina , was a Byzantine princess of the Palaiologos family . She was a daughter of Thomas Palaiologos , the younger brother of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos ( r. 1449–1453 ). Elena's mother was a Serbian princess and her father's family, the Tatar Glinski clan (nobles based in
21170-578: Was the real power in the administration of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim , initiated the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and its future northern rival. The results presaged the many disasters to come. A plan to unite the Volga and Don by a canal was detailed in Constantinople. In the summer of 1569, a large force under Kasim Pasha of 1,500 Janissaries , 2,000 Sipahis and
21316-464: Was to rival the Winter 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 the Kremlin Armoury in 1851. After 1851 the Kremlin changed little until the Russian Revolution of 1917 . The only new features added during this period were the Monument to Alexander II and a stone cross marking the spot where in 1905 Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
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