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49-602: According to recent studies, the current riverbed of the Moscow River was occupied about 12 thousand years ago. In addition to Finnic tribes, the Moskva River is also the origin of Slavic tribes such as the Vyatichi tribe. The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the river. Several theories of the origin of the name have been proposed. The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted

98-701: 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),

147-677: 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

196-560: Is a fleet of river ice-breaker cruisers which ply routes from moorings at the Hotel Ukraine and Gorky Park to the Novospassky Monastery and back. Duration of trips ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours. "Moskva"  . Encyclopedia Americana . 1920. Vyatichi The Vyatichs or more properly Vyatichi or Viatichi ( Russian : вя́тичи ) were a tribe of Early East Slavs who inhabited regions around

245-809: Is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria , Ukraine and North Macedonia . Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa . According to one of the Finno-Ugric hypotheses, the Merya and Muroma people, who were among the several pre-Slavic tribes which originally inhabited the area, called the river Mustajoki "Black river", and the name of the river derives from this term. Various other theories (of Celtic , Iranian , Caucasic origins), having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. To distinguish

294-547: Is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root * mŭzg -/ muzg - from the Proto-Indo-European * meu - "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or a marsh. Its cognates include Russian : музга , muzga "pool, puddle", Lithuanian : mazgoti and Latvian : mazgāt "to wash", Sanskrit : májjati "to drown", Latin : mergō "to dip, immerse". In many Slavic countries Moskov

343-826: Is the Grand Kremlin Palace , which served as the royal residence of the Emperor of Russia . It 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

392-651: 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 )

441-552: 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

490-767: The Government of the Russian Federation . Likewise, during 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

539-526: 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,

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588-482: The Moscow Canal (1932–1937), the Moskva River has also collected a share of Upper Volga water. This has enabled reliable commercial shipping, which was previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were not effective). The average discharge , including Volga waters, varies from 38 m/s (1,300 cu ft/s) near Zvenigorod to 250 m/s (8,800 cu ft/s) at

637-662: 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,

686-503: The Oka , Moskva and Don rivers. The Vyatichi had for a long time no princes, but the social structure was characterized by democracy and self-government . Like various other Slavic tribes, the Vyatichi people built kurgans on territory which belongs now to the modern Russian state. The 12th-century Primary Chronicle recorded that the Vyatichi, Radimichs and Severians "had

735-465: 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

784-608: 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

833-621: The 9th and 10th centuries, the Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazars and later to Kievan princes . The tribe, however, was constantly trying to defend its own political independence until the early 12th century. By the 11th century, the Vyatichi had already populated the Moskva basin and the area of today's Moscow . In the 11th and 12th centuries, the tribe founded a number of cities due to developing handicrafts and increasing trade , including Moscow, Koltesk , Dedoslav , Nerinsk and others. In

882-615: 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

931-456: 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

980-619: 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

1029-415: 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

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1078-808: 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

1127-582: The Moskva River and from the Upper Volga reservoirs (north and north-west of the city). Canals, built within Moscow city limits, have created a number of islands. Some of them have names in Russian, some have none. Major, permanent islands (west to east) are: One of the most famous is an unnamed artificial island in the center of the city between the river proper and the Bypass Canal There

1176-563: The Moskva and Oka — Kolomna . As of 2007, there are 49 bridges across the Moskva River and its canals within Moscow city limits; the first stone bridge, Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge , was erected in 1692. Within the city, the river is 120–200 metres (390–660 ft) wide, the narrowest point being under the Kremlin walls. Drinking water for the city of Moscow is collected from five stations on

1225-453: The Oka inlet. The speed of the current, depending on the season, varies from 0.1 m/s (0.33 ft/s) (winter, dams closed) to 1.5–2.0 m/s (4.9–6.6 ft/s) (May, dams open). Moscow ( Москва́ ), the capital of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the towns of Mozhaysk , Zvenigorod , Zhukovsky , Bronnitsy , Voskresensk , and — at the confluence of

1274-456: 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

1323-476: 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

1372-606: 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

1421-564: The Vyatichi. Their fortified settlements of the 11th century were located in the historical center of today's Moscow, namely the Borovitsky Hill , Kolomenskoye (the spot of the former Diakovskoye village), Kuntsevo (a district of Moscow) and others. One may also find traces of Vyatich settlements in Brateyevo, Zyuzino, Alyoshkino, Matveyevskoye and other localities of Moscow. Burial mounds with cremated bodies have been found along

1470-708: 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

1519-486: 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

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1568-638: 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 ,

1617-598: 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

1666-473: 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

1715-462: 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

1764-686: The river and the city, Russians usually call the river Moskva-reka (Moskva river) instead of just Moskva . The river is 473 km (294 mi) long (or 502 km (312 mi)), and the area of its drainage basin is 17,600 km (6,800 sq mi). It has a vertical drop of 155 m (509 ft) (long-term average). The maximum depth is 3 metres (9.8 ft) above Moscow city limits, and up to 6 metres (20 ft) below it. Normally, it freezes in November–December and begins to thaw around late March. During an unusually warm winter in 2006–2007, ice began melting on January 25. The portion of

1813-492: The river running through Moscow only freezes occasionally on account of contamination. The absolute water level in downtown Moscow is 120 metres (390 ft) above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after World War II ); a historical maximum of 127.25 metres (417.5 ft) above sea level was set by the 1908 flood. The main tributaries of the Moskva are, from source to mouth: Sources of water are estimated as 61% thaw, 12% rain and 27% subterranean. Since completion of

1862-542: The same customs", all lived violent lifestyles, "burned their dead and preserved the ashes in urns set upon posts beside the highways", and they did not enter monogamous marriages but practiced polygamy , specifically polygyny , instead. The Primary Chronicle names a certain tribal leader Vyatko as the forefather of the tribe, who was a Lyakh brother of Radim from whom emerged the Radimichs. The Vyatichi were mainly engaged in farming and cattle-breeding . Between

1911-585: The second half of the 12th century the land of the Vyatichi was distributed among the princes of Suzdal and Chernigov . The last direct reference to the Vyatichi was made in a chronicle under the year of 1197. Indirect references, however, may be traced to the early 14th century. Saint Kuksha of the Kiev Caves was a missionary who converted many Vyatichi to Christianity (in 1115), being beheaded by their chiefs August 27 ca. 1115. There are numerous archeological monuments in Moscow that tell historians about

1960-478: 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

2009-559: 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

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2058-521: The upper reaches of the Oka and Don . Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin or simply 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

2107-417: 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

2156-552: 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

2205-477: 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

2254-566: 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

2303-456: 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

2352-649: 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

2401-464: 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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