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107-667: Red Square has an almost rectangular shape and is 70 meters wide and 330 meters long. It extends lengthways from northwest to southeast along part of the wall of the Kremlin that forms its boundary on the southwest side. In the northeast, the square is bounded by the GUM department store building and the old district of Kitay-gorod , in the northwest by the State Historical Museum and the Resurrection Gate and in

214-429: A coronation for Russia's Tsars would take place. The square has been gradually built up since that point and has been used for official ceremonies by all Russian governments since it was established. The East side of the Kremlin triangle, lying adjacent to Red Square and situated between the rivers Moskva and the now underground Neglinnaya River was deemed the most vulnerable side of the Kremlin to attack, since it

321-510: A bell which was never rung and a cannon that was never fired. For a long time, there was a common theory that the Tsar Cannon was created only to impress foreigners of Russia's military powers. Thus, according to writer Albert Valentinov: "...Andrey Chokov knew from the very first moment that this would not be a whopper cannon at all. Even if we assume that the barrel would fire grapeshot, a massive amount of propellant would be needed to push

428-516: A depth of 9.5–13 m was lined with limestone and, in 1533, fenced on both sides with low, 4 meters (13 ft)-thick cogged brick walls. Three square gates existed on this side of the wall, which in the 17th century, were known as: Konstantino-Eleninsky, Spassky, Nikolsky (owing their names to the icons of Constantine and Helen, as well as Christ the Savior and St. Nicholas which hung over them). The last two are directly opposite Red Square, while

535-583: A donkey, accompanied by the tsar and the people went out of Saint Basil's Cathedral in the Kremlin. During the expulsion of the Polish army from Moscow in 1612 , Prince Dmitry Pozharsky entered the Kremlin through the square. In memory of this event, he built the Kazan Cathedral in honor of the "Kazan Icon of the Mother of God", which had followed his army in a campaign. At the same time (1624–1625),

642-507: A group of African students organized a protest on Red Square in response to the alleged murder of a medical student named Edmund Assare-Addo. This was the first recorded political protest on Red Square since the late 1920s. On 28 May 1987 a West German pilot named Mathias Rust landed a Cessna F172P light aircraft at St. Basil next to Red Square, causing a major scandal in the Soviet Air Defense Forces . In 1990

749-585: A larger Red Square, as well as the State Historical Museum . The legend is that Lazar Kaganovich , Stalin 's associate and director of the Moscow reconstruction plan, prepared a special model of Red Square, in which the cathedral could be removed, and brought it to Stalin to show how the cathedral was an obstacle for parades and traffic. But when he jerked the cathedral out of the model, Stalin objected with his rather famous quote: "Lazar! Put it back!". However, no documented evidence exists of this encounter. In 1963,

856-405: A literal translation of Golgotha ), however, according to other hypotheses, it has nothing to do with a forehead, but with its location near the praise, as a steep river bank was called in medieval Russia. According to tradition, the grandstand on Red Square was originally made of wood, and the current stone building with a gate made of iron grating dates from the late 1590s. In the course of time,

963-574: A museum in the building's interior space, to designs by Meganom and Nowadays Office . The new museum is going to form a part of the UNESCO protected ensemble of Moscow Kremlin Museums, and will bring a part of the Kremlin Armoury collection outside the Kremlin walls. The Lobnoye Mesto (Russian: Лобное место) is a round, grandstand-like structure made of white stone in the southeastern part of

1070-567: A noble shopping centre characterised by boutiques in the upper price ranges. Since 2013, GUM operates a yearly Christmas fair in front of its department store, the biggest one in all of Russia. The building at the easternmost point of the square, on the corner of Ilyinka Street, stands exactly where the Middle Trading Rows stood in the 17th century. These formed, along with the Upper Trading Rows, where today's GUM store

1177-414: A result, the strength of the cannon was tested, and the weight of the powder charge was optimized. During the test, the charge weight was gradually increased to 120 kg. The set amount of propellant charge was 53 kg of black gunpowder in battle, putting the firing range to at most 1.2 km. As quoted by writer Mikhail Osorgin, who witnessed the events: …4 miles from the city, on the banks of the river, there

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1284-479: A symmetrical manner by two rectangular towers, the tops of which are strongly reminiscent of the Kremlin towers. Originally, the Resurrection Gate represented part of the architectural ensemble at the northern end of Red Square, which, in addition to the gate, included the affiliated building of the government administration (see below) and the no longer preserved pharmacy building, which had to give way to

1391-589: A year. In addition to the actual museum building, the historical museum complex also includes Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Novodevichy Convent , which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Resurrection Gate forms one of the two entrances to Red Square from the northwest side. This structure, built for the first time in 1680, was initially part of the Kitai-Gorod fortifications. In its base part it consists of two arched portals, which are crowned in

1498-662: Is a large early modern period artillery piece (known as a bombarda in Russian) on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin . It is a monument of Russian artillery casting art, cast in bronze in 1586 in Moscow, by the Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov . Mostly of symbolic impact, it was never used in a war. However, the cannon bears traces of at least one firing. Per the Guinness Book of Records it

1605-602: Is a replica from 1993; originally there was a church at this site since the 1620s, initially a wooden one, then a stone one from 1636 onwards. The Kazan Cathedral owes its name to the icon of Our Lady of Kazan , which has been venerated by the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries. According to a legend, it was precisely this icon of the Russian People's army, led by the national heroes Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharsky , who defeated

1712-645: Is located, as part of the broader market trading area that helped shape the Kitay-gorod district, adjacent to the Red Square. This massive expanse of assorted market stalls and self-made wooden huts was for the first time replaced at the end of the 18th century, by a building complex specially built for trade, whose authorship is attributed to the Italian builder Giacomo Quarenghi . In the war of 1812, however, these buildings were burned down and were replaced by

1819-534: Is located. The building standing between the Resurrection Gate and the Kazan Cathedral is one of the less conspicuous buildings on Red Square. It was built between 1733 and 1740 and since then has served as the headquarters of the administration of the city of Moscow and the Moscow Governorate (the latter partially corresponds to today's Moscow Oblast ). The government administration building

1926-452: Is purely decorative. This weapon was never intended to be transported on or fired from this gun carriage. According to one version, the name of this cannon, "Tsar", is associated with the image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. However, it is more likely that this name owes to the massive size of this cannon. In old times the cannon is also sometimes called the "Russian Shotgun" (Дробовик Российский, Drobovik Rossiyskiy , lit. Shotgun Russian), because

2033-755: Is the largest bombard by caliber in the world, and it is a major tourist attraction in the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin. The Tsar Cannon is located just past the Kremlin Armory , facing towards the Kremlin Senate . The Tsar Cannon is made of bronze ; it weighs 39,312 kilograms (86,668 lb) and has a length of 5.34 m (17.5 ft). Its bronze-cast barrel has an internal diameter of 890 mm (35.0 in), and an external diameter of 1,200 mm (47.2 in). The barrel has eight cast rectangular brackets for use in transporting

2140-688: The Great Possad ( Великий Посад ) in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narrow streets and very densely built cityscape. It is separated from the Kremlin by the Red Square . Kitay-gorod does not constitute a district ( raion ), as there are no resident voters, thus, municipal elections are not possible. Rather,

2247-512: The KHL announced they would be holding their first all-star game outdoors on 10 January at Red Square. Two of the most significant military parades on Red Square were 1941 October Revolution Parade , when the city was besieged by Germans and troops were leaving Red Square straight to the front lines, and the Victory Parade in 1945 , when the banners of defeated Nazi armies were thrown at

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2354-553: The Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1612. A few years after the victory, the devout Prince Pozharsky founded the cathedral dedicated to this icon. This corresponded to the then usual Russian tradition of building churches in memory of historically important victories in Russia. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square was one of the most important Moscow places of worship and

2461-672: The Moskva River and known as Zaryadye was demolished in three rounds (1930s, late 1940s, 1960s) by the Soviet regime, sparing only those structures that were deemed "historic monuments" by Joseph Stalin. These include the Cathedral of the Sign (1679–84), the Church of All Saints (1680s), St. George's Church on Pskov Hill (1657), St. Maksim's Church (1698), St. Anna's Church at

2568-573: The Place of Skulls in order to protect the eastern approaches to the Kremlin, indicating that it originally did have a practical application. However, by 1706, it was moved to the Kremlin Arsenal and mounted on a wooden gun carriage. It was not used during the French invasion of Russia , although Napoleon Bonaparte considered removing it to France as a war trophy. The wooden gun carriage burnt in

2675-574: The Red Square , the quarter is bordered by the chain of Central Squares of Moscow , notably " Theater Square " (named for its eponymous location in front of the Bolshoi Theatre ), Lubyanka Square (in front of the KGB headquarters ), and Slavyanskaya Square . Kitay-gorod, developing as a trading area, was known as a business area of Moscow. Its three main streets— Varvarka , Ilyinka, and Nikolskaya —are lined with banks, shops, and storehouses like

2782-488: The Russian Armed Forces . At the beginning of 2007, four inner structures of the former trading rows were demolished while plans were made to reconstruct the entire building true to the original to house an exclusive hotel. These plans came under criticism from both Russian and foreign media as circumventing the preservation order by cleverly exploiting a loophole in the law. Work is currently underway to set up

2889-483: The Spasskaya tower received contemporary tent roofs. This was done on the proposal and subsequent draft of Christopher Galloway from Scotland, who was summoned to design the new tower's clock and suggested the arrangement of the tent roof over the clock. In mid-century, a gilded double-headed eagle was set on top of the tower. After this, the square became known as Krasivaya ( lit.   ' beautiful ' ). In

2996-607: The Tretyakovsky Proyezd project by Pavel Tretyakov and Alexander Kaminsky . Also in the 1890s, developers consolidated large land lots on the perimeter of Kitay-gorod. Savva Mamontov launched a civic center, built around an opera hall, which was completed as the Metropol Hotel in 1907, the largest early Art Nouveau building in Moscow, containing artwork by Mikhail Vrubel , Alexander Golovin and Nikolai Andreev . The eastern segment ( Staraya Square )

3103-468: The fire that consumed Moscow in 1812 , and was replaced in 1835 by the present metal carriage, which disabled the firing function of the cannon. In 1860, the Tsar Cannon was moved to its current location on Ivanovskaya Square near the Tsar Bell , which is similarly massive and is the largest bell in the world (but which has never been rung). Voltaire joked that the Kremlin's two greatest items were

3210-479: The first Russian University was originally housed in the building of Zemsky prikaz, before moving to the better known building on Mokhovaya street further across Manege Square . At the same time the (by then already drained) Alevizov moat was used as a state Pharmacy's garden for growing medicinal plants. In 1702, the first public theater in Russia was built near the Nikolsky gate. It existed until 1737, when it

3317-639: The historicistic shopping mall GUM which confines Kitay-gorod towards Red Square. St. Nicholas Church on the Ilyinka (1680–89), informally known as the Great Cross, was a landmark in Kitay-gorod but was destroyed in 1933 on Stalin's orders. This district also features the Church of Cosmas and Damian and the Trinity Church of Nikitniki, which today is nestled among city buildings. It

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3424-596: The state funeral of Joseph Stalin (9 March 1953). On Victory Day in 1945, 1965, 1985, and 1990, there were Soviet military marches and parades as well, and since 1995, the annual Moscow Victory Day Parade has been held on the square, marking anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II . In January 2008, Russia announced it would resume parading military vehicles through Red Square, although recent restoration of Iverski Gate complicated this, by closing one of existing passages along Historical Museum for

3531-571: The 16th century, two decorative towers based on the Kremlin and a main facade reminiscent of historical Russian buildings. During the Soviet era , the new upper trading ranks had an eventful history. In 1921, they were given their current name GUM («ГУМ»), which, at the time, was the abbreviation for «Государственный Универсальный Магазин» ('State Department Store'); today it stands for «Главный Универсальный Магазин» ('Main Universal Store'). In

3638-403: The 1890s, for which a special company was founded and an ideas competition among architects was advertised. This was won by a project by the architecture professor Alexander Pomeranzewas, as well as the little-known engineer Vladimir Schuchow. The construction of the new trade rows lasted from 1890 to 1893. When they were ceremoniously opened on 2 December 1893, the new structure was able to impress

3745-521: The Cannon yard, by Russian master Andrey Chokhov. The carriages and the cannon itself were richly decorated in 1835 at the St. Petersburg plant of Berd, with designs by architect A. P. Bryullov and drawings engineer P. Ya. de Witte. The Tsar Cannon was placed at several points around Moscow in its history. It is known to have been mounted on a special frame with a fixed inclination angle in the Red Square near

3852-614: The Corner (1510s), St. Barbara's Church (1796–1804), the Old English Embassy (1550s), and the 16th century Romanov boyar residence. The district's main structure, Rossiya Hotel (built in 1967), was dismantled in 2007 to make space for the new Zaryadye Park which was opened in 2017. 55°45′21″N 37°37′26″E  /  55.75583°N 37.62389°E  / 55.75583; 37.62389 Tsar Cannon The Tsar Cannon ( Russian : Царь-пушка , Tsar'-pushka )

3959-559: The History Museum at the end of the 19th century. During the times of the Russian Empire , the gate served as a symbolic entrance gate to the heart of Moscow, especially during major celebrations: the tsars always passed the gate at their coronation celebrations before the coronation was proclaimed in front of the people on Red Square. In 1931, the new state authorities had the gate dismantled so that it would not obstruct

4066-589: The Holy Trinity, stood exactly on the site of Saint Basil's Cathedral. In 1555, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered a monumental church to be built on the site, which was a token of the victory of Russia over the Khanate of Kazan three years earlier. This was according to the tradition of the time to have churches built to commemorate military victories. The wooden church was then demolished and the present cathedral

4173-459: The Kazan Cathedral donated by the latter at the time in the northern part of the square, this monument also commemorates the liberation of Moscow from the Polish–Lithuanian occupation troops in 1612, to which the popular army led by Minin and Poszharsky made a decisive contribution. The bronze monument, which weighs 20 tons, and was financed entirely from donations at the time, was designed by

4280-656: The Konstantino-Elenensky gate was located behind Saint Basil's Cathedral. In the early 19th century, the Arch of Konstantino-Elenensky gate was paved with bricks, but the Spassky Gate was the main front gate of the Kremlin and used for royal entrances. From this gate, wooden and (following the 17th century improvements) stone bridges stretched across the moat. Books were sold on this bridge and stone platforms were built nearby for guns – "raskats". The Tsar Cannon

4387-564: The Kremlin and Red Square were among the first sites in the USSR added to UNESCO 's World Heritage List . Red Square has also served as a venue for high-profile concerts. Linkin Park , The Prodigy , t.A.T.u. , Shakira , Scorpions , Paul McCartney , Roger Waters , Red Hot Chili Peppers , and other celebrities performed there. For the New Year 2006, 2007, and 2008 celebrations, a skating rink

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4494-622: The Kremlin towers are attached to the sides, and the shape of the roof is reminiscent of the Great Kremlin Palace in the Kremlin, a form of the Russian mansion that was particularly preferred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today the Historical Museum is the largest and most famous history museum in Russia. In 16 specialist departments, it houses around 4.5 million exhibits on Russian history from almost all epochs and also organizes themed special exhibitions several times

4601-408: The Kremlin towers). In 1595, the wooden market lines were replaced with stone. By that time, a brick platform for the proclamation of the tsar's edicts, known as Lobnoye Mesto , had also been constructed. Red Square was considered a sacred place. Various festive processions were held there, and during Palm Sunday , the famous "procession on a donkey" was arranged, in which the patriarch, sitting on

4708-514: The Lobnoye Mesto was not only used as a platform for state announcements and announcements, but also as the centre of solemn events; the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church gave speeches to the crowd here, at solemn services on Red Square. At the same time, the Lobnoye Mesto became notorious as the scene of executions, such as the one of Stenka Rasin in 1671, and many others. Although, these executions were not carried out directly in

4815-406: The Middle Trading Rows building, rebuilt by Joseph Bové , which has been preserved to this day and is located on Ilyinka Street a few hundred meters east of Red Square. The Middle Trade Rows was not built until 1894, as was the GUM store. Planned from the start as a supplement to the latter, the upper rows were supposed to accommodate retail trade, while the premises to their right were reserved for

4922-681: The Nikolaus Tower of the Kremlin, which is directly opposite, and the Ilyinka (Ильинка), both of which have existed since the 14th century and were once important arteries of old Moscow. Today the square itself, with the exception of the access road leading through it to the Savior Gate of the Kremlin, is a pedestrian zone. The main squares in Russian cities, such as those in Suzdal , Yelets , and Pereslavl-Zalessky , are frequently named Krasnaya ploshchad , or Beautiful Square. Archaically,

5029-585: The Russian Pavilion at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna . The Perm cannon was to take its place in Kronstadt at Fort Constantine (Russia) , where a special carriage was already installed to ensure all-around coverage, and to protect St. Petersburg from the sea. Two such cannons were also intended to equip the armored frigate "Minin", which was built in St. Petersburg from 1866 to 1878. However,

5136-431: The Russian and foreign public, not only with an unprecedented range of all kinds of consumer goods, but also with a completely new glass roof construction of the three passages, designed by Schuchow and built using around 60,000 panes of glass. The building's architectural style, like the neighbouring Historical Museum a decade earlier, was in the historical "Russian style" with a roof gable based on typical boyar palaces of

5243-527: The Russian word красная ( krasnaya ) meant 'beautiful', but now means 'red'. The current word for 'beautiful' is красивая ( krasivaya ), which is derived from it. In Moscow, the name Red Square originally described the small area between St. Basil's Cathedral , the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin , and the Lobnoye Mesto herald's platform. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich officially extended

5350-476: The Russified name Petrok Maly and originally featured 13 towers and six gates. All of the towers were demolished in the 1930s by the Soviet regime as part of Stalin's grand reconstruction of Moscow, with only small portions of the wall surviving that period. City officials plan to close Kitay-gorod to automobile traffic. Since 1995 the wall has been partially rebuilt, and a new tower has been added. Apart from

5457-488: The Tsar Cannon—each of which weighs approximately one ton—were produced in 1834 as a decoration, and are too large to have been used in the cannon. According to legend, the cannonballs were manufactured in St. Petersburg, and were intended to be a humorous addition and a symbol of the friendly rivalry between Moscow and St. Petersburg . The cannon was cast in bronze in 1586, during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, in

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5564-581: The Upper lines (now GUM department store ), Middle lines and Bottom lines, although Bottom Lines were already in Zaryadye . After a few years, the Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin, commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral , was built on the moat under the rule of Ivan IV. This was the first building which gave the square its present-day characteristic silhouette (pyramidal roofs had not yet been built on

5671-625: The area of the Kitay sea. Kita ( pl. kity ) is a somewhat obsolete word for 'plait' or 'an item made by braiding'. A 17th-century Russian source states « У шапок янычары имели киты » ( "U šapok janyčary imeli kity " ), meaning "The Janissaries had braids hanging from their caps". In his 1967 book Rise of Russia , author Robert Wallace asserts that the term might mean a rough-hewn defensive bulwark made from woven wicker baskets filled with earth or rock – and thus Kitay-gorod means 'Basket city'. Kitay could also be derived from an old word for

5778-467: The beginning of the 20th century, however, this tower was dismantled. In the courtyard of the former government administration building, the old building of the state mint has been preserved to this day. This was built in 1697 by decree of Peter the Great and since then has housed a production facility for silver coins for almost a quarter of a century before the money issuing system of the tsarist Empire

5885-486: The bronze parts that would fade away after the shot, also due to the absence of a pilot hole , which makes firing completely impossible. In the spring of 2001, as commissioned by the management of the Moscow Udmort enterprise "OAO Izhstal", a replica of the cannon was cast in iron. The replica weighed 42 tons, with a single wheel at 1.5 tons, the kernel at 1.2 meters and a caliber of exactly 89 cm. This copy

5992-552: The building's striking architecture, the GUM is the best-known shopping center in Russia. Built in 1893, it replaced an Empire style building that had housed the Upper Trading Ranks since 1815, which united a large part of Kitai-Gorod's trading activities under one roof. After this building began to deteriorate in the middle of the 19th century, there were plans for a building to replace it. However, due to organisational difficulties, these could only be implemented in

6099-500: The cannon never reached Kronstadt. The Giant has been returned to the road in Perm. This is due to the fact that the engineer-inventor Pavel Matveyevich Obukhov of Zlatoust has developed the technology to produce high-strength steel cannons. Having established a factory in St. Petersburg, he began producing lighter cannons, which were installed with breeched (the Krupp system), obsoleting the Perm cannon. Emperor Alexander II 's decision saved it from destruction, instead preserving it as

6206-456: The cannon weighs about 12 tons, with the barrel and the carriage cast in steel, and the wheels being solid. Three staples were installed on the cannon for fastening cables when moving it. It was cast on Zvenigovsky Shipyard named after N. S. Butyakov. Initially, the ornaments were cut from wood, and then cast from metal. The copy was suitable for shooting, as the barrel and the core were welded together. Four ornamental cannonballs are located next to

6313-520: The cannon. The Tsar Cannon located in Perm was the world's largest 20-inch cast-iron cannon. Unlike other "Tsar cannon"s, the one in Perm was a military weapon. The cannon, nicknamed the "Perm Giant", was made in 1868, by the order of the Ministry of Marine to the Motovilikha manufacturing plant (which is PAO " Motovilikha Plants " today, manufacturing weapon systems such as cannons, mortars, howitzers, self-propelled artillery, " Grad ", " Uragan " and " Smerch " rocket systems). Tests were carried out with

6420-454: The demolition of all buildings within 110 sazhens (234 meters (768 ft)) of the wall. From 1508 to 1516, the Italian architect Aloisio the New arranged for the construction of a moat in front of the Eastern wall, which would connect the Moskva and Neglinnaya and be filled in with water from Neglinnaya. This moat, known as the Alevizov moat having a length of 541 meters (1,775 ft) and width of 36 meters (118 ft), as well as

6527-399: The early 1930s, they were closed for two decades and served as office and residential buildings, and from the end of 1953, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the store was considered a model department store in the middle of the real socialist shortage economy . In the 1990s, the store was privatised and thoroughly renovated, and today, it presents itself to the locals and tourists as

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6634-412: The factory to Zakamskaya Pohulyanka. There were undershoots where the cannonball fell into the water, rising fountain spray and steam. There was no one, and no guns behind the Dalyu on the other side, only the smoke from the volleys indicated where the cannons were firing from… The river roared, shaking the air, and the mood of war was all over." A model of the Perm Tsar Cannon in full size was put before

6741-401: The first time in history. In the following, all of the buildings located directly on Red Square will be presented in a clockwise direction, starting with the State Historical Museum at the northwest end of the square. The striking dark red building of the State Historical Museum forms the end of Red Square from the north-western side. It was built in the years 1875–1883 and is therefore one of

6848-406: The foot of Lenin's Mausoleum . The Soviet Union held many parades in Red Square for May Day (until 1969), Victory Day , and October Revolution Day , which consisted of propaganda, flags, labor demonstration, marching troops, and showing off of tanks and missiles. Individual parades have been held on Defender of the Fatherland Day (23 February 1925), the Day of Tankmen (8 September 1946), and

6955-401: The fortified gates at Voskresensky Bridge over the River Neglinnaya. In 1697 and 1699, gates on both sides of Voskresensky Bridge were rebuilt into large stone buildings: the Mint and Zemsky prikaz (department in charge of urban and police matters). Zemsky prikaz (on the site of current Historical Museum ) was then known as the Main Pharmacy, founded under orders of Peter The Great . In 1755

7062-419: The gun on 16 August 1869, starting from firing from the shore of the Kama River (which is around 0.8–1 km wide). Later tests were carried out on this place until the end of Perestroika, with a lot happening in Soviet times. A certain F. V. Pestich, chief of the artillery of Kronstadt port attending most of the tests. The Perm cannon made a total of 314 shots, including grapeshot and bombs of different systems. As

7169-508: The gun was meant to shoot 800 kg stone grapeshot rather than true, solid cannonballs. The cannon ought to be classified as only a mortar by its barrel length in modern classification, with the barrel length at only 6 calibers. However, in the 17th to the 18th century, it was rather called a " bombard cannon ", since mortars at that time had barrel lengths of no more than 2.5 calibers, or 3.5 calibers at maximum for long-range mortars. The spherical cast-iron projectiles located in front of

7276-408: The gun, which is mounted on a stylized cast-iron gun carriage with three wheels. The barrel is decorated with relief images, including an equestrian image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich , with a crown and a scepter in his hand on horseback. Above the front right bracket the message "The grace of God, Tsar and Great Duke Fyodor Ivanovich, Autocrat of All Russia" was cast. There were two more labels cast at

7383-411: The heavy vehicles. In May 2008, Russia held its annual Victory day parade, during which for the first time since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russian military vehicles paraded through the square. On 9 May 2010, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Germany in 1945, the armed forces of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States marched in the Moscow Victory Day parade for

7490-403: The heroism of its sons. Originally, however, the sculpture did not stand in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral, but in front of today's GUM department store at the level of the main entrance. It was only moved to its current location in 1930, to make more space for military parades and large-scale demonstrations. Saint Basil's Cathedral, which delimits the square on its southern side, is undoubtedly

7597-422: The late 17th century (1679–1680), the square was cleared of all wooden structures. Then all Kremlin towers received tent roofs, except Nikolskaya. One tent was erected on the wall above Red Square (the so‑called Tsarskaya Tower, so that the tsar could watch from this spot the ceremonies in the square). Tent roofs were also constructed at Voskrerensky (Iberian) gates , arranged in the wall of Kitai-gorod . These were

7704-686: The mid-30s, with the renaming of the main streets after communist revolutionaries and politicians, the ancient toponymy of Kitay-gorod was also destroyed. The last pre- war victim of Kitay-gorod was the Kazan Cathedral, demolished in 1936, which stood on the corner of Nikolskaya Street and the Red Square. Starting from 1990, the original names of the streets were restored, but most of the cultural heritage cannot be rebuilt. Beside Kitay-gorod in Grand Duchy of Moscow in ancient Russia. Older sources said that people with darker skin than other ethnic groups of Russia sold goods and traded with other peoples in

7811-644: The moat, dilapidated after the fire, had been demolished, and on the Eastern side, Joseph Bové constructed new building of lines in the Empire style. In 1818 the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky , was erected; its construction symbolized the rise in patriotic consciousness during the war. In 1874 the historic building of Zemsky prikaz was demolished. In its place the Imperial Historical Museum

7918-478: The name to encompass the entire square, which had previously been called Pozhar , or "burnt-out place", reflecting that previous buildings occupying the site had burned down. The history of Red Square is reflected in paintings by Vasily Surikov , Konstantin Yuon and others. The square was meant to serve as Moscow's main marketplace. It was also the site of various public ceremonies and proclamations, and occasionally

8025-566: The old forms) the new Lobnoye mesto of hewn stone, slightly West of the place where it was before. In 1804, at the request of merchants, the square was paved in stone. In 1806 Nikolskaya Tower was reconstructed in the Gothic style, and received a tent roof. The new phase of improvement of the square began after the Napoleonic invasion and fire in 1812 . The moat was filled in 1813 and in its place, rows of trees were planted. The market Line along

8132-464: The passage of military technology during major military parades on Red Square. Today's gate is largely a replica of the original and dates from 1996. Between the two portals on the north side of the gate, the chapel of the icon of the Mother of God of Iviron , originally built in 1781, was rebuilt at the same time. A new copy of the icon was made for this chapel on Mount Athos , where the Iviron monastery

8239-514: The sculptor Ivan Martos . After almost 15 years of planning and construction, it was unveiled in a festive ceremony in February 1818. Since at the time, it had been five years since Russia successfully stopped the French invasion led by Napoleon , and the reconstruction of Moscow had just been completed, the monument was celebrated when it was erected as a symbol of the invincibility of Russia and

8346-485: The southeast by Saint Basil's Cathedral . Tverskaya Street begins to the northwest of the square behind the building of the State Historical Museum , and to the southeast is the so-called Basilius slope, which leads to the Moskva River , which goes down and over a bridge to the Zamoskvorechye District . Two streets branch off to the northeast from Red Square: Nikolskaya Street , which is named after

8453-576: The square complex, and also as the grandstand for important dignitaries in all national celebrations. In the 1930s, Kazan Cathedral and Iverskaya Chapel with the Resurrection Gates were demolished to make room for heavy military vehicles driving through the square (both were later rebuilt after the fall of the Soviet Union). There were plans to demolish Moscow's most recognized building, Saint Basil's Cathedral , as well to make way for

8560-401: The square was illuminated by electric lanterns. In 1909 a tram appeared on the square for the first time. During the Soviet era, Red Square maintained its significance, becoming a focal point for the new state. Besides being the official address of the Soviet government, it was renowned as a showcase for military parades from 1919 onward. Lenin's Mausoleum would from 1924 onward be a part of

8667-479: The square's most famous building, and one of Russia's cultural icons. Once, the church was the main place of worship in Moscow, but today the cathedral mainly functions as a museum that is part of the complex of the State Historical Museum in the opposite. Since the early 1990s, services have been held in the cathedral at irregular intervals. In the middle of the 16th century, the wooden Church of

8774-480: The square, in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. At the same time, it is one of the oldest buildings on the square that has been documented to this day. Lobnoye Mesto was first mentioned in 1549, when the then 19 year old tsar Ivan The Terrible gave a speech there. Thus, it must have been conceived from the beginning as a platform from which, above all, tsar decrees were announced to the people. The name Lobnoye Mesto could literally mean 'forehead' or 'skull' (and thus

8881-489: The stand, but a few meters away. After Saint Petersburg became Imperial Russia's capital, the Lobnoye Mesto lost its function as the tsar's tribune and has been a monument ever since. In 1786, it was rebuilt according to a design by the architect Matvey Kazakov , and moved a few meters to the east. The monument to the two Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitri Poszharsky, erected between 1812 and 1818, stands directly in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. Just like

8988-618: The territory has been part of Tverskoy District , and the Central Administrative Okrug authorities have managed the area directly since 2003. All 10 chapels, 7 out of 18 parish churches, the Cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery, and two monastery bell towers were demolished in Kitay-gorod in the 1920s and 1930s by the Soviet government. After the destruction of the ancient wall with fortress towers, Kitay-gorod lost its borders and outlines. And in

9095-572: The top of the barrel, to the right is "The decree of the faithful and Christ-king and the Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich, Sovereign Autocrat of all Great Russia with his pious and god-blessed queen, Grand Princess Irina"; While to the one to the left is "Cast in the city of Moscow in the summer of year 7904 (c. 1585 in Gregorian calendar ), in his third summer state, by Andrey Chokov." The cannon-style gun carriage, added in 1835,

9202-413: The two-ton shot, making it impossible for the cannon to be transported from one position to another. Therefore Chokhov did not mean to cast it as a functional cannon at all. His cannon is always only a symbol of Russian power and of the capabilities of the Russian industry. If we render a Russian master able to create such a whopper cannon, the smaller ones would have much less use. Therefore, the Tsar Cannon

9309-555: The wholesale trade, which is why both of the buildings look very similar architecturally. The building's architect was Roman Klein , who also designed numerous other well-known Moscow structures in the late 19th century, including the Pushkin Museum . After the Bolsheviks came to power, the building was no longer used as a trading house, but became the headquarters of various public bodies. Until recent times, it belonged to

9416-527: The wooden stakes used in construction of the quarter's walls. Gorod is simply the Russian word for 'city', derived from the ancient gord . Kitay ( Russian : Китай) is also the modern Russian name for China , and cognates with the historic Khitan people of northeastern China. Kitay cognates with the English Cathay . The walls were erected from 1536 to 1539 by an Italian architect known under

9523-422: The younger components of the architectural ensemble of Red Square. Before it was built, the first pharmacy building in Moscow stood on this site from the beginning of the 18th century, which was rebuilt in 1755 and served as the first campus of the then newly founded Moscow State University for two decades. Today's museum building was built especially for the historical museum, which was newly founded in 1872, and

9630-491: Was a cannon factory. Trying new guns, not testing shot projectiles (but shells seems more while there was none), but cannonballs. They shot it over the Kama River, landing in the forest, where trees were knocked down and deep ditches were dug by those cannonballs. I was not allowed to go there. Yes, and there was no one, except on Sundays, when the plant was silent as tiny spiders float on the river and boats carry people from

9737-407: Was built in pseudo-Russian style. After Bové's lines were demolished, new large buildings were erected between 1888 and 1893, also in the pseudo-Russian style: upper lines ( GUM department store ) and middle lines. The upper lines were intended for retail sale and together in fact comprised the first department store in Moscow. Middle lines were intended for wholesale trade. At the same time (in 1892)

9844-488: Was built in the 1630s on the land of Moscow merchant, Grigory Nikitnikov. Nikolskaya Street is the site of Moscow's first university, the Slavic Greek Latin Academy , housed in extant Zaikonospassky monastery (1660s). Another monastery cathedral, the main church of Epiphany Monastery (1690s), stands in the middle of Kitay-gorod in the eponymous Bogoyavlensky Lane. In the 19th century, Red Square

9951-629: Was built on this site by 1561, making it one of the oldest buildings on the square. The name of the cathedral, which is still more common today, was given in memory of Basil the Blessed , who was venerated by tsar Ivan at the time, and after his death in 1522, he was buried near the cathedral. Ivan Barma and Postnik Yakovlev were among the most popular architects of the church. Kitay-gorod Basket City or Kitay-gorod ( / k ɪ ˈ t aɪ ˈ ɡ ɔːr ɒ d / ; Russian: Китай-город , IPA: [kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət] ), also referred to as

10058-566: Was ceremoniously handed over to its destination in May 1883. Its architect was Vladimir Osipovich Sherwood , who is considered to be one of the main representatives of the "Russian style", a variant of historicism based on traditional Russian architecture , which was widely used at the time. The museum building looks correspondingly "Old Russian": the facades are decorated with arched windows and ornaments reminiscent of traditional Russian Orthodox churches, several decorative towers reminiscent of some of

10165-457: Was completed in 1993. This made the Kazan Cathedral one of the first places of worship in Moscow to be destroyed during the Soviet era, to be rebuilt in the 1990s. The GUM department store, situated at the eastern side of the square, occupies the entire section between Nikolskaya and Ilyinka streets. Due to its location directly on Red Square, and its considerable size, the sales area is around 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft). Owing to

10272-571: Was destroyed in a fire. In the 1730s, a new mint building, called the Gubernskoye pravlenie (Provincial Board), was built in front of the old one. During her reign, Catherine the Great decided to make improvements to the square. In 1786, the upper floor of the market lines was made of stone. This line was built on the opposite side of the square, near a moat between the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers. Then architect Matvey Kazakov built (in

10379-458: Was essentially relocated to Saint Petersburg. After the end of minting, the lower part of the building, which had no windows, was temporarily used as a Debtors' prison for insolvent merchants. Today, both the former government building and the old mint belong to the neighbouring historical museum. The Kazan Cathedral is to the right of the former government administration building, on the corner of Red Square and Nikolskaya Street. Today's cathedral

10486-707: Was given as a present from Moscow to Donetsk, which was installed in front of the Donetsk City Hall in May 2001. There were two copies, with the other one produced in Izhevsk set in the premises of OAO Izhstal. In 2007, another replica was installed in front of the National Art Gallery in Yoshkar-Ola . This replica was made in a scale of 1:2. This replica is incomplete, with ornaments changed or absent, and other details missing. The kernel of

10593-413: Was lined by a neoclassical domed structure of Upper Trade Rows by Joseph Bove . In the 1890s it replaced with the new Upper Trading Rows (by Alexander Pomerantsev and Vladimir Shukhov ) and the similar Middle Trading Rows (by Roman Klein ). The rest of Kitay-gorod was densely filled with offices, warehouses and hotels, to the point where real estate developers had to build streets, not buildings—like

10700-550: Was located on the platform of the Lobnoye mesto . The square was called Veliky Torg ('Great Market') or simply Torg ('Market'), then Troitskaya by the name of the small Troitskaya ('Trinity') Church, burnt down in the great fire during the Tatar invasion in 1571. After that, the square held the name Pozhar , which means 'burnt'. It was not until 1661–62 that it was first mentioned by its contemporary Krasnaya name. Red Square

10807-409: Was neither protected by the rivers, nor any other natural barriers, as the other sides were. Therefore, the Kremlin wall was built to its greatest height on this side, and the Italian architects involved in the building of these fortifications convinced Ivan the Great to clear the area outside of the walls to create a field for shooting. The relevant decrees were issued in 1493 and 1495. They called for

10914-415: Was not spared from the war against Napoleon in 1812 , in which large parts of Moscow were destroyed. In the 1810s it was then rebuilt, under the direction of the architect Joseph Bové , who was instrumental in the reconstruction of the city at that time. In the course of this reconstruction, a tower was added to the roof of the house, which for a long time served as an observation tower for a fire station. At

11021-477: Was put on display in the Kremlin for foreign diplomats." The cannon was last restored in 1980 in the town of Serpukhov . It was thoroughly studied by specialists in the Artillery Academy at that time and gunpowder residue was found, indicating that the cannon had been fired at least once, hinged and dug into the ground. Another theory by other researchers is that Tsar cannon never fired because of

11128-923: Was rebuilt by the Moscow Merchant Society, with the late Art Nouveau Boyarsky Dvor offices (by Fyodor Schechtel ) and the neoclassical 4, Staraya Square (by Vladimir Sherwood , Jr., 1912–1914) which housed the Central Committee of the Communist Party after the Bolshevik Revolution . The present-day offices and clock tower of Constitutional Court of Russia were financed by the Northern Insurance Society (1910–1912) and built by Ivan Rerberg , Marian Peretiatkovich and Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky . A whole quarter of Kitay-gorod adjacent to

11235-591: Was set up on Red Square. Paul McCartney's performance there was a historic moment for many, as The Beatles were banned in the Soviet Union, preventing any live performances there of any of The Beatles. The Soviet Union also banned the sales of Beatles records . While McCartney's performance was historic, he was not the first Beatle to perform in Russia. Former Beatle Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band performed at Moscow's Russia Hall in August 1998. On 4 December 2008

11342-491: Was the scene of solemn cross processions led by the patriarch and the tsar, especially on the anniversary of the victory over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1936 the cathedral, like many other Moscow places of worship, was demolished at the approval of Joseph Stalin . It was not until the early 1990s that the reconstruction, which was called for by the public on several occasions, began and

11449-428: Was then the foremost landing stage and trading center for Moscow. Even though Ivan the Great decreed that trade should only be conducted from person to person, in time, these rules were relaxed, and permanent market buildings began appearing on the square. After a fire in 1547, Ivan the Terrible reorganized the wooden shops that lined its eastern side into market lines. The streets Ilyinka and Varvarka were divided into

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