Moscow Kremlin: history, legends and facts. Briefly about the Moscow Kremlin Leonardo and the Kremlin: what is the connection

The main attractions of Russia are the Moscow Kremlin and the monuments located within its boundaries. These famous buildings attract thousands of tourists every day. For many centuries, the Kremlin was the center of social, political and religious life of Muscovites and residents of other Russian cities. It still remains the main asset of the country.

The Moscow Kremlin keeps many interesting stories. It is impossible to see all the sights of this ensemble in a day. Surprisingly, not every Russian today knows when this complex was built. Few are also able to answer the question of what does not belong to the sights of the Moscow Kremlin.

You should start getting acquainted with the capital from the center. Historical monuments are concentrated here that will not leave anyone indifferent. They give a complete picture of the life of the Russian people, their history and cultural values.

History of the Kremlin

The sights of the Moscow Kremlin have survived different times. Their history began in the 12th century, when a small wooden fortress was built on Borovitsky Hill, at the confluence of the Moscow River and Neglinka. It was subsequently destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols. But later it was restored using a more durable material - stone. The fortress was called the Moscow Kremlin. So it became the official residence of Russian princes.

The second half of the 15th century was not the best time for Kremlin buildings. The buildings became dilapidated, which was the reason for the construction of new chambers and churches, which have partially survived to this day.

The Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe were built in the city. New churches appeared at the monasteries. In addition, the Grand Duke's Palace and the Chamber of Facets were erected. In the 15th century, the Kremlin had the famous red brick walls and openwork towers along the entire perimeter. The construction was completely completed in the 17th century. During the reign of Peter I, the sights of the Moscow Kremlin lost their significance for the political life of the country. The capital moved to St. Petersburg. However, the Kremlin continued to be built. At the same time, the Arsenal building was built, and later the Senate building.

With the outbreak of the War of 1812, the Moscow Kremlin and its buildings were partially destroyed. The greatest destruction awaited the historical monument during the Soviet era. Twenty-eight buildings were destroyed, monasteries and churches were blown up. It was then that red stars appeared on the Kremlin towers.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans failed to destroy the Kremlin, but it still required serious restoration work. In 1990 it was included in the UNESCO list. Today it is the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. Entrance to the Kremlin is partially limited.

Attractions

The Moscow Kremlin and other attractions located near it form a complete ensemble. The length of its walls is more than two thousand meters, and the height reaches nineteen meters.

The walls of the Kremlin were built in the form of an irregular triangle. Seventeen towers have a square cross-section, and three are round, which allows them to be located in the corners of the walls. The Spasskaya Tower is the tallest in this ensemble - seventy-one meters. The architectural style of the Moscow Kremlin is uniform. The only difference is the Nikolskaya Tower, which was rebuilt in the 19th century in the Gothic style. The complete ensemble of Kremlin sights consists of twenty towers, seven cathedrals, nine administrative buildings and museums, five squares and gardens, and two monuments.

Monuments

Most guests of the capital do not know what the sights of the Moscow Kremlin are. All ensembles located within its walls, including Red Square, are considered the main Kremlin symbols. The famous monuments of the ensemble include the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell.

The Tsar Cannon was cast in bronze in 1586. Its main purpose is to protect the Kremlin, but in its entire history the famous cannon has not fired a single shot. The weight of this weapon is thirty-nine tons.

The Tsar Bell was also never used for its intended purpose. Its weight is two hundred and two tons. In 1737 it fell during a fire and a large piece broke off. The craftsmen were never able to restore the bell.

The buildings

Today, the Moscow Kremlin is not only an open museum, but also the residence of the President of Russia. Some buildings are closed to tourists. The exception is the buildings that are located on its territory and are of particular great historical and cultural value. Thus, tourists can visit the Grand Kremlin Palace only as part of a group excursion. You must register for it in advance.

The State Kremlin Palace hosts concerts, festivals and other significant events. The sights of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are always open to tourist groups and foreign visitors who want to get acquainted with the history of the country.

Cathedrals and churches

Perhaps the most important attractions of the Moscow Kremlin are churches and cathedrals. They are a symbol of the spiritual wealth of the Russian people and have enormous historical value. Most of the cathedrals were erected in the 15th century.

The main place on the Kremlin Square is occupied by the Assumption Cathedral. This is the oldest building in the capital. Russian tsars were crowned kings within its walls. It was here that the most important decisions for the state were made. The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1508. It contains fifty-four burials. This is the tomb of the Moscow sovereigns. The Annunciation Cathedral, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church of the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles in the Patriarchal Chambers also belong to the Kremlin attractions.

Armouries

The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are the sights of Russia that foreign tourists should definitely visit. The Armory Chamber is the Kremlin treasury. Here you can see items of jewelry, jewelry that belonged to Russian tsars and rulers of the 12th-20th centuries.

Guests of the capital will be able to see in the Armory Chamber Monomakh's hat, decorated with expensive gems, a throne, Gospels, carriages, Russian and European weapons. In a word, everything that once belonged to the Moscow kings. The diamond fund, located in a separate room, will definitely appeal to visitors. This is where precious stones in a single, unique copy and valuable jewelry are kept. The Armory also houses items that are of particular value. This is the empress's scepter, crowns, the Orlov diamond, the Shah diamond, the imperial orb, the sign and star of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, decorated with diamonds.

Towers and walls

The most frequently visited attractions in Moscow by tourists are the Moscow Kremlin and its buildings. This is not surprising, because it is the center of the capital and all of Russia.

The peculiarity of the Kremlin is that it is surrounded by high and strong walls around the perimeter. They were erected in the 15th century by architects from Italy. All twenty towers are not alike. The most notable towers are Tainitskaya and Spasskaya. The name of the first comes from the word “secret”, since a secret passage passed through it. The second tower is one of the most famous. It faces Red Square and its main entrance opens only on special occasions. The Spasskaya Tower is popular with most people because of the chimes installed on its façade. The ensemble of towers also includes the Nikolskaya Tower, Middle Arsenalskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Vodovzvodnaya, Kutafya and many others.

The main symbol of Russia, a building of such status, significance, and outstanding that only such world-famous historical architectural objects as the Egyptian pyramids or the Tower of London can compare with it...

Appolinary Vasnetsov. The rise of the Kremlin at the end of the 17th century

The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest part of the Russian capital, the heart of the city, the official residence of the country's leader, one of the world's largest complexes with unique architecture, a treasury of historical relics and a spiritual center.

The importance the Kremlin has acquired in our country is evidenced by the fact that the very concept of “Kremlin” is associated with the Moscow complex. Meanwhile, Kolomna, Syzran, Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk, Astrakhan and other cities not only in Russia, but also in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus have their own kremlins.

According to the definition given in Vladimir Dahl’s “explanatory dictionary”, “krem” is a large and strong timber timber, and “kremlevnik” is a coniferous forest growing in a moss swamp. And the “Kremlin” is a city surrounded by a fortress wall, with towers and loopholes. Thus, the name of these structures comes from the type of wood that was used in their construction. Unfortunately, not a single wooden Kremlin has survived on the territory of Russia, except for the guard towers in the Trans-Urals, but the stone structures, which until the 14th century were called detinets and performed a protective function, remain, and the Moscow Kremlin is, of course, the most famous of them.

The main symbol of Russia is located on Borovitsky Hill, on the higher left bank of the Moscow River, in the place where the Neglinnaya River flows into it. If we consider the complex from above, the Kremlin is an irregular triangle with a total area of 27.7 hectares, surrounded by a massive wall with towers.

The first detailed plan of the Moscow Kremlin, 1601

The architectural complex of the Moscow Kremlin includes 4 palaces and 4 cathedrals, the southern wall faces the Moscow River, the eastern wall faces Red Square, and the northwestern wall faces the Alexander Garden. Currently, the Kremlin is an independent administrative unit within Moscow and is included in the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage List.

Plan of the Moscow Kremlin presented on its official website

Listing all the events that took place during the more than 900-year history of the Moscow Kremlin is not an easy task. Interestingly, the first human settlements on Borovitsky Hill are dated by archaeologists to the 2nd millennium BC. At that time, the construction site of the future Kremlin was completely covered with dense forests, which is where the name of the hill came from - Borovitsky.

Other archaeological finds found on the territory of the Kremlin date back to the period of the 8th-3rd centuries BC; scientists suggest that already then the first wooden fortifications were erected on the site where the Kremlin Cathedral Square is now located. You can see objects related to the life of the ancient inhabitants of the Kremlin Mountain in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral, where the exhibition “Archaeology of the Moscow Kremlin” is held.

From the 12th century until the first half of the 13th century, a border fortress was located on the site of the Moscow Kremlin, which became the beginning of the history of Moscow. Archaeologists managed to discover an ancient cemetery of the 12th century, which was located on the site of the Assumption Cathedral; presumably, there was a wooden church nearby.

Border fortress on the site of the Moscow Kremlin, watercolor by G.V. Borisevich

The founder of Moscow, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky, founded a fortress at the mouth of the Neglinnaya River, slightly higher than the Yauza River. The new fortress united 2 fortified centers located on Borovitsky Hill into a single whole. The fortress, which stood on the site of the future Kremlin, occupied an irregular triangle between the current Trinity, Borovitsky and Tainitsky gates.

Monument to Yuri Dolgoruky in Moscow

During this period, Moscow and the Kremlin experienced numerous internecine wars between Russian princes; severe fire and plunder overtook the city during the invasion of Batu Khan, so that the wooden structures of the old Kremlin were seriously damaged.

The first “high-ranking person” to settle in the Moscow Kremlin was Prince Daniil, the youngest son of Prince Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir, then Moscow was ruled by the son of Moscow Prince Daniil, Ivan Kalita, who did a lot to ensure that the city became one of the largest and strongest in the world. Rus'. Ivan Kalita was also involved in the arrangement of his residence, which it was under him that in 1331 received its current name - the Moscow Kremlin and became a separate, main part of the city.

In 1326-1327, the Assumption Cathedral was erected - already at that time it became the main temple of the principality, and in 1329 the construction of the church and bell tower of St. John the Climacus was completed. The following year, the domes of the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor rose in the Kremlin, and in 1333 the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was built, in which Ivan Kalita himself, his children and grandchildren were then buried. These first not wooden, but white stone churches in Moscow later determined the spatial composition of the center of the Kremlin, and in its main features it remains the same today.

By the way, it was under Ivan Kalita, in the first half of the 14th century, that the treasury of the Moscow princes began to take shape, the storage place of which was, of course, the Kremlin. One of the main items in the treasury was the “golden cap” - scientists identify it with the famous Monomakh cap, which served as the crown of all Moscow rulers.

Moscow Kremlin under Ivan Kalita, painting by A.M. Vasnetsova

In 1365, after another fire, Prince Dmitry (in 1380, after the victory over Mamai, he received the nickname Donskoy), who ruled in Moscow at that time, decided to build towers and fortifications from stone, for which they brought stones to Borovitsky Hill in the winter of 1367 limestone sleigh. In the spring of the same year, construction began on the first white-stone fortress in North-Eastern Rus'.

The cult center of the Kremlin became Cathedral Square, on which the wooden princely chambers, the white-stone Annunciation Cathedral were located, in the eastern part of the Kremlin, Metropolitan Alexei founded the Chudov Monastery, and the residence of the metropolitan himself was located in the Kremlin.

In 1404, on a special tower of the Moscow Kremlin, the Athonite Serb monk Lazar installed a special city clock, which became the first on the territory of Rus'.

In the second half of the 15th century, a grandiose reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin began, after which it acquired modern features familiar to every Russian. Princes Ivan the Third, who married Sophia Palaeologus, a Byzantine princess, was able to complete the unification of the principalities of Rus' and Moscow acquired a new status - the capital of a large state. Naturally, the residence of the head of such a vast country needed remodeling and expansion.

In 1475-1479, the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti erected a new Assumption Cathedral, which was the main temple of the Moscow principality under Ivan Kalita, and now has received the status of the main cathedral of the Russian state.

Assumption Cathedral on a postcard from the early 20th century

Another Italian architect, Aleviz Novy, was involved in the construction of the grand-ducal temple-tomb - the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael. On the western side of the square, the palace of the Great Moscow Prince Ivan the Third was erected, which included the Middle Golden Chamber, the Embankment Chamber and the Great Faceted Chamber, that is, a whole complex of ceremonial buildings. Unfortunately, not all of them have survived to the present day.

Moscow Kremlin at the end of the 15th century, painting by A.M. Vasnetsova

After Italian craftsmen erected new towers and walls of the Kremlin, many foreign guests began to call the structure a castle, the similarity of which is given to the complex by the battlements on the walls. The Moscow Kremlin was compared with the Scaliger Castle in Verona and the famous Sforza Castle in Milan. However, unlike these buildings, the Kremlin became not only the residence of the country’s ruler, but also the center of cultural and religious life of the entire state; the most famous churches of Rus', the residence of the metropolitan and monasteries are located here.

Of course, the history of the Moscow Kremlin is inextricably linked with the history of the princes, kings and emperors who ruled the Moscow principality, then the kingdom, and then the Russian Empire. Thus, Tsar Ivan the Fourth (better known as Grozny), who ascended the throne in 1547, also did a lot to form the Kremlin ensemble. During his reign, the Church of the Annunciation was reconstructed, and orders were located on Ivanovskaya Square, including the Ambassadorial Order, which was in charge of receiving foreign guests. Even then, the Armory Chamber existed; the royal stables, the Sleeping Chamber, storage rooms and workshops were also located on the territory of the Kremlin.

In 1652-1656, Patriarch Nikon was involved in the reconstruction of the patriarchal palace in the Kremlin; the treasures of the Patriarchal sacristy were kept in this building, and church councils met in the Cross Chamber and feasts were held for noble guests.

Only in 1712, after Peter the Great decided to move the capital to the newly built St. Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin lost its status as the permanent and only residence of the rulers of the state; in addition, the beginning of the 18th century was marked for Moscow by a new destructive fire. When restoring the damaged parts of the Kremlin, it was decided to build an Arsenal between the Sobakina and Trinity towers.

In 1749-1753, the old chambers of the Sovereign's court from the 15th century were dismantled, and on their foundations the famous architect F.-B. Rastrelli erected a new stone Winter Palace in the Baroque style. The building faced the Moscow River on one side and Cathedral Square on the other.

In 1756-1764, architect D.V. Ukhtomsky erected a new building for the Armory Chamber gallery between the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals, but then, during the planning of a large-scale reconstruction of the Kremlin, this building was demolished. V.I. Bazhenov’s plan to build a new palace was never realized, but in preparation for the start of this project, the Kremlin lost many ancient buildings.

In 1776-1787, the architect M. F. Kazakov, by decree of Catherine the Second, built the Senate building, which stood opposite the Arsenal, and only then Senate Square acquired its completed appearance.

In 1810, by decree of Emperor Alexander the First, the Armory Chamber was erected to the architect I.V. Egotov managed to fit the new building into the Kremlin ensemble; as a result of the construction, a new Kremlin square appeared - Troitskaya, formed between the new museum building, the Arsenal and the Trinity Tower.

The Kremlin was seriously damaged during Napoleon's invasion; after the fire of 1812, many of the complex's blown up and burned buildings had to be restored.

In 1838-1851, in the Moscow Kremlin, according to the decree of Emperor Nicholas I, a new palace complex was built in the “national Russian style”. It included the Apartment building, the Grand Kremlin Palace, erected on the site of the Winter Palace, and a more solemn museum building - the Moscow Armory Chamber. Architect Konstantin Ton carried out construction strictly within the boundaries of the ancient Sovereign's courtyard, took into account all the historically established features, and managed to combine new buildings and architectural monuments of the 15th-17th centuries in one composition. At the same time, the reconstruction of old churches was carried out. New buildings formed a new square in the Moscow Kremlin - Imperial or Palace Square.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the Moscow Kremlin was considered a monument of history and architecture. Nicholas II intended to turn the Amusing Palace into a museum dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812, but 1917 crossed out all the emperor’s plans.

As is known, after the coup, the Bolshevik government moved from St. Petersburg to the Kremlin and until 1953, that is, until the death of Stalin, who occupied an office and apartment in the Kremlin, the complex was closed to free visits by ordinary tourists and Muscovites.

In 1935, the Kremlin lost its double-headed eagles, and in 1937, luminous ruby stars were installed in their place on the Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers.

On the site of the demolished Voznesensky and Chudov monasteries, a Military School building was erected, which greatly changed the appearance of the architectural complex.

Interestingly, during the Great Patriotic War the Kremlin was virtually undamaged, despite the massive bombings that hit Moscow in 1941 and 1942. The authorities evacuated the treasures of the Armory Chamber, and in the event of the surrender of the capital to German troops, a plan was envisaged for mining the main buildings of the complex.

In 1955, the Moscow Kremlin reopened its doors to ordinary visitors, and the Museum of Applied Art and Life of Russia of the 17th Century, located in the Patriarchal Palace, began its work. The last large-scale construction on the territory of the Kremlin was the construction of the Palace of Congresses in 1961, which modern architects and ordinary Muscovites many call “a piece of glass against the backdrop of the ancient Kremlin” and consider its construction another crime of the Soviet regime.

Like any ancient, historical building, the Moscow Kremlin has its secrets, legends associated with it and often quite dark secrets.

Most of these legends are connected specifically with the Kremlin dungeons. Since their exact map was lost a long time ago (possibly destroyed by the builders themselves), many underground passages, corridors and tunnels of the Moscow Kremlin have not yet been fully studied.

For example, the search for the famous library of Ivan the Terrible was resumed several times, but the vast repository of books and documents from that time has still not been found. Scientists argue whether the legendary library actually existed, burned down during one of the fires that repeatedly raged on the territory of the complex, or was hidden so well that modern archaeologists are not able to find it in the huge square of the Moscow Kremlin.

Most likely, until the 18th century, all the towers and walls of the Kremlin were literally “pierced” with numerous secret passages and tunnels.

It was during the search for Liberia (as the library of Ivan the Terrible is usually called) that archaeologist Shcherbatov in 1894 stumbled upon a mysterious underground structure located under the first floor of the Alarm Tower. Trying to examine the found tunnel, the archaeologist came to a dead end, but then discovered the same tunnel leading from the Konstantin-Eleninskaya Tower.

Archaeologist Shcherbatov also found a secret passage connecting the Nikolskaya Tower with the Corner Arsenal, but in 1920 all information, photographs taken by the scientist and reports on the passages found were classified by the Bolsheviks and became a state secret. It is quite possible that the new authorities decided to use the Kremlin’s secret passages for their own purposes.

According to scientists, since the Moscow Kremlin was built according to all the rules of fortification of the Middle Ages and was primarily a fortress designed to protect citizens from enemy attacks, the Italian architect Fioravanti also built places for lower battles and “rumors” - secret corners from which one can it was secretly to observe (and eavesdrop) on the enemy. Most likely (it is now quite difficult to collect evidence), until the 18th century all the towers and walls of the Kremlin were literally “pierced” by numerous secret passages and tunnels, but then, as unnecessary, most of them were simply walled up and filled up.

By the way, the very name of the Taynitskaya Tower clearly indicates that there was a hiding place under it; there are references to the construction of secret passages in chronicles that recorded the process of constructing towers in the 15th century.

Tainitskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin

There were also rumors about the dungeons of the Beklemishevskaya Tower, which, by the way, enjoys the most notorious reputation - it was here that the torture chamber was located, created on the orders of Ivan the Terrible. In the 19th century, Archpriest Lebedev, who served in the Kremlin for more than 45 years, counted 9 failures that formed on the vaults of various underground structures. It is known about a secret passage leading from Tainitskaya to the Spasskaya Tower, another secret road leads from Troitskaya to the Nikolskaya Tower and further to Kitay-Gorod.

And Ignatius Stelletsky, a famous historian and specialist in “dungeon archeology”, the founder of the digger movement in Moscow, intended to go from the Beklemishevskaya Tower to the Moscow River, and from the Spasskaya Tower through a secret underground passage directly to St. Basil’s Cathedral, and then along the existing one near the temple descent into a large tunnel under Red Square.

The remains of underground passages were found in various parts of the Moscow Kremlin many times, during almost every reconstruction, but most often such dead ends, gaps or vaults were simply walled up or even filled with concrete.

On the eve of his coronation, Emperor Nicholas II himself saw the ghost of Ivan the Terrible, which he reported to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.

The Moscow Kremlin, of course, has its own ghosts. Thus, in the Commandant's Tower they saw a disheveled, pale woman with a revolver in her hand, who was allegedly recognized as Fanny Kaplan, who was shot by the then Kremlin commandant.

For several centuries now, the ghost of this Russian tyrant has been seen on the lower tiers of the bell tower of Ivan the Terrible. By the way, the ghost of Ivan the Terrible also has a crowned witness - on the eve of his coronation, Emperor Nicholas II himself saw him, which he informed his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.

Sometimes the ghost of the Pretender, the False Dmitry executed here, flashes over the battlements of the Moscow Kremlin. The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower also enjoys a bad reputation - there was also a torture chamber here in the 17th century and a case was recorded of drops of blood appearing on the stonework, which then disappeared on their own.

Another ghostly inhabitant of the Moscow Kremlin is, of course, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who was seen both in his office and in his former apartment. Stalin’s famous comrade-in-arms, head of the NKVD Yezhov, also “visited” his former office... But Joseph Vissarionovich himself was never noted for appearing in the Kremlin after March 5, 1953.

It is not surprising that such an ancient structure, replete with burials, secrets and secret rooms, arouses the interest of not only archaeologists, scientists and historians, but also mystics.

Data

If we talk about the Moscow Kremlin only from the point of view of a large-scale complex of buildings, it is impossible not to mention all of its structures.

So, the architectural complex of the Moscow Kremlin includes 20 towers: Tainitskaya, Beklemishevskaya, Blagoveshchenskaya, Vodovzvodnaya, Petrovskaya Tower, Borovitskaya, First Nameless, Second Nameless, Konstantino-Eleninskaya, Nikolskaya, Spasskaya, Corner Arsenalnaya, Nabatnaya, Senateskaya, Middle Arsenalnaya, Armory, Komendantskaya, Troitskaya, Tsarskaya and Kutafya.

Each of the towers has its own history, purpose and special architectural image. The most famous of them is, of course, the Spasskaya Tower with its famous clock, which appeared on the tower erected in 1491 in 1625 according to the design of Christopher Galovey and was subsequently repeatedly changed and improved.

Modern Kremlin chimes were made in 1852 by Russian watchmakers, the Budenop brothers. In 1917, the clock was damaged by a shell, and after repairs in 1918, the Internationale began playing. The last restoration of the chimes was carried out in 1999.

The Kremlin complex also includes five squares: Troitskaya, Dvortsovaya, Senate, Ivanovskaya and Sobornaya.

Located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin and 18 buildings: Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the Senya, Church of the Deposition of the Robe, Assumption Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral, Archangel Cathedral, Chamber of Facets, Ivan the Great Bell Tower Ensemble, Terem Palace, Golden Tsarina Chamber, Verkhospassky Cathedral and Terem churches, Arsenal, The Patriarchal Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles, the Senate, the Amusement Palace, the Grand Kremlin Palace, the State Kremlin Palace, the Armory Chamber and the Military School named after the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

It is impossible not to mention such significant Kremlin objects that attract millions of tourists as the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell.

The Tsar Bell is truly the largest bell in the world, created back in 1733-1735 by order of Anna Ioanovna, and installed in the Kremlin as a monument to foundry craftsmanship. And the Tsar Cannon, with its caliber of 890 millimeters, is still the largest artillery gun on the planet. The cannon, weighing 40 tons, never had to fire a single shot, but it became an excellent decoration of the museum composition of the Moscow Kremlin.

And the Moscow Kremlin itself is rightfully considered the largest architectural and historical complex in Europe that has been preserved, is operational and is currently in use.

Currently, on the territory of the Kremlin there is the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin", numerous exhibitions, exhibits and relics of which are available to everyone who wants to see with their own eyes all the beauty and charm of the ancient building.

Not long ago, Vladimir Kozhin, manager of the affairs of the President of the Russian Federation, said that even after the expansion of Moscow and the relocation of all departments and ministries to new locations, the presidential administration and the head of state himself will still remain in the Kremlin. Apparently, the country's leadership understands perfectly well that it is difficult to find a better place to receive foreign guests and govern the state. And there is no way to break centuries-old traditions...

Anna Sedykh, rmnt.ru

ABOUT MOSCOW

Moscow is the most important city in our country. Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation, a city of federal significance, the administrative center of the Central Federal District and the center of the Moscow Region, which it is not part of. The largest city in Russia and its subject by population - 12,330,126 people. (2016), the most populous of the cities located entirely in Europe, is among the top ten cities in the world by population. Center of the Moscow urban agglomeration.

The historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Tsardom, the Russian Empire (in 1728-1730), Soviet Russia and the USSR. Popular names: “Mother See”, “Third Rome”. Hero city. In Moscow there are federal government bodies of the Russian Federation (with the exception of the Constitutional Court), embassies of foreign states, and the headquarters of most of the largest Russian commercial organizations and public associations. It is located on the Moscow River in the center of the East European Plain, between the Oka and Volga rivers.

Moscow is an important tourist center of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin, Red Square, Novodevichy Convent and the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is the most important transport hub. The city is served by 5 airports, 9 railway stations, 3 river ports (there is a river connection with the seas of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans). The metro has been operating in Moscow since 1935.

Moscow is located in the center of the European part of Russia, between the Oka and Volga rivers, at the junction of the Smolensk-Moscow Upland (in the west), the Moskvoretsko-Oka Plain (in the east) and the Meshcherskaya Lowland (in the southeast). The territory of the city after changing city boundaries in 2012 is 2550 km².

The average height above sea level is 156 m. The highest point is on the Teplostanskaya Upland and is 255 m, the lowest point is near the Besedinsky Bridges, where the Moscow River leaves the city (the height of this point above sea level is 114.2 m).

The climate of Moscow is temperate continental, with clearly defined seasonality.

Moscow has large forests and parks; within the city there is part of the Losiny Ostrov Natural Park, many public gardens and recreational areas. Despite the enormous degree of development in Moscow, the area of green areas of the city is 34.3 thousand hectares or about 1/3 of the total territory of the city. In Moscow forests there are not only squirrels, hedgehogs and hares, but also larger wild animals such as wild boar and elk, sika deer, fox, mink and ermine, wild ducks and herons, rare pheasants and gray partridges, black kites and many other animals.

The name of the city comes from the name of the river. Hypotheses about the Slavic and Finno-Ugric origin of the river’s name have become widespread among experts. In the Finno-Ugric version, the original meaning of the word was “water, river, wet,” from the Mari language - “bear, female, mother, she-bear.” In the Slavic version - “liquid, muddy, damp, slushy.”

In the center of Moscow and at the same time, its oldest part, the Moscow Kremlin fortress is located - the main socio-political, historical and artistic complex of the city, the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin is the largest fortress in Europe, preserved and operating to this day.

The age of Moscow is not known exactly. The first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin date back to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). A Finno-Ugric settlement dating back to the early Iron Age (second half of the 1st millennium BC) was found near the modern Archangel Cathedral. The settlement occupied the center of the upper floodplain terrace of Borovitsky Hill (the area of modern Cathedral Square) and may have had fortifications. With the beginning of the Slavic colonization of the Oka and Moscow River basins in the 10th century, the top of Borovitsky Hill was inhabited by the Vyatichi.

50 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MOSCOW

According to most researchers and historians, Moscow got its name from the river that flows nearby. There are two versions of the origin of the name “Moscow”. Supporters of the first version believe that the word “Moscow” is of Finnish origin, since once upon a time there were ancient settlements of Finnish tribes on the banks of the river. According to this version, “mosk” is translated as bear, and “va” as water. Supporters of the second version believe that this name was given by the ancient Slavs, and in Old Slavic “Moskva” means “wet”, “dampness”.

If you add up all the streets of the city, their length will be about 4,350 kilometers. A pedestrian walking at a speed of 5 km per hour without stopping would take more than a month to cover this distance.

The Moscow Kremlin is the largest fortress in Europe, preserved and operating to this day.

The Kremlin chimes are the oldest large tower clock in Russia. Their diameter is 9 meters, the length of the minute hand is 4 meters, and its weight is 50 kilograms. The hour hand is shorter than the minute hand by half a meter and lighter by 11 kilograms.

The oldest temple in Moscow is the Assumption Cathedral, which was built in 1475-1479. The Assumption Cathedral by Aristotle Fioravanti is the oldest surviving building in Moscow. Today it is already 535 years old. There are 837 Orthodox churches and chapels in Moscow.

Previously, representatives of various classes, professions and nationalities lived separately in Moscow. Many streets in the central part of the city were named after who their inhabitants were and what they did. Cooks actually lived on Povarskaya, and butchers lived on Myasnitskaya. In the area of Bolshaya Ordynka and Malaya Ordynka, immigrants from the Golden Horde, that is, Tatars, settled. In the area of Malaya Gruzinskaya there was a Gruzinskaya Sloboda, and Khokhlovsky Lane and Maroseyka Street began to be called that because Ukrainians (from Little Russia) settled here.

The Lenin Library (now: Russian State Library) is one of the most extensive in the world, second only to the US Library of Congress. There are 40 million books in it.

The oldest park in Moscow is the Alexander Garden. It was built in the 18th century.

Moscow is of great importance as a scientific and cultural center. The Russian Academy of Sciences, located here, includes 90 departments and 78 research centers. In addition to the Russian Academy of Sciences, there are other scientific academies in Moscow. The collections of Moscow museums - the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum - compete with the most famous collections in the world. There are 109 cinemas, 31 cinema and concert halls, 142 exhibition centers, 78 museums and 72 theaters in Moscow.
Ancient oak trees grow in Kolomenskoye - they are more than seven centuries old.

One of the poetic places in Moscow, Chistye Prudy, was originally called, far from poetically, the Filthy Swamps. Waste was regularly dumped there. In the 17th century, the pond became part of the prince's estate, was cleaned out and changed its name. For almost fifteen years now, the Annushka tram has been running in Moscow, around Chistye Prudy. There is a cafe there.

The last Russian ruler who was a native Muscovite is still Alexander II. All the rest, including Soviet leaders and Russian presidents, were not born in Moscow.

In Moscow there is a river called Los, and the largest of the streams flowing into it is called Losenok.

The millionth resident of Moscow was born in 1897.

In the novel by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina threw herself under a train at the Obiralovka station near Moscow. During Soviet times, this village became a city and was renamed Zheleznodorozhny.

The most unusual benches in Moscow are located in the Art Museum garden, next to the Central House of Artists. Here you can sit on a palette bench, a grain bench or a centipede bench.

The famous monument to Pushkin on Tverskaya used to be on the opposite side of the street. And it has only stood in its current location for fifty years.

The names of streets and squares in Moscow were given for a reason. For example, the Kremlin gates were named Borovitsky because a real pine forest grew nearby, around the fortress wall. On the site of a river bank overgrown with moss, Mokhovaya Street arose, and a small swamp - Bolotnaya Street.

Several dozen rivers flow through the city and its surroundings. Large rivers are tributaries of the Moscow River - the Yauza, Neglinnaya, Skhodnya, Kotlovka, Khodynka, Setun. In modern conditions, many of them were enclosed in collectors. In total, 362 rivers and 550 streams flow into the Moscow River.

Moscow is surrounded on all sides by forest. And on the territory of the city itself there are several parks, including Timiryazevsky, Izmailovsky, the Botanical Garden with a unique collection of plants, and Neskuchny Garden. In the east of the city there is the Losiny Ostrov Natural Park.

There is a legend that the famous Templar treasures are located in Moscow. The treasures were secretly taken from Paris during the defeat of the order. Traces of the presence of the Templars have also been preserved in Moscow. They can be seen on the walls of the St. Daniel Monastery. The first tier of the gate church is decorated with stucco rosettes in the shape of the Templar coat of arms - a six-petalled rose in a white square frame, the corners of which are cut off by four rings.

On June 29, 1904, a strong tornado came to Moscow. Having destroyed several villages along the way, breaking centuries-old trees in Sokolniki and destroying houses in Lefortovo, walking along the Moscow River, the tornado raised the water and exposed the bottom.

One of the most mysterious places in Moscow is Tsaritsyno. Once upon a time, the place where the royal estate was built was called “Black Mud” because it was “unclean.” Since ancient times, it was as if an evil fate was hanging over it, as if it was surviving its owners.

The two most famous diamonds in the world are kept in Moscow in the Diamond Fund. One of them is called “Shah”, its weight is 88 carats. There are inscriptions on the stone telling about its previous owners. In 1829, it was presented to Nicholas I by the Shah of Tehran as a sign of reconciliation after the defeat of the Russian embassy and the murder of the diplomat and poet A. S. Griboedov. The Orlov diamond is the largest in the Diamond Fund’s collection. Supposedly it was found in India and was the eye of a Buddha statue. Subsequently, it was purchased by Count Orlov as a gift to Catherine II.

Glass windows appeared in the houses of boyars in the 16th century, and before that time, Moscow residents had fish bladder or mica instead of glass.

The most expensive street in Moscow is Tretyakovsky Proezd. The most expensive boutiques are located here.

The first water supply system appeared in Moscow in 1804. And the sewerage system was built in 1898. The Moscow telegraph began operating in 1872, and the first telephones began ringing for Muscovites in 1882. An elevator in Moscow was first built in 1901.

There are supposedly 12 famous ghosts living in Moscow, not counting hundreds of little-known ones. Among them are the Black Monk, Beria's limousine, Behemoth the Cat and others.

Until the 20th century, according to established tradition, the walls of the Kremlin were whitewashed, so Moscow was “white stone”. And the spiers of the towers were not crowned with stars, as they are now, but with the coat of arms of the Russian Empire. After the revolution, Lenin repeatedly called for their removal, but this was done only in the 1930s.

Some names of the capital's streets have a much more original origin. For example, Plyushchikha Street began to be called that way in the 18th century because a tavern of the same name stood here.

Over its long history, Moscow has burned countless times. Since houses were previously built mostly of wood, the fire spread very quickly, and the fire engulfed the entire city in a short time. The Kremlin also often burned. The situation was aggravated by the fact that until the end of the 18th century there was no centralized water supply in Moscow. In 1737, during one of the severe fires, the newly cast Tsar Bell broke apart.

In the very center of Moscow flows a river that many generations of Muscovites have never seen in person. This is the Neglinka River. It was once a fairly deep river, but at the beginning of the 19th century it was enclosed in a pipe, and now it flows underground in a sewer. Neglinnaya Street completely follows the river bed. Moscow diggers and simply adventurers periodically descend into the sewer to follow the path of the famous reporter Vladimir Gilyarovsky, who also visited these dungeons more than 100 years ago.

In fact, they wanted to build a metro in Moscow even under the Tsar. The first such ideas were expressed in 1875; in 1902, a similar project was considered by the city duma. And in 1914 they even planned to begin construction, but this was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War. As a result, the metro appeared only in 1935.

Over the years of the Moscow Metro's existence, many stations have been renamed more than once. Some of them initially had rather strange names. For example, “Sukharevskaya” was the “Kolkhoznaya” station, and “Alekseevskaya” was the “Mir” station.

During the Great Patriotic War, the metro was used as a bomb shelter. During German air raids, train traffic stopped, and women, children and old people hurried to the station. Not only were Muscovites themselves hiding in the metro, but government institutions were also located. In addition, 217 children were born here during the bombing.

Since its opening, the metro has been closed only once - on October 16, 1941. Then the Germans came very close to Moscow, and the metro was planned to be destroyed that day. However, by the end of the day the destruction order was canceled.

The stations of the Sokolnicheskaya line from Park Kultury to Sokolniki are decorated with stone from the Serpukhov Kremlin, dismantled in 1934.

At several dozen metro stations (which are lined with marble) you can find many extinct prehistoric animals, such as nautiluses, ammonites, sea urchins, corals, various mollusks and others. The largest number of fossils is at the stations of the Sokolnicheskaya, Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya and Zamoskvoretskaya lines

At Sportivnaya station there is a Metro Museum, the exhibits of which are scaled-down models of Moscow Metro stations and trains.

In the transition between the Rimskaya and Ploshchad Ilyich stations there is a real fountain.

On many lines the tunnel goes up before the station, and down after the station. This was done to reduce wear on trains when braking before the station and accelerating after.

There are 76 bronze sculptures installed at the Revolution Square station! All figures are unique and do not resemble each other. In addition, you can notice that in the sculpture group “Border Guard with a Dog” the dog’s nose is polished to a shine... this is due to the fact that among Moscow university students there is a belief that a student who rubs a dog’s nose will definitely pass the exam.

Okhotny Ryad station was renamed several times. Since its construction and opening (1935), it has had its own name. In 1955, the name of the station was changed to “Station named after Koganovich” until 1957. But in 1957 the station again began to bear its original name, but not for long, since in 1961 the station was given the name “Karl Marx station” until 1990. Well, since 1990 we can again see this station under the name “Okhotny Ryad”.

If you go from the outskirts to the center or move clockwise, then passengers will be accompanied by a man’s voice, but if you go from the center to residential areas or move counterclockwise, then a woman will announce the stops. The solution to this puzzle is as simple as the world: this was done so that the blind and visually impaired would not get confused in the countless labyrinths of the Moscow metro

There is a secret metro line in Moscow. It is believed that it was built to provide communications between the Kremlin and other institutions with bunkers for shelter in case of danger. However, there is no reliable evidence of this.

Today Moscow is a record-breaking city and a leader in many ratings. It is one of the world's largest capitals and the most populous city in Europe. The Moscow Kremlin is the largest museum in the world, and the Ostankino TV Tower is the tallest TV tower in Europe.

Interestingly, Moscow is home to the most billionaires in the world. According to Forbes, 84 residents of the capital are so rich. Their combined wealth is $367 billion. New York, home to only 62 billionaires, ranks second in this ranking.

There is a legend that the Baskaks, the tax collectors of the Golden Horde, took tribute from girls who were taken out into the fields on the banks of the Moscow River to choose the most beautiful ones to be sent to the Horde. That’s why the field in front of the river was named Maiden’s, and the monastery built on this place was called Novodevichy.

"Triumph Palace" skyscraper in Moscow (Chapaevsky lane, building 3), whose height reaches 264.5 m, is the tallest residential building in Europe. The Triumph Palace Hotel, occupying the last 3 residential floors, is the tallest hotel in Moscow and Europe.

Moscow is home to the largest zoo in Russia. It houses more than 550 species of animals from all over the world.

10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE MOSCOW METRO

At the moment, the total length of all 12 metro lines is about 325-330 km, and consists of almost 200 stations. By 2020, this figure is planned to increase by more than 70 stations, thereby increasing the length by another 160 kilometers. Let's see what happens in 2020.

Most of the stations, of course, are located underground (that’s why it’s an underground), but 9 stations are still located on the surface of the earth (right on the street) and 5 stations are generally located above the ground (i.e. on bridges, etc.). Kuntsevskaya metro station is the only station that has only one track. Trains both leave and come from here.

The gaps between stations can be of completely different lengths. For example, the longest section is considered to be from metro Krylatskoye to metro Strogino (6.5 km), and the shortest section is from Mezhdunarodnaya station to Delovoy Tsentr station (only 0.5 km).

The very first line was Sokolnicheskaya (red line); accordingly, it was also founded in 1935. But the most recent metro line, Butovskaya, was founded only 12 years ago, i.e. in 2003. The first Moscow metro train departed from Sokolniki station on the opening day, i.e. May 15, 1935.

The very first transition between stations was made in 1938. It was a transition from the Lenin Library station to the Aleksandrovsky Sad station.

The first turnstiles appeared in the Moscow metro in 1952. And the pioneer station was the Red Gate station. Before this, controllers manually checked all tickets.

Subway cars are manufactured in the town of Mytishchi near Moscow and they enter the metro through the Sokol station (Not to be confused with Sokolniki!).

Myakinino station is the only station that is located outside of Moscow, namely in the Krasnogorsk district. True, within a few years (by 2020) it is planned to complete and open another station in the Moscow region, namely in Mytishchi - “Chelobitevo”, which will be the next one after the Medvedkovo station.

The deepest station in the metro is considered to be the Victory Park station, the depth of which is about 90 meters. This station also has the longest escalator (about 140 meters).

At the Kurskaya metro station you can see an interesting inscription - “Kurskaya of the Big Ring”. In 1950, when this station was built, they also made this inscription, since at that time it was planned to build a small ring, but this project was never started. But, by the way, in the middle of the station there is a closed passage that should lead to the Small Ring station.

HISTORY OF MOSCOW

The first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin date back to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). A Finno-Ugric settlement dating back to the early Iron Age (second half of the 1st millennium BC) was found near the modern Archangel Cathedral. The settlement occupied the center of the upper floodplain terrace of Borovitsky Hill (the area of modern Cathedral Square) and may have had fortifications. With the beginning of the Slavic colonization of the Oka and Moscow River basins in the 10th century, the top of Borovitsky Hill was inhabited by the Vyatichi. The Vyatichi village consisted of two fortified centers - the first, larger in area, was located on the site of modern Cathedral Square, the second occupied the tip of the cape.

Presumably, both centers were protected by a ring fortification consisting of a ditch, rampart and palisade. The Vyatichi included in the defensive structures two ravines connected by a ravine, which performed the same function back in pre-Slavic times; The ravines were converted into a ditch up to 9 meters deep and about 3.8 meters wide. Presumably, a certain political and administrative center was located on the cape of the settlement. Both parts probably had their own cult centers - the upper one in the area of Cathedral Square, the lower one “under Bor”, on the site of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist that stood here. These two centers were surrounded by a suburb stretching along the Neglinnaya and Moscow rivers.

The first chronicle mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. The chronicle reference is the Ipatiev Chronicle for Friday, April 4, 1147, when the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky received his friends and allies, led by the Novgorod-Seversk prince Svyatoslav Olgovich, in a town called Moskov. In 1156, the first fortifications were built on the territory of the modern Kremlin. For those times it was a typical average Russian fortress. The shaft was reinforced with oak beams. In 1238, during the Mongol invasion, the Kremlin was destroyed, but was soon restored. Since 1264 it was the residence of Moscow appanage princes. In 1339, oak walls and towers were built.

In the 14th century, Moscow continued to rise as a new all-Russian center. Starting with Yuri Danilovich, the Moscow princes bore the title Grand Duke of Vladimir, who was considered supreme within North-Eastern Rus' and Novgorod. In 1325, the residence of the metropolitans was moved to Moscow, and in 1589 the Moscow Patriarchate was established.

At the end of the 15th century, under Prince Ivan III Vasilyevich, Moscow became the capital of the largest Russian state, and at the beginning of the 16th century, under Prince Vasily III Ivanovich, it became the capital of a unified Russian state. The new status contributed to the growth of the city and the emergence of the economic and cultural center of the country. Industry and crafts developed: the production of weapons, textiles, leather, pottery, jewelry, and construction. The Cannon and Printing Yards appeared. Moscow architecture reached great heights. The borders of Moscow expanded significantly - by the end of the 16th century it included the territories of the White City and Zemlyanoy City. A system of defensive structures was created. A radical restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin began. For these purposes, Ivan III invited the architect Aristotle Fioravanti from Italy.

In 1605, the troops of the self-proclaimed Tsar False Dmitry I entered Moscow. The power of the impostor in the city fell in 1606, during a popular uprising he was killed by the residents of Moscow. From 1608 to 1610, during the reign of the newly elected Tsar Vasily Shuisky, Moscow was under siege by the troops of the second impostor False Dmitry II, who settled in a camp in Tushino. During this period, communication between Moscow and the rest of the state is difficult. The siege was lifted by the approach to Moscow from Novgorod in March 1610 by the troops of Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky with Swedish mercenaries.

In 1610, after the defeat of the troops of Vasily Shuisky in the Battle of Klushinsky, Moscow was occupied by the Polish troops of Stanislav Zholkiewsky. Attempts in 1611 to liberate the city from the Poles by the First Zemstvo Militia under the leadership of Prokopiy Lyapunov, Ivan Zarutsky and Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy were unsuccessful. In 1612, the troops of the Second Zemstvo Militia, led by the townsman Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, having defeated Polish troops on November 4 at the Battle of Devichye Pole, liberated Moscow from the Poles, forcing their garrison to capitulate in the Kremlin and leave Moscow at the end of 1612.

In Moscow in 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich was anointed king, marking the beginning of more than 300 years of rule of the Romanov dynasty.

In the 17th century, Zemlyanoy City finally entered the boundaries of Moscow, and the Moscow Kremlin was completed and acquired its modern appearance. Yamskaya Sloboda, Meshchanskaya, and German Sloboda appeared. The royal residence of Kolomenskoye acquired great importance.

The middle and second half of the 17th century was marked in Moscow by a number of social and political riots: the salt, copper, Streltsy riots of 1682 and 1698.

In 1712, the capital of Russia was transferred to St. Petersburg. In 1728, under Peter II, the imperial court was moved to Moscow, which was located here until 1732, when Anna Ioannovna returned it back to St. Petersburg. Moscow retained the status of the “first throne” capital and was the place of coronation of emperors. This title is used to emphasize the historical seniority of Moscow as the city in which the throne of the Russian Tsar first appeared. In the dictionary of F. A. Brockhaus and I. A. Efron, Moscow is called “the first capital of Russia.” The explanatory dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov and N. Yu. Shvedova interprets the word “first throne” as a designation of the oldest capital. The term is now widely used in all spheres of public life as a synonym and unofficial name for Moscow.

In 1755, Mikhail Lomonosov and Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov, by order of Empress Elizabeth, founded Moscow University.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, Moscow was captured by Napoleon's troops and was badly damaged by fire. According to various estimates, as a result of the Moscow fire, up to 80% of the buildings burned down. The process of rebuilding Moscow lasted more than thirty years, and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built. By the end of the 19th century, a tram appeared in Moscow.

In 1851, a railway connection between Moscow and St. Petersburg was opened.

In 1896, during events dedicated to the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, a major stampede occurred on Khodynskoye Field with a significant number of victims, called the “Khodynskoye tragedy.”

In December 1905, revolutionary unrest and street barricade battles took place in Moscow.

In mid-August 1917, the All-Russian State Conference, convened by the Provisional Government, was held in Moscow.

On October 25, 1917, simultaneously with the beginning of the Storming of the Winter Palace in Petrograd, the Moscow armed uprising of the Bolsheviks began, which, unlike the uprising in Petrograd, was stubbornly resisted in Moscow. Opponents of the uprising, among whom the cadets of the Moscow military schools predominated, united into a committee of public safety and occupied the Kremlin to counteract the attackers. The confrontation ended in bloody battles between cadets and Red Guards, which lasted in the city from October 25 to November 2, 1917 and led to damage to the historical center of Moscow and the Kremlin by artillery fire.

In 1918, the Bolshevik government moved to Moscow from Petrograd and Moscow became the capital of the RSFSR.

At the beginning of the second half of 1919, anti-Bolshevik organizations in Moscow, led by the National Center, attempted to organize an uprising in the city with the aim of overthrowing Soviet power, which failed.

With the victory of the Bolsheviks in 1920 in the Civil War, a new, Soviet era in the development of the city began. During Soviet times, Moscow again became the center of the state, and the international political significance of the city increased. Moscow was being built up at a rapid pace; former suburbs were annexed to the city. At the same time, the historic buildings of the city center were selectively destroyed; A number of churches and monasteries were destroyed, including the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Passion Monastery. In 1922, Moscow became the capital of the USSR. The city began to rapidly develop its transport infrastructure. Thus, in 1924, bus service opened in Moscow, in 1933 the first trolleybus route was launched, and in 1935 the first metro line opened for passengers. After the commissioning of the Moscow Canal and raising the water level in the Moscow River, part of the urban area near the Moscow River was flooded. In particular, sections of the former Dorogomilovsky cemetery and the adjacent Jewish cemetery went under water.

By the Decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee “On the formation on the territory of the RSFSR of administrative-territorial associations of regional and regional significance” dated January 14, 1929, the Central Industrial Region with its center in the city of Moscow was formed on October 1, 1929.

In 1931, two large cities of the RSFSR - Moscow (June 16) and Leningrad (December 3) - were separated into separate administrative units - cities of republican subordination of the RSFSR.

During the years of industrialization in Moscow, a network of higher and secondary technical educational institutions was developing rapidly.

In the thirties, a whole network of technical research and design institutes was created in Moscow. The vast majority of them were part of the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences. At this time, mass media were also developing in the city, many newspapers were published, and regular television broadcasting had been organized since 1939. During the Great Patriotic War, the State Defense Committee and the General Headquarters of the Red Army were located in the city, and a people's militia was formed (over 160 thousand people).

In the winter of 1941/1942, the famous Battle of Moscow took place, in which Soviet troops won their first major victory over the Wehrmacht since the outbreak of World War II. In October 1941, German troops approached Moscow; many industrial enterprises were evacuated, and the evacuation of government offices to Kuibyshev began. On October 20, 1941, a state of siege was introduced in Moscow. But, despite this, on November 7, a military parade took place on Red Square, from which troops were sent straight to the front. In December 1941, the advance of the German Army Group Center near Moscow was stopped; As a result of the successful counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Moscow, German troops were driven back from the capital. On June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place on Red Square.

In 1952-1957, the construction of high-rise buildings was carried out, which later became known as “Stalin's skyscrapers” and became one of the symbols of Moscow in the Soviet era.

In 1960, a new border of Moscow was formed along the Moscow Ring Road, beyond which the city began to go only in 1984.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city center again underwent major redevelopment. For the sake of expanding existing streets, building new highways and standard multi-story panel buildings, some architectural monuments of Moscow were demolished.

In 1957 and 1985, the VI and XII World Festivals of Youth and Students were held in Moscow, respectively. In 1980, Moscow hosted the XXII Summer Olympic Games.

On August 19-22, 1991, the August putsch, organized by the State Emergency Committee, took place in the city. By 1993, the constitutional and state crisis that arose as a result of the confrontation between the president and parliament reached its culmination. On October 3-4, 1993, there was an attempt to seize the Ostankino television center and the shooting of the Supreme Council building (the White House). Then significant changes occurred in the city. In 1995, new official symbols of the capital were approved - the coat of arms, flag and anthem of the city. The restoration of churches began, the construction of a full-scale copy of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior blown up by the Bolsheviks.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the city first faced the threat of international terrorism. Several terrorist attacks occurred in Moscow.

In recent years, Moscow has hosted many international cultural and sporting events.

The beginning of the 2000s was marked by a major architectural transformation. The city is being seriously rebuilt - multi-storey office buildings, modern transport infrastructure, luxury housing are being built, a new business center has emerged - the Moscow City district. At the same time, it is noted that this “construction boom” leads to the destruction of the historical appearance of the city, the destruction of architectural monuments and the existing urban environment. A serious problem is the underdeveloped transport infrastructure, leading to

traffic jams and overloaded public transport. Measures to create dedicated lanes for public transport, construction of new highway overpasses and interchanges, strengthening traffic control (cameras for automatic video recording of violations, operation of tow trucks), organization of parking space, according to the mayor of Moscow, S. S. Sobyanin, led to an acceleration of traffic on 12% in 2016, compared to 5 years ago.

MOSCOW KREMLIN

The Moscow Kremlin is a fortress in the center of Moscow and its oldest part, the main socio-political, historical and artistic complex of the city, the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin is the largest fortress in Europe, preserved and operating to this day.

Located on the high left bank of the Moscow River - Borovitsky Hill, at the confluence of the Neglinnaya River. In plan, the Kremlin is an irregular triangle with an area of 27.5 hectares (ha). The southern wall faces the Moscow River, the northwestern wall faces the Alexander Garden, and the eastern wall faces Red Square.

With the beginning of the Slavic colonization of the Oka and Moscow River basins in the 10th century, the top of Borovitsky Hill was inhabited by the Vyatichi. The Vyatichi village consisted of two fortified centers - the first, larger in area, was located on the site of modern Cathedral Square, the second occupied the tip of the cape. Presumably, both centers were protected by a ring fortification consisting of a ditch, rampart and palisade. The Vyatichi included in the defensive structures two ravines connected by a ravine, which performed the same function back in pre-Slavic times; The ravines were converted into a ditch up to 9 meters deep and about 3.8 meters wide.

Presumably, a certain political and administrative center was located on the cape of the settlement. Both parts probably had their own cult centers - the upper one in the area of Cathedral Square, the lower one “under Bor”, on the site of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist that stood here. These two centers were surrounded by a suburb stretching along the Neglinnaya and Moscow rivers.

The first chronicle mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. In 1156, the first fortifications were built on the territory of the modern Kremlin. For those times it was a typical average Russian fortress. The shaft was reinforced with oak beams. In 1238, during the Mongol invasion, the Kremlin was destroyed, but was soon restored. Since 1264 it was the residence of Moscow appanage princes. In 1339, oak walls and towers were built.

The Kremlin housed the oldest Moscow church - the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, or the Cathedral of the Transfiguration "that is on Bor", built in 1330, for the millennium of Constantinople - “New Rome”. The temple was destroyed in 1933. Moscow princes and princesses were buried here, until the role of the tomb passed to the Archangel Cathedral for men and the Ascension Monastery (also destroyed) for women.

Another ancient building was the Chudov Monastery, founded by Metropolitan Alexy in 1365, located in the eastern part of the Kremlin territory, adjacent to the Ascension Monastery. It received its name from the Church of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Khoneh, which later became the tomb of Metropolitan Alexy. In 1483, the Alexievskaya Church was built on the territory of the monastery. By order of the Chudov Archimandrite Gennady, the relics of Metropolitan Alexy were transferred to it. In 1501-1503, the ancient Church of the Archangel Michael was replaced by a temple built by Italian craftsmen. At the beginning of the 20th century, a tomb was built in the basement of the Alexievskaya Church, where the remains of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who died in the Kremlin in 1905 at the hands of terrorists, were buried. The crypt of the Grand Duke was located under the floor, exactly under the shrine of St. Alexis. In 1929, all the buildings of the Chudov Monastery were demolished.

In 1366-1368, under Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, the wooden walls of the Kremlin were replaced by walls and towers made of local white stone. From this period, the name “White Stone Moscow” is often found in chronicles. Soon after the construction of the white stone walls, they twice - in 1368 and 1370 - withstood the siege of the troops of Prince Olgerd; in 1382, Khan Tokhtamysh fraudulently entered the Kremlin and destroyed it, but the fortress was quickly restored.

In the second half of the 15th century, under Ivan III the Great, a radical restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin began. The new Assumption Cathedral was the first to be built, because the old one, built by Ivan Kalita, was already very dilapidated by that time. Ivan III invited the architect Aristotle Fioravanti from Italy.

Simultaneously with the construction of the Grand Duke's Palace and the renovation of the Kremlin churches, the construction of new Kremlin walls and towers was underway. The shape of the towers and the completion of the walls in the form of battlements are reminiscent of the Scaliger Castle in Verona and the Sforzesco Castle in Milan. In 1508, a moat was dug along the walls, water into which came from Neglinnaya. The Kremlin finally turned into an impregnable fortress, surrounded by water on all sides, isolated from the city that had grown by that time. During the restoration of the walls and towers in 1946-1950 and in 1974-1978, white stone blocks used as backfilling were discovered inside their brickwork, in the lower parts and foundations. It is possible that these are the remains of the white stone walls of the Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy.

In 1610-1612, the Kremlin was occupied by the Polish-Lithuanian garrison of A. Gonsevsky.

With the beginning of the reign of Peter I, the significance of the Moscow Kremlin changed noticeably - the tsar moved first to Preobrazhenskoye and then to St. Petersburg, and the fortress lost its status as a permanent royal residence.

But the coronations of all Emperors and Empresses rightfully and fairly took place in Moscow. The idea of the inviolability of autocratic power in the Russian Empire was carried out through strict adherence to the ceremonial, in which the main political symbols of the state were realized. Peter 1, by decree of May 16, 1721, ordered that the coronation day be considered a holiday, on a par with royal birthdays and namesake days. A throne was erected in the Assumption Cathedral, and the imperial regalia were on a special table. Coronations in the Russian Empire were an important event for both the nobility and the common people. During the coronation days, duties were abolished and amnesties were declared. The coronation celebrations united the people of the entire country and the state as one, reinforced the spirit of unity and developed a sense of patriotism.

Under Elizaveta Petrovna in the 1743-1750s, when the Kremlin buildings became dilapidated, the task was first of all to repair them, and if this was impossible, the old buildings were allowed to be demolished and restored “in the same form as before.”

In 1768, for the construction of a new Kremlin Palace according to the design of V.I. Bazhenov, a special state organization was created - the Kremlin Building Expedition. However, in 1775, the construction of the palace was canceled; the huge costs of reconstruction and Catherine II’s dislike for Moscow contributed to this decision.

In 1775, the Projected Plan was approved - a plan for the reconstruction of Moscow, for the implementation of which the Stone Order was created, headed by P. N. Kozhin. At the end of 1776, Kozhin compiled a separate report on

reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1763, by decree of Empress Catherine II, the Senate was divided into departments and two of them - in charge of the rights of the nobles and the judicial one - were transferred from the capital to Moscow. With the construction of the Senate, the last private properties disappeared from the Kremlin territory.

In the first years of the 19th century, the Kremlin began to be perceived by contemporaries as a symbol of the historical and military glory of Russia.

In 1812, Moscow and the Kremlin were captured by Napoleon's army. The French army entered the Kremlin on September 2, 1812, and Napoleon himself on September 3. Retreating, Napoleon ordered the Kremlin buildings to be mined and blown up. Although most of the charges did not explode, the damage was significant. It took more than 20 years to eliminate the consequences of the explosion in the Kremlin: the last work was completed by 1836.

By the early 1830s, restoration work began on the ancient monuments of the Kremlin. One of the first to be restored in 1836-1849 was the Terem Palace. In 1836, the architect O. Montferrand raised and installed on a special pedestal the Tsar Bell, which fell in the fire of 1737 and lay in a hole all this time.

In 1839, Nicholas I entrusted the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace to the architect K. A. Ton, according to whose design the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was being built at the same time. Construction of the building took about ten years and was completed by 1849. Access to the territory of the Moscow Kremlin was free for everyone. It was customary to enter through the Spassky Gate, bowing to the icon of the Savior. The emperor and his family rarely visited his Moscow residence, therefore, having taken a free ticket at the palace office, the visitor had the right to walk through all the Kremlin palaces.

During the armed uprising in October-November 1917, the Kremlin, on whose territory there were detachments of cadets, was seriously damaged by artillery shelling carried out by the revolutionary troops. The walls, the Spasskaya Tower and the Spassky Clock, the Nikolskaya Tower, the Beklemishevskaya Tower, and almost all the churches on the territory of the Kremlin were severely damaged; the Small Nicholas Palace received great damage.

With the advent of Soviet power, the capital was moved to Moscow, and the Kremlin again became a political center. In March 1918, the Soviet government headed by V.I. Lenin moved to the Kremlin. Palaces and cavalry corps became its residence and place of residence for Soviet leaders. Soon, free access to the Kremlin territory for ordinary Muscovites is prohibited. Temples are closed, and the Kremlin bells fall silent for a long time.

The Petrograd Collegium for the Protection of Antique Monuments and Art Treasures sent a desperate appeal to the government with a call to leave the Kremlin, since “... the occupation of the Kremlin by the government creates a monstrous threat to the integrity of the greatest monuments in terms of their global and exceptional significance.” This appeal (published in 1997 by T. A. Tutova, an employee of the Kremlin museums) was not even considered.

During the years of Soviet power, the architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin suffered significantly. The author of a study on the destruction of Kremlin monuments during this period, Konstantin Mikhailov, in the book “Destroyed Kremlin” writes that “in the 20th century, the architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin was destroyed by more than half.” On the plans of the Kremlin at the beginning of the 20th century, one can distinguish 54 structures that stood inside the Kremlin walls. More than half of them - 28 buildings - no longer exist. In 1922, during the campaign to “seizure church valuables” from the Kremlin cathedrals, more than 300 pounds of silver, more than 2 pounds of gold, thousands of precious stones, and even the shrine of Patriarch Hermogenes were confiscated from the Assumption Cathedral

In total, during the years of Soviet power, 17 churches with 25 altars were destroyed.

In the 1920-1930s. The premises on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin were also used as residential premises: the leaders of the Soviet state, the Communist Party, and employees of the Kremlin commandant’s office lived in them on a completely official basis. In 1920, 2,100 people were registered in the Kremlin; by 1935, their number had dropped to 374 people; as of 1939, 31 people were permanently living in the Kremlin, including Stalin, Voroshilov, Molotov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan, Kalinin, Zhdanov , Andreev, Voznesensky, relatives of Lenin, Dzerzhinsky, Ordzhonikidze and others. The Kremlin was used as a place of permanent residence until the end of the 1950s. The last person to move from the Kremlin was K. E. Voroshilov, who lived there with his family until 1962.

In 1935, the double-headed eagles that crowned the main passage towers of the Kremlin: Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya, were replaced with stars made of gilded copper, covered with Ural gems. In 1937, gem stars were replaced with ruby glass stars. The ruby star was first installed on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin was camouflaged in order to avoid its destruction. Streets and facades of other buildings were depicted on the walls, green roofs were repainted, ruby stars were extinguished and covered. The mausoleum was hidden under a two-story fake building. The Germans could not carry out targeted bombing of the Kremlin, since the Kremlin had visually disappeared. During the war, the territory of the Kremlin and the Red Army

area, 18 high-explosive bombs weighing from 50 to 500 kg and about one and a half hundred incendiary bombs were dropped, which did not cause catastrophic destruction.

Since 1955, the Kremlin has been partially open to the public, becoming an open-air museum. From the same year, a ban on living on the territory of the Kremlin was introduced (the last residents left in 1962). The last major Kremlin structure during the years of Soviet power was the Palace of Congresses, built in 1958-1961.

During restoration work in the late 1960s and early 1970s, clay tiles on the Kremlin towers were replaced in many places with metal sheets painted to resemble tiles. In addition, in connection with the construction of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial, part of the surface layer of the wall between the Corner and Middle Arsenal towers was cut down to a depth of 1 m and then laid out again to create a surface monotonous in color and texture, designed to serve as the background for the memorial.

In 1990, the Kremlin was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In 1991, the Kremlin became the residence of the President of Russia. In the 1990s, extensive restoration work was carried out on the territory of the Kremlin, as a result of which the Red Porch of the Faceted Chamber was restored, the Alexander and St. Andrew's Halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace were restored, and the Senate building was restored. In 1996-2000, restoration of the Kremlin walls and towers was carried out. In July 2014, President Vladimir Putin proposed demolishing the 14th administrative building on Ivanovskaya Square of the Moscow Kremlin and restoring the Chudov and Ascension monasteries that stood in its place.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE MOSCOW KREMLIN

The existing walls and towers were built in 1485-1516. The total length of the walls is 2235 m, height from 5 to 19 m, thickness - from 3.5 to 6.5 m. In plan, the walls form an irregular triangle. The top of the wall is decorated with battlements in the shape of a swallowtail; there are 1045 battlements along the top of the wall. The battlements have the same appearance as the distinctive battlements of the Italian Ghibelline castles. Most of the teeth have slit-like loopholes. The walls have wide embrasures covered with arches. On the outside the walls are smooth, on the inside they are decorated with arched niches - a traditional technique designed to lighten and strengthen the structure of the structure. We are accustomed to the fact that the walls of the Kremlin are red, but from the early 1680s to the early 1880s, its walls, according to historical descriptions and picturesque images, were painted white. In 1941, in order to disguise it as residential buildings, windows were painted on the walls of the Kremlin.

There are 20 towers along the walls. 3 towers standing in the corners of the triangle have a circular cross-section, the rest are square. The tallest tower is Trinity, it has a height of 79.3 m.

Most of the towers are made in a single architectural style, given to them in the second half of the 17th century. The Nikolskaya Tower, which at the beginning of the 19th century was rebuilt in a pseudo-Gothic style, stands out from the general ensemble.

In 1485-1516, the construction of the Kremlin walls was led by Italian architects Anton Fryazin, Marco Fryazin, Pietro Antonio Solari and Aleviz Fryazin the Old. The brick walls were placed along the line of the white stone ones, with a slight retreat outward. Starting from the Spasskaya Tower, the Kremlin territory was expanded eastward. The Taynitskaya Tower was the first to be founded on the southern side in 1485, and five years later the entire southern part of the fortress was built. For the construction of walls and towers, large (30x14x17 cm or 31x15x9 cm) bricks weighing up to 8 kg each were used. The front walls were made of brick and filled with white stone. The highest walls were erected along Red Square, where there was no natural water barrier.

The walls had access to the Spasskaya, Nabatnaya, Konstantino-Eleninskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Blagoveshchenskaya and Petrovskaya towers. Initially, there was a through passage inside the wall through all the towers, covered with cylindrical vaults. Most of the passage was eventually covered with construction debris; the area between the Konstantino-Eleninskaya and Nabatnaya towers was preserved. There were also hiding places and passages under the walls, in some cases extending far beyond the line of fortifications.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Neglinnaya was moved further away from the walls. To install new cannons, loopholes were cut out on the towers. At the same time, the originally existing plank roofs of the walls burned down. In 1702-1736, for the construction of the Arsenal, part of the wall was dismantled and later restored. In 1771-1773, for the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V.I. Bazhenov, part of the southern wall between the Beklemishevskaya and Annunciation towers was also dismantled, which was later restored. In 1802-1805, a major overhaul of the towers was carried out, during which almost all of the outlet arches were dismantled. The War of 1812 caused heavy damage to the walls, especially the Nikolskaya Tower, the towers and walls along Neglinnaya. Repairs and restoration of the fortifications were carried out from 1817 to 1822. During the renovation work, pseudo-Gothic decorative details were added to the external appearance of the Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers.

In 1866-1870, the walls and towers of the Kremlin were restored by architects N.A. Shokhin, P.A. Gerasimov, F.F. Richter, who sought to give the buildings their original appearance. During the restoration process, pseudo-Gothic decorative details disappeared from the Borovitskaya Tower, but many elements of the original details of the walls and towers of the Kremlin were lost and replaced with inaccurate copies. Damage to the towers and walls was caused during alterations in the second half of the 19th century during the adaptation of their premises for economic needs.

The Nikolskaya and Beklemishevskaya towers, damaged during the revolution, were repaired in 1918. A survey and partial restoration of the walls was carried out in 1931-1936. In 1935-1937, ruby five-pointed stars were installed on five towers. The next restoration of the walls and towers of the Kremlin was carried out in 1946-1953, during which the walls were cleaned and repaired, loopholes and parapets were restored, details on a number of towers were revealed, the tops of the Spasskaya, Trinity and Nikolskaya towers were upholstered in sheet copper. The restoration commission included prominent scientists and restorers: I. E. Grabar, V. N. Lazarev, M. V. Alpatov, P. D. Korin, D. P. Sukhov and others.

The Uphill consulting group assessed the Moscow Kremlin. The value of the Kremlin as a real estate object (taking into account socio-cultural value) as of November 2012 amounted to 50 billion US dollars.

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The history of the Kremlin is closely connected with the history of Moscow, and not only Moscow, but also the Russian state as a whole. According to the oldest chronicle of Rus', the Ipatiev Chronicle (XV century), in 1147, the Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky invited Novgorod-Seversky prince Svyatoslav Olgovich to a council in the small town of Moscow. “Come to me, brother, in Moscow,” Yuri addressed Svyatoslav. This was the first chronicle mention of Moscow. However, this does not mean that 1147 should be considered the year of the founding of Moscow. The works of scientists prove that the place where Moscow is located was inhabited approximately 5 thousand years ago.

How the meeting of the two princes went, the chronicles were not brought to us. Although it can be assumed that a military alliance was concluded, as a result of which Yuri Dolgoruky, in order to protect the western borders of the Suzdal principality, built fortified cities: Yuryev-Polsky (1152), Dmitrov (1154) and Moscow (1156). In this case, we are not talking about the founding of Moscow, but about the construction of fortifications - wooden walls that marked the beginning of the construction of the Kremlin.

True, the citadel built by Dolgoruky was not the first fortification structure on the territory of the modern Kremlin. Archaeologists have proven that at the beginning of the 12th century. there was a small fortress here, possibly the castle of a local feudal lord.

In 1156, a fortress was built on Borovitsky Hill with an eight-meter rampart and a powerful wooden wall at that time, reaching 3 m in height and 1200 m in length. The fortification existed in approximately this form until the winter of 1237/38, when the hordes of Batu Khan plundered and burned Moscow, and with it the Kremlin.

Over the next two-plus centuries, many trials befell Moscow and its citadel. Princely civil strife, foreign invasions, countless fires seemed destined to destroy the city. But Moscow survived, moreover, it became the center that united the Russian people in the struggle for independence.

The Kremlin is growing and strengthening along with the city. In 1339-1340 under Ivan Kalita, powerful defensive fortifications were erected, and behind them were the mansions of the Grand Duke, metropolitan chambers, and white-stone cathedrals. Moscow becomes the political and spiritual center of Rus', and the Kremlin becomes the residence of the grand dukes and metropolitans.

In 1367-1368 Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (later named Dmitry Donskoy), fearing another Mongol-Tatar invasion, surrounded the fortress with white stone walls and towers, located approximately 60 m from the previous oak fortifications. The Kremlin area reaches almost modern sizes.

In the second half of the 11th century. The Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan III Vasilyevich is launching a grandiose construction project in the capital of the young and rapidly growing power. First of all, of course, the Kremlin is being rebuilt. The largest Western European architects, invited to Moscow, are developing projects for the reconstruction of the princely and metropolitan residence. In 1485-1495 the existing and to this day jagged brick walls with a length of more than 2 km and a height of 5 to 19 m are being erected, 18 large and small towers are being built at the same time, the Assumption Cathedral (1475-1479), the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-1489), the Stone Sovereign Palace with the Faceted Chamber ( 1487-1491), the foundation of the princely tomb is laid - the Archangel Cathedral (1505).

By the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. The Moscow Kremlin becomes the most significant fortification in Europe. Moreover, its towers, cathedrals, and civil buildings are perfect not only in their architecture, but also in their interiors and decoration.

The walls and towers of the Kremlin, which still stand today, were built under the Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan III Vasilyevich in 1485-1495. They were erected by Italian architects Anton Fryazin (Antonio Gilardi), Marco Fryazin (Marco Ruffo), Pyotr Fryazin (Pietro Antonio Solari), Aleviz Fryazin the Old (Aloisio da Carcano). All these architects, oddly enough, are not brothers or even namesakes. It’s just that in Rus' at that time Italians were called “Fryags” or “Fryazins”.

According to their configuration, Kremlin towers are divided into round and quadrangular. This is not a whim of the architect, but a kind of fortification technique. Located on Borovitsky Hill, the Kremlin has an irregular triangle with an area of 27.5 hectares, washed from the south by the Moscow River, bounded by the Alexander Garden from the northwest, and Red Square from the east. At the corners of the triangle were the round towers Uglovaya Arsenalnaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Beklemishevskaya, which were the most durable and allowed all-round shelling. In the place where important strategic roads approached the Kremlin, powerful quadrangular towers with passage gates were erected - Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Tainitskaya, Konstantino-Eleninskaya. From the outside they were protected by archers. The remaining towers were located between the corner and passage towers and were of a purely defensive nature. Until the 17th century (when tents appeared) the towers ended with battlements, under which there were machicolations - hinged loopholes for close combat. They have survived to this day on almost all the towers.

The total length of the Kremlin walls is 2235 m, thickness from 3.5 to 6.5 and height from 5 to 19 m. From tower to tower you can walk along a military passage 2-4 m wide, laid along the walls. From the outside it is covered with 1045 two-horned teeth 2-2.5 m high and 65-70 cm thick, and from the inside there is a parapet wall. Once upon a time there was a gable wooden roof over the wall, which sheltered the archers in bad weather and protected the wall from rain, snow and wind. In the 18th century it burned down and was no longer restored as unnecessary.

In 1973, large repair and restoration work began in the Moscow Kremlin. Damaged sections of masonry on some towers were replaced. On the Senate, Borovitskaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Beklkmishevskaya towers, the tiled roofing of the tents was replaced with copper sheets made in the form of tiles.

The Moscow Kremlin has 20 towers. The “eldest” of them is Tainitskaya (1485), the youngest is Tsarskaya (1680).

Kremlin Towers: Round

Arsenal Tower.

In 1492, Solari completed the line of defense of the Kremlin from Red Square with this tower. According to the architect's plan, it was to become the most powerful corner tower. Not far from the tower were the mansions of the Sobakin boyars, so the tower was originally called Sobakina. Only at the beginning of the 13th century, after the construction of the Arsenal, the tower received its modern name. The tower is distinguished by a wide base and powerful four-meter walls that go deep into the ground. However, the tower performed not only defensive functions. To this day, there is a secret well in the tower, which in the event of a siege the garrison of the fortress could use. In addition, there was a secret exit from the tower to the Neglinnaya River, which was subsequently blocked.

Vodovzvodnaya tower.

In the southwestern corner of the Kremlin is guarded by the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. This is one of the most beautiful buildings in the entire ensemble. The tower was built in 1488 by the architect Antonio Gilardi. At first it was called Sviblova, named after the boyars Sviblova, whose courtyard adjoined the tower from the Kremlin. The tower received its modern name in 1633 after the installation of a water-lifting machine and the construction of the first pressure water pipeline in Russia to supply water from the Moskva River to the Kremlin. As contemporaries testified, this machine, manufactured under the leadership of the Englishman Christopher Golovey, cost several barrels of gold. At the end of the 17th century, a tent was erected over the tower. In 1812, French troops retreating from Moscow blew up the tower. He restored it in 1816-1819. O. I. Bove.

Beklemishevskaya tower.

This tower is located in the southeastern corner of the Kremlin triangle. It was erected in 1487 by the Italian architect Marco Ruffo. Its name is associated with the surname of the boyar I. Bersen-Beklemishev, whose courtyard adjoined it from the Kremlin. His fate was tragic. In 1525, for speaking out against the policies of Grand Duke Vasily III, he was executed, his courtyard was transferred to the treasury and was turned, like the tower itself, into a prison. In the defense of the Kremlin, the Beklemishevskaya Tower performed a very important function. She was the first to bear the brunt of the enemy hordes, as she was located at the junction of the Moscow River and the moat. In the basement of the tower, a secret hiding place was installed to prevent undermining. In the 17th century, the tower was decorated with a multifaceted high tent, which decorated and softened its severity. At the beginning of the 18th century, in anticipation of a possible attack by the Swedes, on the orders of Peter I, earthen ramparts were poured at the foot of the tower and its loopholes were cleared away to install more powerful guns. During the restoration of the tower in 1949, the loopholes were restored to their original form. The tower has another name - Moskvoretskaya. It appeared, apparently, from the Moskvoretsky Bridge, which is located nearby. The height of the tower is 46.2 m.

Quadrangular

Spasskaya Tower.

It is rightfully considered the most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin. The architect Pietro Antonio Solari, who built it in 1491, essentially laid the foundation for the construction of the eastern line of the Kremlin fortification with the Spasskaya Tower. From time immemorial, the gates of the Spasskaya Tower have been the main main entrance to the Kremlin. They were especially revered by the people and were considered “saints.” It was forbidden to ride through them on horseback or to walk through them with your head uncovered. Through them the regiments marching in and out entered and exited. Kings and ambassadors were met at these gates. In 1624-1625, the Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and the English master Christopher Galovey erected a multi-tiered top over the tower, ending with a stone tent. This was the first tent decoration in the Kremlin towers. In the 50s of the 27th century, the coat of arms of the Russian Empire - a double-headed eagle - was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya. Initially, the tower was called Frolovskaya, due to the fact that the Church of Frol and Laurus was located nearby. By decree of April 16, 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya. The new name was associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the Red Square side. The icon itself has not survived, but the place where it hung is clearly visible. The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors. Three floors are occupied by the mechanism of the Kremlin chimes - the main clock of the state. The height of the tower is 67.3 m (with a star 71 m).

Nikolskaya Tower.

This tower was built by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1491. Its name is sometimes associated with the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was placed above the passage gate of the strelnitsa. Other sources associate this name with the Nikolsky Greek monastery, which was once located on Nikolskaya Street. Like all travel towers, there was a drawbridge over the moat, and there were protective bars on the gates. In the 17th century, the Nikolsky Gate served mainly as an entrance to the boyar and monastery farmsteads in the Kremlin. In 1612, during the fight against the Polish-gentry invaders, the people's militia led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin fought through these gates and liberated the Kremlin.

In 1812, the French, retreating from Moscow, blew up the tower. It was restored by the architect O. Bove in 1816. In 1917, during the October battles, the tower was heavily damaged by artillery shelling. It was restored in 1918 by the architect N. Markovnikov.

Trinity Tower.

With this tower, the architect Aleviz Fryazin the Old completed the construction of fortifications on the side of the Neglinnaya River, later the Alexander Garden. The tower was built in 1495-1499. The significance of the tower for the western facade of the Kremlin is the same as Spasskaya for the eastern. The architect who built the tower in 1685 took this into account and gave its hipped roof almost the same decorative decoration as Spasskaya’s. The tower is six-story, with deep two-story basements that served for defense purposes, and later in the 15th-16th centuries were used as a prison. There is evidence that there was a clock on the tower in 1585, which existed until the beginning of the 19th century, until it burned down in 1812. Recently, the clock was installed again on the Trinity Tower. The tower received its modern name in 1658 from the Trinity Metochion in the Kremlin. Before that, it was called Epiphany, Znamenskaya, Karetnaya after the churches located in the Kremlin and Karetny Dvor. In 1516, the stone Trinity Bridge was built across the Neglinnaya River. The tower gate served as a passage to the mansions of the queen and princesses, to the court of the patriarch. The Trinity Tower is the tallest tower in the Kremlin, its height with the star from the side of the Alexander Garden is 80 m.

Borovitskaya Tower

At the foot of one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands, there is a tower that differs from the others in its stepped shape. This is the Borovitskaya Tower. Its name comes from an ancient forest that once covered the entire hill. The Borovitskaya Tower was built by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490. The Borovitskaya Tower has a very unique shape. A similar step pyramid can be seen in Kazan - near the tower of Queen Syuyumbek. The powerful, square base continues with three tetrahedrons decreasing upward. The entire structure ends with an open octagon (a part of the building that has an octagonal shape in plan) with a high stone tent. The archer in this tower is not located in front, as in other Kremlin towers, but on the side, taking into account the rotation of the wall. Here you can see the hole through which the chains of the drawbridge, dismantled in 1821, passed, and in the gate passage there are vertical grooves for the protective grille. Unlike the front Spassky and Trinity gates, the Borovitsky gates had a purely utilitarian purpose: they drove through them to the outbuildings - Zhitny and Konyushenny courtyards. In 1812, during the explosion of the neighboring Vodovzvodnaya tower by retreating French troops, the Borovitskaya tower was also damaged - the top of its tent fell. In 1816-1819, the tower was repaired under the leadership of O. I. Bove.

Tainitskaya Tower.

The “oldest” tower of the Moscow Kremlin is Tainitskaya. The construction of the Kremlin fortifications began with it. A secret well was dug under the tower, to which the tower and its gates owe their name. In the event of a siege, the Kremlin could be supplied with water through this well and underground passage. The tower was built in 1485 by Peter Anthony Fryazin. At the end of the 17th century, a tent was erected over the tower.

Unfortunately, the tower, built in the 15th century, has not reached us. In 1770, it was demolished, as the Kremlin began construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V. Bazhenov. However, already in 1771-1773 the tower was restored according to the measurement drawings of M. Kazakov with the subsequent addition of a hipped top. In the 60s of the last century, a diverting archery was added to the tower, where the guns of the self-propelled battery were located. In 1930, the archery was dismantled, and the gates and hiding places were sealed. Its height is 38.4 m.

Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower

This tower was built by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490 on the site of the Timofeevsky Gate of the white-stone Kremlin, through which Dmitry Donskoy went to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. The tower got its name from the nearby Church of Constantine and Helena. At first the tower was a passage tower, had a diversion arch and a drawbridge. In the 17th century, the passage was closed, and a torture chamber was set up in the diversion arch. In 1680, a tent top was built on the tower, and at the end of the 18th century, the archery and bridge were broken, and then the gate was blocked. Now the arch of the gate is clearly visible, above it there is a recess for the gate icon and traces of vertical slots for the bridge lifting mechanism. The height of the tower is 36.8 m. The Annunciation Tower was built in 1487-1488. This is a low tetrahedral tower. At its base there are slabs of white limestone. They are preserved from the ancient white stone Kremlin of the 14th century. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tower was used as a prison. At the end of the 17th century, a stone tent with a decorative watchtower was built on the Annunciation Tower. The name of the tower comes from the miraculous icon of the Annunciation that was once placed here, and is also associated with the Church of the Annunciation, which was added to the tower at the beginning of the 18th century. At the same time, a bell tower was built in the watchtower, where seven bells were placed, and the weather vane was replaced with a cross. The tower served as a chapel for the church; ancient loopholes were hewn into large windows. In the 17th century, the Portomoyny Gate was built next to the tower for the passage of palace laundresses to the Portomoyny raft on the Moscow River to rinse their ports and linen. In 1813, the Portomoynye Gate was blocked, but traces of them are still preserved and are clearly visible from the inside of the Kremlin. In the depths of the tower there was a deep underground. The height of the tower is 30.7 m (with a weather vane - 32.45 m).

Defensive

Senate Tower.

The tower is located immediately behind the Spasskaya Tower, behind the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. The tower was built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The Senate Tower performed purely defensive functions and protected the Kremlin from Red Square. For a long time she was nameless. The tower received its name after M. Kazakov built the Senate building on the territory of the Kremlin in 1787, the dome of which is clearly visible from Red Square. Inside the main volume of the tower there are three tiers of vaulted rooms. The blank, square tower in 1860 was built with a stone tent, crowned with a gilded weather vane. The height of the tower is 34.3 m.

Middle Arsenal Tower.

On the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall, stretching along the Alexander Garden, by 1495 the Middle Arsenal Tower had risen. It is located on the site of the corner tower of the Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy. The tower received its current name during the construction of the Arsenal building at the beginning of the 18th century. Previously, it was called Granena - from the facade dissected on the edge. In 1680 the tower was built on. It is crowned with a see-through watchtower with a tent. In 1821, when laying out the Alexander Garden, a pleasure grotto was built at the foot of the tower according to the design of O. I. Bove.

Alarm tower.

This tower was built in 1495. It got its name from the alarm bell, which notified Muscovites about impending events or danger. The tower was placed on a hill and overlooked the southern surroundings. Guards were on duty on the tower around the clock, monitoring the roads. Noticing fire or columns of smoke, which was a sign of the approach of an enemy army, the guards sounded the alarm, and residents of the surrounding villages hurried to take refuge in the fortress or behind the walls of monasteries. The Last Bell was severely “punished” by Catherine II for disclosing the “bad news.” In 1771, the Plague Riot broke out in Moscow. The rebellious townspeople sounded the alarm, calling the people to the Kremlin. After the suppression of the uprising, Catherine II, without knowing who exactly was ringing the alarm, ordered the tongue to be torn out from the bell. For more than 30 years, the numb bell hung on the tower. In 1803 it was removed and transferred first to the Arsenal, and then in 1821 to the Armory.

Kutafya Tower.

This is the only surviving bridgehead tower of the Kremlin, which served to protect the bridges leading to the fortress. It was built in 1516 under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aleviz Fryazin. Low, surrounded by a moat and a river, with a single gate that was tightly closed in moments of danger, the tower was a formidable barrier for those besieging the fortress. The tower consisted of two combat tiers; on the upper platform there were hinged loopholes. Drawbridges across the moat that surrounded the tower led to the side tower gates. To this day, preserved slots for the lifting chains can be seen at the side gates. It is still not entirely known where the name of the tower came from. Most likely, the name of the tower comes from its shape: as Dahl’s dictionary testifies, in Russian folk dialects the word “kutafya” meant “a clumsily, ugly dressed woman.”

Commandant's Tower.

This is a small, blank, austere tower. Its construction was completed by 1495. Previously, it was called Kolymazhnaya - from the Kolymazhny yard in the Kremlin, where the royal carts and carriages were kept. It received its current name in the 19th century: the commandant of Moscow lived next to it in the Poteshny Palace. Like all the Kremlin towers, it was built with a tent with a tower in 1676-1686. The height of the tower from the Alexander Garden side is 41.25 m.

Petrovskaya Tower.

The tower received its name from the church of Metropolitan Peter, located in the courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery, located in the Kremlin, next to the tower. In its architecture, the Petrovskaya Tower differs sharply from its neighboring towers. A second one was placed on the lower two-tier quadrangle with false hinged loopholes. It is divided into two tiers by cornices and thin semi-columns at the corners. The tower ends at the top with an octagonal pyramidal tent. The Petrovskaya Tower was destroyed by cannon shots during the Polish intervention in 1612 and then restored. In 1771 it was broken in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, but was soon restored in 1783. In 1812, the tower was blown up by retreating French troops. It was rebuilt by the architect O.I. Bove in 1818 and since then it has not been changed. The Petrovskaya Tower, erected “for a better appearance and strength,” served the household needs of the Kremlin gardeners. The height of the tower is 27.15 m.

The first unnamed tower.

In the 1480s, next to the Taynitskaya Tower, the First Nameless Tower was built, distinguished by its spare architectural forms. She always performed purely defensive functions. The tower ends with a tetrahedral pyramidal tent. The architectural proportions of the tower indicate that it was built later than the Second Nameless Tower. In the 15th-16th centuries, gunpowder was stored in this tower. The tower has a difficult fate. In 1547, the tower collapsed due to a gunpowder explosion, and in the 17th century it was rebuilt. At the same time it was built with a tent tier. In 1770-1771, the tower was dismantled to make way for the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V. I. Bazhenov. When construction of the palace was stopped, the tower was built again in 1783 somewhat closer to the Tainitskaya Tower. In this form it has survived to this day. The height of the tower is 34.15 m.

The second unnamed tower.

The tower was built in the middle of the 15th century. She always performed purely defensive functions. In 1680, this tower was built on, adding an upper quadrangle and a high pyramidal tent with an observation tower. The tower is crowned with a small octagonal tent with a weather vane. In ancient times, this tower had a gate, which was later blocked. In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, it was demolished, and after construction ceased, it was rebuilt. Inside the quadrangle there are two tiers of vaulted rooms.

Red Square

The square arose, according to chronicles, at the end of the 15th century, when Ivan III ordered the demolition of wooden buildings around the Kremlin, which constantly threatened it with fire, and allocate this place for trade. This is how the first name of the square appeared - Torg. True, the square was not called that way for long. In the 16th century, it began to be called Trinity - after the Church of the Holy Trinity, on the site of which St. Basil's Cathedral was subsequently erected.

Documents from the 17th century indicate that in those days the square was called Pozhar. It must be said that in Rus' one and the same object could have several names. So Krasnaya Square (from V.I. Dahl’s dictionary it follows that the word “red” among our ancestors meant beautiful, wonderful, excellent, best) officially began to be called only in the 19th century, although it was mentioned under this name in documents of the 17th century. Different centuries have left their traces on the square. XV century - the Kremlin wall with the Spasskaya, Senate and Nikolskaya towers; XVI century - Place of Execution and St. Basil's Cathedral.

Cathedral Square of the Kremlin

The Kremlin's Cathedral Square is one of the oldest in Moscow. Its appearance dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. The Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Faceted Chamber and other monuments of Russian architecture rise on the square.

Cathedral Square was the main square of the Kremlin. In ancient times, ceremonial processions took place on it on the occasion of the crowning of kings and the coronation of emperors. They were usually accompanied by magnificent military escorts. Foreign ambassadors were greeted in front of the Red Porch of the Faceted Chamber. Funeral processions also took place here to the Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars - and the Assumption Cathedral - the burial place of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs. The uniquely beautiful architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, picturesque and harmonious, was created by the labor and talent of Russian masters from Moscow, Vladimir, Pskov, and Italian architects. Built more than 500 years ago, this magnificent ensemble still excites today with the grandeur of its design.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral.

In the southwestern part of Cathedral Square there is an elegant nine-domed Annunciation Cathedral with golden domes. The cathedral was built in 1484-1489 by Pskov craftsmen as the house fortress of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Initially, the temple was small and crowned with three domes. In the 60s of the 16th century, four single-domed churches (altars) were erected above the galleries of the cathedral and two false ones - thus, the cathedral turned into a nine-domed structure. In the 70s of the 16th century, a porch with a high white stone porch was built for Ivan the Terrible. The cathedral was connected to the palace by a special passage. During ceremonies held on Cathedral Square, the temple served as the grand exit from the palace for the prince (later the tsar) and his retinue. The cathedral was built in the traditions of early Moscow architecture. But since it was built by Pskovites, then, naturally, there are features of Pskov architecture: an octagon under the central drum, original belts on the heads and many other decorative elements. There are two entrances with high porches leading to the temple from the square. They enter the cathedral through the northern porch and find themselves in a gallery, the walls of which are painted with frescoes on biblical themes (“Miracle with the Prophet Jonah”, “He rejoices in you”, “Trinity”, “The Tree of Jesus”, “The exploits of monastic hermits” and others). In the piers, on the slopes of the vaults and on the pilasters, ancient philosophers and writers are depicted in full height: Aristotle, Thucydides, Plutarch, Homer, Virgil and others - at that time educated people in Rus' were familiar with their works. From the gallery, through a portal decorated with white stone carvings, you can enter the central part of the temple. The greatest value of the cathedral is the iconostasis. The icons in the iconostasis are arranged in five rows. The third row is called “festive” - its icons depict various Christian holidays. Seven icons on the left side of the row (except for the fourth, it was painted by an unknown Pskov master of the 16th century) - “Annunciation”, “Nativity of Christ”, “Candlemas”, “Baptism”, “Transfiguration”, “Resurrection of Lazarus” and “Entrance into Jerusalem” - belong to the brushes of Andrei Rublev. The remaining icons in this row of the iconostasis - “Last Vespers”, “Crucifixion”, “Entombment”, “Descent into Hell”, “Ascension”, “Descent of the Holy Spirit”, “Assumption” - were made by the artist Prokhor from Gorodets. The main row of the iconostasis is deesis (from the Greek word “deesis” - prayer). It is located below the festive one. The main theme of the series is the intercession of saints (they are depicted in full growth) for mere mortals before God. Most of the icons in this series (except for “Archangel Michael” and “Apostle Peter”) were painted by Theophan the Greek. Of considerable interest is the cathedral's murals, made in 1508 by an artel of artists headed by Theodosius, the son of the famous Dionysius. There are both traditional motifs and new ones characteristic of the 16th century. A large place in the painting is occupied by scenes on the theme of the Apocalypse (to the right and left of the iconostasis on the vaults under the choir and on the arches supporting the choir). In addition to biblical subjects, purely secular motifs can be seen in the wall paintings - images of Byzantine emperors and Russian princes (pillars of the central part of the temple and pilasters). At the western wall, according to custom, choirs were built for the queen and the royal children. The floor of the cathedral looks very unusual. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the floor was paved with tiles made of precious agate-like jasper.

Cathedral of the Archangel.

The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505-1509 by the architect Aleviz Novy, invited from Italy, in the traditions of Russian architecture, but its rich decoration bears the features of the Italian Renaissance. Construction began under Ivan III and was completed under his son, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich. Before this, there was the ancient Archangel Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from severe famine. At the beginning of the 16th century, due to its cramped space, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of a more extensive temple. The walls of the cathedral end with zakomaras. The zakomars are decorated with white stone shells, and the facades are decorated with pilasters with capitals, cornices and a high white stone plinth. From the outside, the walls of the cathedral are divided into two tiers by a horizontal belt, which gives it the appearance of a two-story civil building. The cathedral is crowned with five domes. The central dome was gilded, the side domes were painted silver. On the eastern side of the cathedral, at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, two single-domed churches were added - “St. Wan” and “John the Baptist”. In the north and west, the cathedral is decorated with carved white stone portals in the Italian Renaissance style. Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Archangel Cathedral has been the tomb of the great Moscow princes and tsars. The oldest tomb - Ivan Kalita, who died in 1342 - is located near the southern wall of the cathedral. Burials in the cathedral continued until Peter I.

Assumption Cathedral.

The Assumption Cathedral stands on the site of the first stone cathedral in Moscow built by Ivan Kalita in 1326-1327. It, in turn, was preceded by the oldest Moscow churches, a wooden one from the 12th century and a stone one from the 13th century. The Assumption Cathedral was built by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, invited by Ivan III. The cathedral was erected in 1475-1479 on the model of the Assumption Cathedral of the 12th century in the ancient Russian city of Vladimir. This emphasized the continuity of Moscow in relation to one of the ancient centers of the Russian land. For four centuries, the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin remained the main temple of Rus', where heirs to the throne were crowned, state acts were announced, metropolitans and patriarchs were elected at church councils, and other solemn ceremonies were performed. The cathedral served as the tomb of Moscow patriarchs and metropolitans. Their tombs line the walls. The main entrance to the temple is located from the cathedral square. The wide staircase ends with a portal of three semicircular arches. The entrance to the building is guarded, as it were, by the Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel; figures of saints are inscribed in the arches above. Above them is an image of the Virgin and Child. Over the centuries, icons created by Russian painters accumulated in the Assumption Cathedral. The most ancient icon of the cathedral is “St. George” (in front of the iconostasis). During the Patriotic War of 1812, the cathedral was devastated by Napoleonic troops. A chandelier that hangs in the center of the cathedral was forged from some of the silver that was then beaten off by the Russian Cossacks. The oldest monument of applied art in the cathedral is its southern doors (brought to Moscow from the Suzdal Cathedral, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century), on which 20 images on biblical themes are painted in gold over black varnish.

Armouries.

Almost five centuries have passed since the first mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin that has survived to this day was recorded in ancient acts. This happened in 1508. But long before this date, in 1339, the spiritual letter of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita spoke about the values that laid the foundation for the creation of the grand ducal treasury. Mention was made of jewelry, dishes made of precious metals, church vessels, clothing made of magnificent fabrics, and expensive weapons. A century later, the grand ducal treasury already included numerous valuables stored in the basements of Kremlin palaces and cathedrals.

By the end of the 15th century, Moscow became a kind of center of artistic crafts. There are many skilled Russian and foreign craftsmen working at the Moscow court who have created many excellent monuments. Many of them became part of the Armory Chamber. The political successes of the Moscow princes allowed them to establish diplomatic relations with the major powers of the East and West. Numerous foreign embassies delivered luxurious gifts to Moscow: silver cups, precious fabrics, pearls, military equipment, ceremonial horse harness. During the reign of Ivan III, the grand ducal treasury grew so much that in 1485, a two-story stone building with a high hipped roof and deep basements was specially erected to store it in the Kremlin, between the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals. It was called the “state yard”. There are almost three hundred deep cellars here. It was called the “state yard”. The treasures of Moscow rulers were kept here for almost three hundred years. A significant part of the treasures of the State House consisted of products made on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, in art workshops, or “chambers”. The current museum owes its name to the leading Kremlin workshop, the Armory, which has long produced bladed weapons and firearms, as well as military armor of all types. Many first-class examples have survived to this day, doing credit to Russian weapons craftsmanship. The Konushennaya Treasury was also located on the territory of the Kremlin, the products of which - saddles, blankets - were given an important place in the design of all court ceremonies: royal trips, hunting, ambassadorial meetings. In the Tsaritsyn and Sovereign Chambers, also located in the Moscow Kremlin, they sewed luxurious clothes from imported fabrics, laying out patterns of remarkable beauty and richness on their surfaces with pearls and gems. The craftsmen of the Golden and Silver Chambers made precious dishes and a huge amount of gold jewelry in the Kremlin.

In 1844, St. Petersburg architect K. A. Ton began construction of a new building at the Borovitsky Gate of the Kremlin, completing it by 1851. The spacious halls of the second floor of this building house the relics of the Armory Chamber. The exhibition presents weapons, military armor and attributes of the 13th-18th centuries: bows, quivers, arrows, armor, chain mail, sabers, swords, maces, spears, battle axes. Two halls contain wonderful works by Russian gold and silversmiths of the 12th-19th centuries. The only collection of fabrics and clothing from the 14th to 19th centuries in the world in terms of its completeness and uniqueness of exhibits contains the best examples of artistic weaving, embroidery with gold, silver and pearls of Byzantine, Iranian, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, French and Russian production. Among the gifts to the Russian tsars from foreign countries of the West and East, exhibited in the museum, are works of Polish, German, English, Dutch, French jewelers of the 15th-19th centuries, oriental products made of crystal, jasper, and ivory. On display are court vestments from various eras, secular clothing of the 16th-17th centuries, ceremonial military armor, Russian pre-revolutionary orders and orders of foreign states, tapestries, and tapestries. The so-called stable treasury is on display - ceremonial horse equipment made by Russian and foreign masters, a unique collection of carriages, where each is a work of art. The Armory Chamber, one of the world's richest treasuries, continues to grow in our time: the collection is constantly replenished with rare items donated to the museum by various government agencies, as well as private individuals.

Faceted Chamber.

The Faceted Chamber is one of the few surviving parts of the royal palace, built at the end of the 15th century by Ivan III, his ceremonial throne room. This is the oldest of the stone civil buildings in Moscow. It was built in 1487-1491 by Russian craftsmen under the guidance of Italian architects Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. The chamber building with a clear silhouette of a simple rectangular volume is distinguished by the unusual decoration of the main facade. It is faced with tetrahedral white limestone (hence the name), starting from the basement floor and ending below the cornice. The Chamber itself is a huge square hall with cross vaults resting on a central pillar. The majestic and spacious hall, 9 meters high, is illuminated by 18 windows located on three sides, and in the evening by 4 round massive chandeliers. They were made in the 19th century from bronze according to the model of the ancient Novgorod chandeliers. The floor area of the Chamber of Facets is 495 square meters. In the second half of the 16th century, the Chamber of Facets was decorated with murals on church and biblical themes. Over the centuries, many major events in the life of the Russian state were celebrated in the Faceted Chamber; it was the ceremonial throne room. Foreign ambassadors were received there, the heirs to the Russian throne were solemnly announced, Zemsky Councils met, at one of which, more than 300 years ago, the issue of reunification of Ukraine with Russia was resolved. The victories of the Russian troops were celebrated here.

Bell tower of Ivan the Great and belfry.

In the center of the Kremlin on Cathedral Square stands one of the most remarkable buildings of the 16th century, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It unites all the ancient churches of the Moscow Kremlin into a majestic architectural ensemble. The bell tower is considered a miracle of architectural art of the 16th century. The history of the bell tower goes back centuries. Under Ivan Kalita in 1329, approximately on the site of the existing bell tower, a small stone church was built in honor of John Climacus. In 1505 this church was dismantled and in 1508 a new one was founded, the builder of which was the architect Bon Fryazin. In 1532-1543, the architect Petrok Maly added a rectangular belfry of the Novgorod-Pskov type with the Church of the Ascension to the north side of the bell tower. The belfry housed a thousand-pound bell called the Blagovestnik. To enter the temple, which was located on the third tier of the belfry, Moscow craftsmen built a high stone staircase in 1552. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a three-tiered pillar made of elongated, tapering octahedrons, placed one on top of the other. Each of the octahedrons has a terrace and an open gallery, in the arched spans of which bells are placed. The galleries of the tiers house bells, which are remarkable monuments of Russian foundry art of the 16th-19th centuries. The height of the bell tower is 81 meters. It was the main watchtower of the Kremlin, from the height of which Moscow and its surroundings within a radius of up to 30 kilometers were clearly visible.

Church of the Deposition of the Robe.

The small one-domed Church of the Deposition of the Robe was built by Pskov craftsmen in 1484-1486.

This church is located on the site of the ancient Church of the Deposition of the Robe, erected in 1451 by Metropolitan Jonah in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatar hordes of Mazowsza. On the night of July 2, 1451, the Tatars approached Moscow, but suddenly retreated, abandoning all the stolen goods. This event was caused by the political struggle in the enemy’s camp, but the church gave it a purely religious significance, since it coincided with the church holiday “Position of the Robe.” The church was named in memory of this. In 1473, it burned down along with the metropolitan's courtyard. In the vacant space, a new brick church was erected on a basement, surrounded on three sides by an open porch-promenade. It retained its old name.

Moscow is fraught with many mysteries. For some of them, look at

1. Tram is a very old type of Moscow public transport; the first electric line opened in 1899. Therefore, some tram stops in Moscow are quite old. One pre-revolutionary pavilion still pleases the eye on Krasnostudenchesky Proezd near Dubki Park. And tram No. 3 is the oldest route in the capital (now it runs from Chistye Prudy to Balaklavsky Prospekt).2. There are many rumors about the Moscow metro. There are some reliable ones among them. For example, there are actually four abandoned stations: Volokolamskaya (between Tushinskaya and Shchukinskaya), Sovetskaya (between Teatralnaya and Tverskaya), Pervomaiskaya (between Partizanskaya and Izmailovskaya - not confused with modern ones of the same name), “Kaluzhskaya” (between “Novye Cheryomushki” and modern “Kaluzhskaya”). Traces of these stations - pillars and even vestibules - can be seen if you peer into the darkness while moving along the stretch.3. Moscow is so old that there are cars here that are older than any resident. They live in the Lomakovsky Museum of Vintage Cars on Krasnodarskaya Street in Lyublino.

4. Since 1980, the “Lights of Moscow” museum has been operating in Armenian Lane, dedicated to the history of city lighting. Antique lamps, lanterns, photographs and drawings of various types of lighting devices - there is so much collected here! If you can’t find the Lefortovo lantern, this is definitely the place for you. Pay attention to the master classes organized by the museum: who can resist “The History of Fireworks” and “Ballroom Noble Traditions of the 18th Century”?

5. Bolshoi Kamenny, perhaps, has the longest history among Moscow bridges. In the 17th century, the first stone bridge in Moscow was built on this site. Later, two centuries later, a metal one was erected in its place, and only in 1938 a modern one made of reinforced concrete appeared. At the same time, the name - Bolshoi Kamenny - remained with it. And to justify it, the bridge was lined with granite. By the way, you can admire the live panorama of the Kremlin, depicted on the back cover of all Russian passports, from the middle of this particular bridge.

6. Since 1938, the sculpture “Border Guard with a Dog” at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station has been an object of worship for passengers. Even in the hustle and bustle, many people do not forget to rub the dog’s nose. At first it was fun for students: if you rub your nose, you pass a test, if you rub your paw, you get an exam. Everyone has long forgotten about this, and a dog’s nose has simply become a harbinger of good luck.

7. Along with traditional monuments to Pushkin, Lermontov and many other worthy people, there are also outlandish monuments in Moscow. For example, a stool (Taganskaya street), processed cheese “Friendship” (at the intersection of Rustaveli streets and Ogorodny Prospekt), a monument to a janitor (the intersection of Bazhov and Malakhitova streets) and a student (the sculpture adorns the entrance to the MIIT building, and it was installed in honor of the 110th according to student enrollment).

8. The first 10 electric lamps in Moscow were lit on the towers of the Kremlin and Lefortovo Palace in 1856 on the days of the coronation of Alexander II.

9. Moscow is a pioneer in the development of higher education for women. Its beginning is associated with the opening of the Moscow Higher Women's Courses by Professor V.I. Guerrier in 1872. Today it is the Moscow State Pedagogical University.

10. Epiphany Cathedral (Elokhovskaya Church) is the only one in Moscow equipped with an elevator. The height of its shaft is 21 m; the elevator was made for Patriarch Pimen.

11. There is an anchor near the 35 mm cinema. There is a simple explanation for this: in Soviet times, the cinema was called “Novorossiysk”, and the anchor (as a symbol of the city) was specially brought from the Black Sea Fleet.

12. On Yakimanskaya embankment (house 4, building 1) a mark about the flood of 1908 has been preserved. The sign hangs on the corner of the house at a height of 2 m above the level of the embankment - that April, boatmen carried residents along the streets and between houses.

13. The expression “bird's milk” for a long time meant something unheard of, the limit of desire. Until in 1975, the confectioner of the Prague restaurant on Arbat, V. M. Guralnik, came up with a recipe for a new cake, which he gave the name “Bird's Milk”. Muscovites liked it so much that they “hunted” for it, stood in huge queues, and invited guests to see it.

14. In 1993, during excavation work on Pyatnitskaya Street, a clay jar with 726 silver kopecks and 21 gold coins was discovered, which was completely uncharacteristic of Russian coinage - they were minted for a short time at the beginning of the 17th century and were used to pay foreign mercenaries, Russian archers or as award insignia. According to numismatists, the treasure was buried in 1610 by one of the foreign mercenaries before the Smolensk campaign. By the way, this is not the only Moscow treasure. And how many of them have not yet been found...

15. In 1910, housing rent in Moscow was 97.1 rubles per month for a large apartment (6 rooms), 33.7 rubles for a medium one (4–6 rooms), 19.8 for a small one (up to 4 rooms).

16. In 1910 there were 606 restaurants and taverns in Moscow; 933 taverns, snack bars, tea houses, coffee shops; 25 buffets and 905 beer shops and wineries. Today, according to the Department of Consumer Market and Services, there are 3,500 restaurants and cafes in Moscow.

17. In 1900, there were 36 recognized photographers in Moscow. Today, it seems, no less than 36 photographers live in every house in the most remote area of Moscow. And the same number of journalists.

18. In 1902, a kilogram of bread cost 1 kopeck, caviar - 1 ruble, beef - 12-13 kopecks, butter - 12-13 kopecks, sturgeon - 20 kopecks. Note that the daily earnings of a worker (mechanic, blacksmith) averaged 1–2 rubles. At the same time, a skilled worker could receive about 50 rubles a month, and people in the government service and in ranks had much higher salaries.

"Unsolved Mysteries": Maroseyka

Maroseyka is a very small street. You can walk it at a leisurely pace in literally five minutes. But every house that comes across on the path of an attentive pedestrian contains so many amazing stories, mysteries and secrets that you always want to stay longer here. What secrets does this street hold? Where did the Mazurin curse come from? What movie was filmed at the college, “Maroseyka”?

Murder of the Jeweler

In the spring of 1867, Moscow was shocked by shocking news: two steps from the Kremlin, in one of the most respectable quarters of the city - on Maroseyka - a brutal murder was committed. Jeweler Ilya Kalmykov was stabbed to death. Moreover, he did not die at the hands of street robbers: a representative of the famous merchant dynasty Vasily Mazurin was accused of murder.

“This was a crime that Moscow was gossiping about for not just several days, but several months. Because, of course, it was not typical for that era for such people to appear in a rich family,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Reporters from the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper savored the details. The killer and victim knew each other well and had close business relationships. Therefore, an invitation to dinner at the Mazurins’ estate, on Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane, did not arouse any suspicion among the jeweler Ilya Kalmykov. In a good mood, he went to visit the house of a respected family.

The door was opened by Vasily Mazurin himself. After exchanging pleasantries, the gentlemen proceeded to the office. The jeweler sat comfortably in a chair and prepared to light a cigar. At that moment, his business partner and longtime friend Mazurin calmly took a razor from the sideboard and slashed the guest in the throat. Yes, so cleverly that Kalmykov didn’t even cry out.

“As the killer himself later showed during the investigation, in the evening he goes to the pharmacy, buys the so-called “Zhdanov liquid” - this drug prevents the spread of the smell of decomposition and decomposition itself, - wraps the body in American oilcloth and leaves everything as is,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin. The body of Ilya Kalmykov could not be found for a long time - he lay in the basement of a house in Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane for more than six months.

"Little Russian"

The imagination of contemporaries was especially struck by the fact that the bloody drama took place in one of the most prestigious areas of Moscow. From time immemorial, nobility have settled in these places, not far from the Kremlin. So why did Vasily Mazurin, a representative of a famous family, a rich and respected man, commit such a bloody crime? What terrible secret does ancient Maroseyka and its quiet alleys hide?

“The name “Maroseyka” appears only in the 17th century after the famous epic with the reunification of Russia and Little Russia. It was here that the Little Russian Compound appeared, starting in the mid-17th century. That is, “Maroseyka” is “Little Russian” or “Little Russian,” notes Moscow expert Denis Drozdov.

Maroseyka became a street only in the 19th century. Two centuries earlier, there was a road leading from the Kremlin to the village of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo, the country residence of the Romanovs. In those days this area was called the royal path. In the 17th-18th centuries, the city estates lined along it were wooden. They all died in a fire in 1812. But the stone buildings from the end of the 18th century have survived to this day.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki

Before the revolution, there were many churches and chapels on Maroseyka. Every self-respecting merchant or nobleman with sufficient funds considered it his duty to build a church. However, most of the temples and churches on Maroseyka have not survived.

“The Soviet government destroyed churches. Exactly half of the churches were completely demolished. Memories and photographs remain. But something has been restored - at the beginning of Maroseyka there is a wonderful church of St. Nicholas in Blinniki or St. Nicholas in Klenniki,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

The first mention of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Maroseyka dates back to 1657. Before this, there was a small wooden church here, which appeared during the reign of Ivan III and bore the name of Simeon Divnogorets. It was this saint, as Moscow residents believed, who saved the Kremlin from fire, preventing the all-consuming flame from spreading to it from the White City.

“Our temple changed its name several times. There were “Behind bars at the Pokrovsky Gate”, “In Blinniki”, “In Klinniki” - a variety of names. But somewhere from the middle of the 19th century, the name “In Klenniki” was already established. What this is connected with is not recorded in the chronicles, but there seems to be a legend that there was once a maple grove here,” notes Alexandra Kozhevnikova, head of the archives of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki.

The temple gained particular fame at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when priest Alexei Mechev served as rector here.

Father Alexei not only consoled his parishioners, but also encouraged them to help each other. Thus, in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki, a community was formed, which, according to the most conservative estimates, numbered about 300 people.

The Marosei community existed even after the temple was looted and closed in 1932. Parishioners secretly held services, risking their lives to save the temple's shrines - including the main image of this monastery, the miraculous Theodore Icon of the Mother of God, the patroness of motherhood.

“This image was taken away by a parishioner of this temple, the spiritual daughter of the holy righteous Alexei and Hieromartyr Sergius, Maria Nikolaevna Sokolova. She was a nun in secret, no one knew about it until her death,” said Alexandra Kozhevnikova, head of the archives of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki.

Also, in an atmosphere of complete secrecy, Maria Sokolova taught icon painting and studied the techniques of this ancient craft. She founded an icon painting circle at the Moscow Theological Academy, which then turned into an icon painting school.

Decades later, in 1990, when the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, the followers and students of Maria Sokolova were able to contribute to the revival of the monastery. They created examples of new iconography that adorn the walls of the church to this day. And the temple also has its own Book of Miracles, or rather, a multi-volume collection of them.

There are also monuments from the Soviet era on Maroseyka. For example, the newest building built on this street next to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the so-called House of Trusts.

“On the top floor there was a trust called Glavyaytso, which provided the entire Soviet Union with relevant products. Then the Ministry of Finance, from 1939 to 1991 in this building - the headquarters of our Komsomol, the main building of the Komsomol Central Committee. Therefore, the entire block was given over to the youth organization, and the lanes behind this block were Bolshoi and Malaya Komsomolsky lanes. Thank God, now they have returned their names – Bolshoi and Maly Zlatoustinsky lanes,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Bloody Lane

But long before Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane became Komsomolsky, it was called bloody for some time. The investigator who led the case of the murder of jeweler Kalmykov, again and again compared the testimony of witnesses and the suspect, the merchant Mazurin. He could not understand in any way the reason for not only the cruelty, but also the recklessness with which the resident of house No. 4 on Bolshoye Zlatoustinsky committed a crime.

During the investigation, it turned out that the rake and spender Mazurin was completely entangled in debt, and in order to somehow improve matters, he took a decisive step: he took the family diamonds from his mother and pawned them to the jeweler Kalmykov. Vasily hoped to buy them back for his sister’s wedding, but did not get the money, and Kalmykov, despite the high interest that Mazurin promised him, did not give out the jewelry. Finally, on the eve of the wedding, Vasily Fedorovich invited the jeweler to his place, supposedly to buy back the diamonds. He apparently hid the straight razor in the sideboard in advance.

In November 1867, the trial of Vasily Mazurin took place. Neither the investigator nor the jury found any mitigating circumstances in his case. Only a few lines that appeared in the killer’s written testimony were alarming: “It was as if the devil had possessed me when I was dealing with Kalmykov. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Vasily Mazurin was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Then it turned out that this was not the last misfortune in the famous Moscow merchant family.

“The theme of the murder of the jeweler Kalmykov falls into Dostoevsky’s novel, which was written simultaneously with the investigation of this crime - the novel “The Idiot.” First there is a discussion in the living room of the main character, Nastasya Filippovna. She says: “There is a scary house in Moscow. A man was killed there.” And Rogozhin does the same thing, almost according to the same scenario. He also buys Zhdanov’s liquid and covers Nastasya Filippovna’s body with oilcloth,” adds Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Dostoevsky often visited Maroseyka to visit his closest relatives.

“They often talk about Dostoevsky as a writer from St. Petersburg, and this is absolutely fair. But it is often forgotten that he was a Muscovite by birth and Moscow was extremely dear and important to him. His sisters lived here in Moscow, his aunt lived in the area of Maroseyka, Pokrovka, Starosadsky Lane,” adds Mishin.

Fedor Dostoevsky. Photo: TASS

Maroseyka can be called the birthplace of another great Russian writer. Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev spent his childhood and youth in Armenian Lane.

Today, in the building where he grew up, the Russian Children's Fund is located, and the memory of Tyutchev is preserved by his memorial rooms, in which the fund's employees tried to recreate the atmosphere of the 19th century.

Temple of Cosmas and Damian

At the very end of Maroseyka, on the corner of Starosadsky Lane, stands another unique architectural and historical monument - the temple in the name of Saints Cosmas and Damian. It was built at the expense of the family of Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Khlebnikov, and the author of the project was one of the most famous Russian architects, Matvey Kazakov.

The Church of Cosmas and Damian on Maroseyka is shaped like a cross made up of three round buildings. The clergy did not immediately approve of such a non-standard architectural solution.

“In the design of the temple that Khlebnikov submitted to Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, there is a resolution from the Bishop: he wrote that it is beautiful, but the temple will be very inconvenient for worshipers. It is really very inconvenient to serve in the side aisles. But in itself it is very beautiful. It was even copied several times,” notes Archpriest Peter Borodin, rector of the Church of Cosmas and Damian.

The Temple of Cosmas and Damian was closed at the end of the 20s of the last century. And in 1930 it was almost demolished. However, it remained standing: the temple first housed warehouses, then a motorcycle club. Then he entered the complex of the neighboring building where the Ministry of Medium Engineering was located.

In the end, the temple was received by the artist Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov. He was given premises for the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Just 1.5-2 months later, he handed over the keys to the temple to the rector, Archpriest Peter Borodin.

People come to the temple with prayers for healing - the relics of the holy doctors and wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian are kept here. And recently, during the restoration of the church, another unique artifact was discovered - a mortgage cross, on which it is written: “This chapel in the name of the wonderworkers of the unmercenary Cosmas and Damian was built in 1791.”

During the restoration of the temple, other interesting finds were discovered that tell about the structure of life and everyday life of parishioners in the 19th century - for example, a pipe for draining water, a smoking pipe, glass vessels.

The curse of the Mazurin dynasty

The Church of Cosmas and Damian was visited by many famous Muscovites. First of all, residents of Maroseyka and the surrounding area. Both Fyodor Tyutchev and Fyodor Dostoevsky often visited here. However, the Masurin merchants were considered the most devout in the area. They went to the local churches every day and prayed for a long time, as if asking the saints for protection from something unknown and irreversible.

“Among the Moscow merchants they began to talk about the curse of the Mazurins to the seventh generation. Indeed, there were mental disorders, there were suicides, there were alcoholics. Until the seventh generation - this means until the genetic program is completely changed,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Studying the biography of the Mazurin family, even the most cynical representatives of the law could not help but sympathize with their fate. When it turned out that the eldest son, Vasily Mazurin, was a murderer, his brother Alexei lost his mind. After the public trial of his brother, Alexei fell into severe depression; he did not get out of bed for days. And when he got up to take a sip of water, his gaze was wandering and distant.

The younger Mazurin said that he was haunted by his brother’s shadow. Alexei's fiancée, a French actress, chose to break up with the madman. Soon he shot himself - right here, in the garden of a large house, in Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane. But the troubles of the Mazurin family did not end there. The third son, Nikolai, having survived the new shocks that befell the family, began to show signs of a nervous breakdown and soon also lost his mind.

The youngest, Neil Mazurin, fell ill with consumption and burned out young. Sister Masha, at whose wedding the jeweler Kalmykov was killed, died at the age of 18, having been married for only a year.

Alexey Mazurin

The legend about the curse of the Mazurin family says that the family’s misfortunes began with the act of its ancestor, Alexei Alekseevich Mazurin, who, by a strange coincidence, also made friends with a jewelry master.

“In the early 1830s, two people living became friends: a Greek jeweler who bought furs, precious stones in Russia and resold them abroad, and Alexey Alekseevich Mazurin, who was the Moscow mayor. Their relationship became so close that they fraternized and exchanged crosses,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Circumstances were such that the jeweler had to leave Russia for a long time and go on an expedition to India. On the day of departure, the Greek brought a casket filled to the brim with diamonds to his sworn brother for safekeeping, and took Mazurin’s word that the treasures would remain safe and sound. Mazurin had to give the valuables to the Greek’s wife in parts.

Alexei Mazurin swore on the cross that he would take care of the Greek family, but he did not keep his promise.

Detectives found out that with the help of actually stolen jewelry left for safekeeping by a jeweler, Alexey Mazurin made a fortune.

However, after some time, that same Greek appeared and demanded to return everything that was due to him, and with interest. Mazurin could not find anything better than to say that he did not understand what was being said.

“Moreover, he accused the Greek of deception, tore off his cross, and said that they were no longer brothers. The Greek was sent to prison. And he would have sat there until the end of his life if, a few years later, Emperor Nicholas I had not organized an action to reinvestigate criminal cases. Each of those in prison could submit a petition. And the Greek submitted a petition with approximately the following content: you can leave me here for the rest of my life, but I ask that Alexei Alekseevich Mazurin be sworn in in the temple, sworn on the Bible, let him swear that he did not take these jewelry,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

The Emperor ordered that the Greek be released from prison, and Mazurin, a well-known and respected person, be sworn in. I had to obey. That night Maroseyka witnessed an extraordinary spectacle. At exactly midnight, Alexey Mazurin left the house. He was barefoot, dressed in a shroud, and a black wax candle trembled in his hand. The procession was accompanied by monks, also holding candles.

Before inviting Mazurin to swear on the Gospel, the priest warned him to think about the consequences that could await him. But Mazurin calmly swore on the Bible that he did not know about any treasures. The enraged Greek cried out: “Cursed be you, and may your family be short-lived.”

“A few months later, the Greek fell ill and asked Mazurin to come and repent. Mazurin refused to do this, but came to the Greek’s funeral. And when he approached him to say goodbye, the Greek’s body suddenly tossed, something burst in him - there is such a rare phenomenon when the blood vessels of the dead break, a terrible sound is heard from the body, as if a person is coming to life. The distraught Mazurin recoiled; as witnesses say, he came home completely crazy and did not recover from this shock until the end of his life,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

College of Music Teachers

The fate of Maroseyka Street itself, like many of its inhabitants, cannot be called simple. Tragedies happened here not only in the 19th century, but also in Soviet times.

“The fate of house No. 13 on Maroseyka is more than tragic. Here, in the arch, there is a rare tablet for Moscow, which says that those who left and did not return lived in this house. Although, to be fair, such signs can be safely hung on any Soviet-era residential building in Moscow. However, at least 200 people left this house at different times - between 1937 and 1952 - and did not return,” says Moscow expert Denis Drozdov.

During Soviet times, the street was renamed. Since 1954, it bore the name of Bohdan Khmelnitsky. Only in 1990 did Maroseyka get its former name back.

The local college, which trains music workers for preschool institutions, also bears the name “Maroseyka”.

“It used to be called simply Pedagogical College No. 7. But on the initiative of our director Galina Yuryevna Kapustina, our college was named exactly that - “Maroseyka,” says Tatyana Zarubina, deputy director for academic affairs at the Maroseyka College.

Photo: TASS / Valery Sharifulin

College on Maroseyka is one of the oldest in Moscow. This year he will celebrate his 50th anniversary. The building that the educational institution occupies is even older; it was built in 1938 for a secondary school.

“The film “The Cranes Are Flying” was filmed here. The fence that can be seen in this film is our fence,” notes Zarubina.

In Soviet times, the college on Maroseyka was called the Institute of Noble Maidens behind its back. Many people wanted to get here.

“Our curricula and programs were structured in such a way that the girls who came to us here learned everything: they knew how to sew, embroider, knit, and cook. All this, in addition to teaching work, was taught here. We had sewing machines on which they made dresses, aprons, gifts for mothers and grandmothers,” says Zarubina.

In the 1970s, young music teachers with conservatory education came to work at Maroseyka. To this day, the college is considered one of the best for training music workers for preschool institutions. College students are studying the history of Maroseyka and the surrounding alleys.

Pushkinsky yard

The courtyard of one of the private hotels in the vicinity of Maroseyka can easily be attributed to Pushkin’s places in the capital. There is a legend: the poplar tree that stands in the yard saw Pushkin.

Alexander Pushkin. Photo: TASS

“But this is no longer a legend, but a fact: our building has the only balcony on the entire street. There is no longer a single balcony in any house on the street. Why it is the only one, why in this particular house and why this happened in general is unknown,” notes hotel owner Andrei Vatulin.

During the reconstruction carried out in the summer of 2014, Maroseyka was turned into a pedestrian zone, the facades of its ancient estates were updated, and numerous parking lots were freed. Maroseyka has become especially attractive to tourists.

Who hasn't heard of the famous Butyrka? The sad glory of this architectural monument, located on Novoslobodskaya Street, stretches back to the distant 18th century. Thieves, murderers, robbers, and political prisoners sat within its walls. Many never left its walls. Even birds do not fly over this Butyrka, unable to tolerate its negative energy.

Can such a place do without ghosts?

Ghost of Pugachev

Butyrka Castle was built at the behest of Empress Catherine II and was immediately built as a prison. It was here that the captured Emelyan Pugachev was brought. The leader of the rebels was kept in the basement of the tower, which has since been called Pugachevskaya. In prison, the “thief and robber” who pretended to be Emperor Peter III was chained to the wall.

On December 31, 1774, Pugachev was sentenced to death by quartering. On January 10, on Bolotnaya Square, he bowed in all directions and said “Forgive me, Orthodox people!”, after which he lay down on the scaffold.

However, there is a version that it was not Pugachev himself who was executed on Bolotnaya Square, but his double. There are grounds for such assumptions: Catherine could really have feared a popular revolt. If Pugachev's rebellious crowd had been freed, it, led by a competent, active leader, could have really done some serious things in Moscow. Therefore, the real Pugachev was stabbed to death with pikes in the basement of the tower.

Prison guards are confident that this is exactly what happened. Many of them, who, on duty, move at night through the corridors of Butyrka, a repeatedly “famous” convict.

Mikhalych

Mikhalych is no less famous among prisoners than Pugachev. Unlike other ghosts, he is not afraid of the dark and can appear during the day. Moreover, one person can see and hear him, but those standing next to him cannot. In rags stained with blood, he turns to the prisoner demanding that he give him his liver.

From meetings with Mikhalych, a legend began to circulate among the inmates of Butyrka that secret experiments on organ transplantation were carried out in the prison. Mikhalych was then left without a liver, and since then he has been walking the corridors of Butyrka, looking for a replacement for the lost organ. According to established beliefs, meeting him is a mark of death.

Girl in white

But meeting the Girl in White, on the contrary, is good luck. It is believed that the nameless convict who died in custody warns by her appearance that the prisoner will soon receive good news: a commutation of the sentence, and perhaps the long-awaited amnesty will come. Therefore, let the guards be afraid when they see her reflection in the mirror, let the guard dogs whine, and let the prisoner have a holiday in his soul.

To meet a ghost, you don’t have to walk through the corridors of Butyrka. Sometimes he comes on his own, straight to the camera.

Many residents of Butyrka sleep restlessly. In a dream, it’s as if someone is strangling them with cold hands, stabbing them with a knife, twisting their arms. Nightmare? Pranks of cellmates? However, when even those sitting in solitary confinement (!) have bruises on their necks, abrasions and wounds on their bodies, you have to believe the most incredible.

According to Butyrka beliefs, this is the ghost of the pedophile serial killer Sergei Golovkin, the last executed criminal in Russia, who takes out his anger on the living. The maniac was just a few weeks short of Russia declaring a moratorium on death sentences. The employees, contrary to all the rules, informed the criminal in advance about the date of the execution in order to intensify his torment. By the appointed day, Golovkin had already gone crazy and his soul still could not find peace in the world of the dead.

Legends about underground passages

The Butyrka prison building is more than 200 years old. How could there be no legends about mysterious dungeons here! The most common one is about the underground passage of Catherine II. The formidable empress went along it to look at Pugachev, and at the same time to check whether her faithful husband had really resurrected? The passage is so huge that one could move along it in a carriage (an entire street!).

Not inferior to this legend in popularity is the story of a secret underground passage connecting Butyrka with the Kremlin, dug specially on Stalin’s orders. They say the leader of the peoples also sometimes showed a desire to look at his defeated enemies.
It is impossible to confirm or refute these legends: no plans for Butyrka’s dungeons have survived. The deputy head of the prison assures that he has personally crawled through all the basements and there are no passages. However, in 2001, three special prisoners used spoons to pick out the floor in the cell, went down to the Butyrka basements... and soon found themselves outside the prison.

So, is there still something there?