Tuesday: Moscow: Kremlin

Tuesday morning we left for the Kremlin, the citadel of the tzars, the headquarters of USSR, and the current seat of power as well as the residence of the president (although he actually resides elsewhere.) There are multiple towers on the gate in this roughly triangular shaped piece of ground. The Kremlin wall is 2235 m long, following the profile of some rather steep hills. It contains narrow crenels, dark, windowless prisoner cells in hallways inside some of the towers. The walls and towers were built in 1485-1499 during the reign of Ivan III. Around the walls are 20 towers.

We entered through Troitskaya (Trinity) Gate gate.

The oldest tower (pictured here) is the Tainitskaya or Secret Tower built in 1485. (named because of a secret passageway to the water for use during sieges) The youngest, the Tsarskaya was built in 1680.

The Kremlin stars preside over several of the Kremlin wall towers. Each star is between 3 and 4 meters wide and weighs 1 metric ton. They are set up as weather vanes, rotating with the wind. The red color is from ruby glass and is set in copper covered stainless steel. Although the light from them cannot be seen in the daytime, they are constantly illuminated.

The stars replaced the double-headed eagle which had been the symbol of political power since the 1500s. When Byzantine fell in the 15th century, Russia felt that they had received the spiritual legacy and adopted the eagle as a symbol of political and spiritual power. The new Russian government has reverted back to the eagle.

Immediately on our left was the Kremlin Arsenal, built during time of Peter I. In front was a cannon from the time of Ivan the Terrible.

Stacked up around the cannon were hundreds of guns left by Napoleon when he retreated in 1812 , his troops having eaten the horses to keep from starving.

 Each cannon was monogrammed with a N and each had its own name engraved on the top.

Across the street was an enormous cannon about the size of the Mons Meg in Scotland. It was built during the time of Ivan the Terrible's son. It hasn't been used but was considered an effective threat. When Reagan visited, Gorbachev joked that this was the arsenal of Russia.

This view is taken around the corner from Napoleon's guns and shows the front of the building with the St. Nicholas Tower.

Just beyond was the Kremlin Senate , the office of the president which had a flag flying over top with the 3 bars of the Russian flag overlaid with the double-headed eagle, the sign of power. Unlike the flag over the White House which shows when the president is in residence, the flag always flies whether or not Putin is there. These are in the shape of a triangle with a courtyard in the middle.

Off to the left were government office buildings originally built as a military academy. This enormous building has four courtyards inside.

Behind it is the Savior tower named because it had an icon of Christ which was removed during the Soviet era.

The State Kremlin Palace was built compliments of Krushchev, the man who also ordered all the cheap apartments known as Krushchyovkas.

To the right and somewhat behind the Kremlin Senate was the Amusement Palace which received its name because it was used as a theatre during the time of the Tzars. During the communist era it was converted to apartments. Stalin lived there before he took control of the country and before his wife committed suicide. He lived near the kitchen, and Lenin complained that it was loud and smelly by the apartment.

Just outside the bell tower the tzar bell sits on a chunk of stone. When the original bell shattered during a fire in the seventeenth century, Tzarina Anna (niece of Peter the Grat) ordered it recast but in a much larger size. It was created in a pit just below where it now stands. When it was finished but still in the pit, another fire broke out, and some very bright person dumped water on the bell, causing an eleven ton chunk to break off. The bell itself weighs in at 216 tons and is the largest in the world, nearly three times as large as the next largest bell. It sat in its pit for about a hundred years before it was pulled out of its pit and placed where it now stands. For a while it was used as a chapel with the broken section acting as a door.

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower, more than 250 feet high, is just outside the Grand Kremlin Palace (which we will tour tomorrow.) Right next to this bell tower is the Assumption Belfry which contains 24 bells including the largest of the Kremlin bells. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built in the very beginning of the 15th century, and the Assumption Belfry about a hundred years later. The alarm bell from the Nabatnaya Tower was used to summon people in case of danger. According to our guide it was used to summon the mob during the plague riot of 1771. Catherine the Great was so angry that she ordered the miscreant bell to be whipped and had its tongue taken out. Then it was exiled to Siberia. Eighty years later, it was brought back and placed in the armory. I tried to confirm this story but, while it seems to be true that the bell was punished by having its clapper removed, there no one else who tells the story of the whipping and Siberia. According to the other stories, the clapperless bell hung in the tower for thirty years before it was removed and placed in the arsenel and then fifty years later to the armory. That sounds more reasonable for this women who was a product of the age of Enlightenment. I found a similar story told about a bell in Uglich which tolled in 1591 at the death of Ivan the Terrible's youngest son, 10 year old Dmitri Ivanovich. When Boris Godunov who had initially been blamed for this death was cleared of murder charges, those who accused him were punished including the bell which had its tongue (clapper) removed, it ears (handle) removed, was given 100 lashes, and sent to Siberia where it resided for the next 300 years. While I wouldn't expect Catherine the Great to treat a bell so illogically, I'm less surprised to hear the story told about a 16th century ruler.

Three cathedrals surrounded the main square, two of which we could go inside. Tzars were crowned in the Cathedral of the Assumption. Even when the capital was moved to St. Petersburg, the tzars still came back to Moscow for the coronation.

Across the court was the Cathedral of Archangel Michael. Although it had Italian architecture on outside, it was very Russian inside like a Russian woman wearing an Italian dress. The tzars up to Peter the Great were buried here  including Ivan the Great and   Ivan the Terrible  Peter II who died of smallpox in Moscow as a teen was also buried here so that the smallpox wouldn't spread to St. Petersburg. The only other tzar after Peter the Great not buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral was Ivan VI who 'ruled' for the first year of his life then spent the next 12 years chained up before he was executed and buried at Schlisselberg Fortress. Icons lined the walls and ceilings of both churches. The Cathedral of Archangel Michael contained a display of the oldest icon in Russia dating to the 1100s of Mary and baby Jesus.

The third church, attached to the Grand Kremlin Palace, is the Annunciation Cathedral where royal weddings and christenings took place.

The Grand Kremlin Palace was used for the meetings of the Congress of Soviets from 1917 to 1936 and again from 1989 to 1991. It was used for meetings and conferences of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; currently it is used for state and diplomatic receptions and official ceremonies.

The next place we visited was the Kremlin armory, built in 1844-1851 as a museum. This is a huge museum with thousands of interesting exhibits. Photos used to be allowed but are now forbidden. Some highlights were:

Several Russian thrones beginning with the ivory one used by Ivan the Terrible. Of special interest was the double throne where Peter the Great and his half brother Ivan sat as children with the hidden window at the back so that someone could tell them what to say or do.

Lots of church robes embroidered with gold thread and decorated with pearls were displayed in one section. In another section was a few of the dresses from different tzarinas. This one was worn by Catherine the Great for her wedding at age 16. This is one she wore when she was considerably older and less worried about her figure. Here is an embroidered ballgown; I don't remember which tzarina wore it.

Another room contained a collection of royal carriages. This one, given to Catherine the Great by Count Orlov, was a low rider, probably not a great choice for the muddy Russian roads. Here is the coronation coach of Catherine the Great.

Crowns: Several crowns were on display including Monomakh's Cap, supposedly given to the earliest Russian rulers by Byzantine symbolizing Russia's role as the successor to the Byzantine
Empire, the third Rome. As well we saw the imperial crown of Russia studded with 5,000 diamonds created for Catherine the Great and last worn by Nicolas II in 1896.

Another room contained ceremonial decorations for horses: This included things such as this saddle cloth and a parade blanket and saddle (and, yes, the jewels are real). The most elaborate was a gift from the sultan which contained enormous gems.

The collection of old English silver is the largest in the world thanks to Oliver Cromwell who melted down most of the British silver collection when he was in power in the middle of the seventeenth century.

Another interesting collection is the Faberge eggs made for the royal family beginning in 1885. Each egg was made of gold or stone and covered with enamel and precious stones; each contained a surpise inside when it was opened. The Kremlin Armory contains ten of these eggs.

This staggering collection of imperial artifacts and royal treasure was truly mind boggling, a sad contrast to the life of the much of rest of the population.

The horse statue was part of a fountain which hadn't been turned on yet.

And this picture is from the top level of a nearby mall looking down. We bought homemade ice cream from one of the stalls in the middle of this mall.