THE KREMLIN
The Kremlin Walls and Towers—Cathedral Square-Cathedral of the Dormition—Cathedral of the Annunciation-Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe—Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel—Bell Tower of Ivan the Great-Tsar Bell—Tsar Cannon—Great Kremlin Palace-Palace of Facets and Sacred Vestibule—Poteshny Palace-Patriarch 's Palace and Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles— The Arsenal-The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR—Places Associated with Lenin—the Government Building—Lenin's Apartment and Study Museum-Monument to Lenin—State Armoury—Diamond Collection of the USSR—Palace of Congresses
The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow, the heart of the whole Soviet Union. It is the seat of the main Soviet governmental institutions—The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. It is here that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union holds its congresses and
KREMLIN
1. Water Tower
2. Annunciation Tower
3. Tower of Secrets
4. First Nameless Tower
5. Second Nameless Tower
6.. Petrovskaya Tower
7. Beklemishev Tower
8. Constantine and Hellen Tower
9. Tocsin Tower
10. Tsar's Tower
11. Saviour's Tower
12. Senate Tower
13. St. Nicholas Tower
14. Comer Arsenal Tower
15. Intermediate Arsenal Tower
16. Kutafia Tower. Entrance to Kremlin through Trinity Gates
17. Trinity Bridge
18. Trinity Tower
19. Commandant's Tower
20. Armoury Tower
21. Borovitskaya Tower
22. Cathedral Square
23. Cathedral of the Donnition
24. Cathedral of the Annunciation
25. Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe
26. Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel
27. Bell Tower of Ivan the Great
28. Tsar-Bell
29. Tsar-Cannon
30. Great Kremlin Palace
31. Palace of Facets (Granovitaya Palata)
32. Тегею Palace
33. Poteshny Palace
34. Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles and Patriarch's Palace
35. Monument to Lenin
36. Armoury
37. Kremlin Palace of Congresses
38. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station
39. Ploshchad Revolyutsii Metro Station
40. Moskvoretsky Bridge
41. Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge
sessions of the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and the RSFSR take place.
But the Kremlin is also the cradle of Moscow. It is here that the ancient Russian capital grew and developed and its walls have looked down on the most important events in the history of the Russian state and the world's first socialist country. The art treasures of the Kremlin are preserved with great care by the Soviet people and many of its churches and palaces have become museums. But the enormous work involved in restoration continues as historians, architects and builders apply their skills and knowledge to revealing more and more of the beauty that lies hidden in the ancient Kremlin.
Before beginning your tour of the Kremlin, it is well worth looking at it from the far side of the River Moskva and from the Moskvoretsky or Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge. Here you get a unique panorama of the whole ensemble as it stretches down the incline and can view to best advantage one of the finest works of Russian national art and architecture.
At its centre the snow-white Bell Tower of Ivan the Great rises up amid clusters of golden cupolas, while spread out on either side are the various palaces and chambers of the Kremlin. On the crest of the hill is the Great Kremlin Palace and on its right above the dome of the USSR Government Building flies the Red Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Down below surrounding the steep hill on which the Kremlin stands are the huge walls and towers which are usually made the starting point for excursions round the Kremlin.
The Kremlin Walls and Towers
The Kremlin walls are 2,235m long, from 3.5 to 6.5m thick and from 5 to 19 metres high, depending on the terrain. Atop the walls stand 1,045 bifurcated merlons, from 2 to 2.5 metres in height and fitted with narrow embrasures. Behind the merlons and running round inside the wall is a rampart from 2 to 4.5 metres wide. The present walls of the Kremlin were built in the 15th century.
Above the walls there are 20 towers, four of which have entrances. These latter are somewhat larger than the others.
The gate-towers were built where in ancient times roads led to the Kremlin. The high, distinctive hipped roofs on the towers were added later in the 17th century.
The wall that runs along the bank of the River Moskva is the oldest of the Kremlin walls, being built in 1485, for it was from this side that Tartar attacks could be expected.
The round corner turret on the far left (looking from across the Moskva), near to the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, is almost 59 metres high and is called the Vodovzvodnaya (Water) Tower. The name dates back to 1633, when machines for drawing up water were installed here and the first pressure water supply in Russia was used to carry water through lead pipes from the River Moskva to the tsar's palaces and gardens. In 1812 the tower was destroyed by the Napoleonic army, but it was restored soon afterwards.
Going from the Water Tower along the wall parallel to the embankment you come to the rectangular Blagoveshchenskaya (Annunciation) Tower, which is comparatively small, 30 metres in height. At the foot of -the tower is a white limestone slab, preserved from the ancient whitestone Kremlin of the 14th century.
Further to the left stands the Tainitskaya Tower (Tower of Secrets). This tower is 38.4 metres high and is the oldest tower in the Kremlin, for it was from here that the Kremlin fortifications were begun. The name of the tower comes from the secret well that was hidden inside it. At one time the Tower of Secrets had considerable strategic significance and a supplementary fortification was attached to it with entrance gates and an underground passage to the river.
Next along the embankment we come to the First and Second Bezymyanniye (Nameless) Towers, the Petrovskaya Tower and, finally, at the corner the round Beklemishev Tower (46.2 metres). This tower was built in 1487 by the Italian architect Marco Ruffo, and is frequently referred to nowadays as the Moskvoretskaya Tower, because of its proximity to the Moskvoretsky Bridge.
From this tower wall turns sharply and rises up the incline towards Red Square. The first tower we come to is the Konstan-tino-Yeleninskaya (Constantine and Hellen) Tower (36.8 metres). In the reign of Dmitri Donskoy a whitestone gate-tower stood here, through which in 1380 the prince led his troops to the historic battle of Kulikovo, where the Tartar-Mongol hordes were
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