Kremlin
is the historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the
Moscow River to the south, St Basil Cathedral and red Square to the east
and Alexander Garden to the west. It is the best known of Kremlin and includes
five palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Towers of
Kremlin. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the
Russian Federation. The name Kremlin means “fortress inside the city” and is
often used as metonym to refer to the government of the Russian federation in a
similar sense to how the White House is used to to refer to the Executive Office
of the president of Unite States of America. It had previously been used to
refer to the Government of Soviet Union.
The site
was continuously inhabited by Finno Ugric peoples since the 2nd century BC. The slaves occupied the
south western portion of Borovitsky Hill as early as the 11th century, as evidenced by a
metropolitan seal from the 1090s, which was unearthed by Soviet archaeologists
in the area Vyatichi built a fortified structure on the hill where
the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moscow River.
Up to the
14th century, the site
was known as the grad of Moscow. The word of Kremlin was first recorded in
1331. The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156,
destroyed by Mongols in 1237 and rebuilt in oak in 1339. The Church of St John
Climacus, the Transfiguration Monastery and the Archangel cathedral all built
of limestone and decorated with elaborate carving, each crowned by a single
dome. From this churches the reconstructed Saviour cathedral alone survived
into the 20th century,
only to be pulled down at the urging of Stalin in 1933. Dimitri Donskoi
replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1336 – 1338
on the basic foundation of the current walls.
Grand
Prince Ivan III organized the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting a number
of skilled architects from Renaissance Italy, who designed the new Kremlin wall
and its towers and the new palace for the prince.
It was
during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition
Church and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the
city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan Great Bell Tower, built in 1505 – 1508
and augmented to its present height in 1600. The Kremlin walls as
they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495.
After the
construction of the new Kremlin Wall and churches was complete, the monarch
decreed that no structures should be built in the immediate vicinity of the
citadel. The Kremlin was separated from the walled merchant town by a 30 m wide
moat over grandfather’ palaces, a new palace and cathedral for his sons.
During
Time of Troubles Kremlin was held by the Polish forces fort two
years, between 212 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlin’s
liberation by the volunteer army of Prince Dimitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin
paved the way for the election of Mikhail Romanov as the new Tsar. During his
reign the eleven domed upper Saviour Cathedral, Amrial Gate, Terem Palace,
Amusement Palace and the palace of Patriarch Nikon were built. Following the
death of Alexis the son of Mikhail Romanov, Kremlin witnessed the Moscow
Uprising of 1682, from which tsar Peter barely escaped. As a result both of
them disliked the Kremlin. Three decades later, peter abandoned the residence
of his forefathers for his new capital Saint Petersburg
In 1773
Great Catherine ordered to built her new residence in Kremlin.
During
the Imperial Period from the early 18th century and until the late 19 the 19th century, Kremlin Walls were
traditionally painted white in accordance with the time’s fashion. Following
the French invasion of Russia in 1812, French forces occupied Kremlin. When
napoleon retreated from Moscow he ordered the whole Kremlin to be blown up.
Restoration works were held in 1816 – 1819. Several ancient structures were
renovated in a fanciful Neo Gothic style.
The
Soviet Government moved from Petrograd to Moscow on 12 March 1918 and Lenin
selected the Kremlin Senate as his residence. Joseph Stalin also had his
personal rooms in Kremlin. He was eager to remove from his headquarters all the
relics of the tsarist regime. Golden eagles on the towers were replaced by
shining Kremlin stars, while the wall near Lenin’s Mausoleum was turned into
the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
The
existing Kremlin Walls and towers were built by Italian masters over the years
1485 to 1495. Cathedral Square is the heart of Kremlin. It is surrounded bu
six buildings including three cathedrals.