The Moscow Kremlin is the heart of the capital. The quintessence of Russian statehood. An ode to the Russian soul and character. A fusion of Italian engineering and Russian craftsmanship and identity. The symbol of Moscow and Russia. It was created by our history. These are not walls and towers, this is the history and life of our country.
What was the Moscow Kremlin and how did it change?
Just as “Moscow was not built right away,” so the Moscow Kremlin assumed its modern appearance gradually, over several centuries and under the influence of various circumstances. The history of the Kremlin walls can be traced back to the 14th century, although, of course, city fortifications existed in Moscow before. But it was at the beginning of the 14th century, under Prince Ivan I Kalita, that Moscow acquired significant political weight, began the struggle against the Mongol-Tatar yoke and gathered the fragmented principalities around itself.
For more than half a century, wooden fortifications have been renovated almost once a decade, constantly being destroyed in fires, civil strife and Tatar raids. Until finally the need to build stone walls was ripe. The white-stone Kremlin was erected during the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy in the 60s of the XIV century. and stood for over a hundred years.
And only at the end of the 15th century, Grand Duke Ivan III conceived the restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin. Then the familiar red-brick walls with "swallow-tails" appeared, but even then the Kremlin did not completely take on its present form. Only in the first half of the 17th century. all 20 towers, starting with the Spasskaya, acquired the famous hipped roof endings that form the recognizable silhouette of the Moscow Kremlin.
Who, when and why decided to build red brick walls
The rebuilding of the Moscow Kremlin in red brick began in the mid-1980s. XV century and lasted for about ten years. There were several reasons that prompted the Grand Duke to begin the reconstruction of the Kremlin - the main fortress of the principality. Firstly, at that moment, for the first time in a long time, another Tatar raid directly threatened Moscow, and the former white-stone walls, after one hundred and twenty years, had already become rather dilapidated. Secondly, Moscow, which united vast lands around itself, became the capital of a large state, needed renovation and, most importantly, had financial and human resources for this. Ivan III needed to demonstrate the growing economic and political power of the young power, which had just freed itself from the heavy yoke and declared itself as a European and enlightened power.
Construction, which lasted from about 1485 to 1495, was carried out according to a general plan that most likely belonged to the famous Italian fortifier Aristotle Fiorovanti. However, many famous Italian architects working in Moscow at that time worked on the implementation of this plan. The greatest contribution to the construction of the Kremlin was made, perhaps, by Pietro Antonio Solari, the author of the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya and many other towers, who led the construction work for several years.
In 1493, with the death of Solari, construction is temporarily suspended. The ambassadors sent by Ivan III to Milan bring Aloisio da Carcano - another talented Italian who served as the decoration of the Russian capital and remained in the Russian chronicles under the name of Aleviz the Old. In 1495, this bold engineer completed the unfinished north-western part of the walls over the Neglinnaya River.
It was necessary to strengthen the swampy slope above Neglinnaya, to lay a solid foundation. Aleviz the Old - a talented engineer - straightened the walls of this facade, brought them to the same height, and "leaned" the long curtains on the rectangular towers.
And the new - red-brick - Kremlin was finally completed.
The walls are about 2.5 km long. 25 incoming and outgoing corners. Height ranges from 5 to 19 m. Thickness from 3.5 to 6.5 m. From the Spasskaya to the Moskvoretskaya tower and further along the Moskva River, it rests on the remains of the foundation of the white-stone Kremlin.
However, we must not forget about the merits of Anton Fryazin, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Novy, as well as talented Novgorod and Vladimir architects, whose names, except for the name of Vasily Yermolin, have not been preserved in history. Many unknown Russian and Italian masters have worked to create the modern look of the Moscow Kremlin. And let from the end of the XV century. the general appearance was changing, the "foundation" - in the literal and figurative sense - was laid then.
