Moscow's Kremlin

Good news and bad new. First the good news, I have internet back! Apparently I just had to pay the guy. The bad news is that I'm suddenly sick and don't know why or what. It feels like a mix between the flu and a stomach virus that hit me suddenly this morning. Thus prompting me to leave class early to find a bathroom to vomit in. And I know some people might be thinking that maybe it's a bad hang over or something but drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over here is one of the few Russian traditions I have yet to participate in. Anyways, since I have internet and haven't left my bed in over 4 hours, nor am I able or willing to, I decided to update my blog!



I went into the Kremlin on Sunday and toured around looking at all the Catherdrals and Palaces, but it has come to my attention that many people in the west don't know what a kremlin is, their importance and what actually occurs in the current Moscow Kremlin. At first I was a little surprised, but quickly remember a few short years ago when I thought it was just a wall, St. Basils and nothing else. And for the record Saint Basil's is not within the Kremlin at all. The word kremlin or Кремль (Kreml) in Russian simply means "fortification". And if you look at all the kremlins through out Russia, that is exactly what they are.



The kremlins are important because the served to protect the city from any sort of invasion. If the city was being attacked, all the citizens would be able to run inside and be protected by the walls and military which is also located inside. Kremlins weren't used for just defense purposes but also for social and political reasons as well. Multiple cathedrals are usually inside and it is a great place for leaders to show off their wealth. The Moscow Kremlin itself have been built in many stages, part done to show dominance over the other. For example, after the first Moscow Kremlin was built in 1156 a new leader by the name of Ivan Kalita (Kalita means moneybags in Russian) rebuilt it using a much stronger, more expensive oak wood that the indigenous Moscow wood used in the first one. The Moscow Kremlin went through one more change before arriving at the red version we have today. In 1367 Dmitri Donskoi used his power to rebuilt the Kremlin for the first time using stone (more specifically white lime stone). It wasn't until the late 1400's that Ivan III rebuilt once again using the current red brick and designed by Italian architects.


This is the public entrance to the Kremlin and apparently where the Militsia practice walking.

The Moscow Kremlin hasn't been stagnant though. It wasn't until the 17th c that the well know tented tops were added to the towers. And also most people are very familiar with the Soviet star that tops 4 of the 20 towers weren't added until the 1930's. Also, when the Kremlin was originally built, it was located at the intersection of 2 rivers. If anyone has been to Moscow, they will quickly see that there is only one river that passes by the Kremlin now. The other one was put into two pipes that run beneath the Aleksandrovsky Sad (Alexander's Garden) and still empties into the Moskva River.

After Peter the Great fought off his brother and sister to become the new Tsar (and later the first ever Emperor of Russia) he decided that he hated Moscow. After spending years in Western Europe, he wanted his own European capital (Saint Petersburg) and to stay far away from Moscow. Anyways, after the early 1700's the capital was moved and Moscow was only used by the Tsars for the coronation ceremonies (which occurred in the Kremlin) and other various social or political events. So the Kremlin was suddenly not so important for a little over 300 years as the Romanovs ruled from Saint Petersburg ( this history of this city is also pretty crazy, but that will come in about 2 weeks!). It wasn't until after the Russian Revolution in 1917 did Lenin and the Soviet Union move the capital back to its roots in Moscow and more specifically the Kremlin. This move showed that real Russians (and not the aristocrats) were once again in charge of their own people. So that leads us to where we are with the Kremlin today. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kremlin was still the capital of the newly formed Russian Federation. It's within these walls that the Senate meets and where President Medvedev lives. Today people are able to walk around certain areas of the Kremlin, specifically through Cathedral Square, which has 5 cathedrals you can enter, and also the State Armory, which houses many of the State artifacts including Tsarist clothing, gifts from foreigners, carriages and the diamond fund.




Me next to the largest bell (Tsar Kolikol) in the world which obviously didn't work too well


Cathedral of the Assumption. Built int the 15th century using the Byzantine inspired "Cross and Dome" style

The sad thing about all the dates and figures I used is that I have it all memorized because our "Symbology of Moscow" professor tests us weekly over it. I figured one day the knowledge might come into use and apparently it was today!

Take care,
Justin