Kremlin

Welcome to the Moscow Kremlin, the supreme fortress and the historic, political, and spiritual heart of the Russian state. The word 'Kremlin' translates directly to 'fortress inside a city,' and this sprawling…

We now stand in Cathedral Square, the historic and spiritual nucleus of the Kremlin. This remarkably harmonious architectural ensemble began to take shape in the fourteenth century and reached its pinnacle during the reign of…

Let us examine the Cathedral of the Assumption, or Uspensky Sobor, the most important church in Russia. Built between fourteen seventy-five and fourteen seventy-nine by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, it served as the…

Across the square stands the Cathedral of the Archangel, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of the Muscovite military. Constructed in fifteen oh-eight by the Italian architect Aleviz Novy, it presents a distinct…

Towering above the square is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, an eighty-one-meter structure that dominates the Kremlin skyline. Designed by Marco Bono in the early sixteenth century, it was the tallest building in Moscow for nearly…

A short distance from the bell sits another record-breaking artifact: the Tsar Cannon. Cast in bronze in fifteen eighty-six by the master founder Andrey Chokhov, it remains the largest caliber cannon ever created, weighing almost…

Our final architectural focus is the Grand Kremlin Palace, the sweeping yellow and white structure that commands the view over the Moscow River. Built in the mid-nineteenth century by Konstantin Thon, it is a stunning blend of…

As we conclude our analytical tour of the Moscow Kremlin, take a moment to absorb the staggering density of history contained within these walls. We have walked through the epicenter of Russian political and spiritual identity. …