Travel with us to Russia. Excursions in Moscow: Moscow Kremlin

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Moscow: Excursions

Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is the heart of the Russia capital: major thoroughfares of the city either converge on the Kremlin, or form series of concentric circles around it. The Kremlin Great Palace and Palace of Congresses are the meeting places of sessions of the congresses of people's deputies of the Russia. A small settlement in the twelfth century, the residence of the ruler of a feudal principality and, finally, the capital of the united Russian state at the end of the fifteenth century, Moscow grew and developed around the Kremlin. With time it became a symbol of the whole country. Today the Kremlin is the main political centre and artistic ensemble in the capital, the seat of the supreme bodies of state power. Situated on the high left bank of the River Moskva the Kremlin was from the very outset a fortress defending Muscovites from numerous incursions. The first chronicle reference to Moscow is under the year 1147 when Prince George the Long-Armed (Yuri Dolgoruky) of Suzdal received Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich of Nov-gorod-Seversky here. At the time the concept of the kremlin did not exist, however. It appeared during the fourteenth century. Until then the citadel was called a grad, i.e. town, townlet or citadel. So, in 1147 two Russian princes met on the bank of the River Moskva. The result of this meeting, historians believe, was a military alliance and the building on Prince George's orders of a number of fortresses, including that of Moscow in 1156. This was not a town, but merely a detinets, a log stockade. In the end of fifteenth century the splendid ensemble of the Kremlin took shape. The new political importance of Moscow as the capital of the united Russian state and the development of bodies of state administration demanded that Ivan Ill's residence should be particularly majestic and impressive, in keeping with Russia's enhanced international status. The dilapidated white-stone Kremlin did not fit these new requirements. Over a period of thirty-five years the Kremlin walls, towers, cathedrals, bell-tower and palace were completely rebuilt. This building of the Kremlin at the end of the fifteenth century was carried on at a time when the idea of Moscow as the Third Rome, the heir to the political and ecclesiastical authority of Rome and Byzantium, was widespread. Consequently Ivan III sought to give his residence a corresponding splendour and magnificence. The Kremlin was to become a fitting place for impressive court processions, official ceremonies, receptions and religious festivals. Invited by the Grand Prince, masters from Pskov, Novgorod the Great, Vladimir and other Russian towns flocked to the capital of the young Russian state, a fact which clearly reflected the unifying tendencies characteristic of this age. At the same time, influenced by his wife Sofia Palae-ologos (the niece of Emperor Constantine XI of Byzantium) the Tsar also invited masters from Italy which was famous for its architects and engineers. While taking part in the formation of a single Russian style, distinct from the local art schools, these masters of the Italian Renaissance introduced Italian proportions and forms into Russian architecture. At the same time the art born in the Kremlin was enriched by the fine creations of such popular masters as Andrei Ru-blev, Dionysius and Prokhor from Gorodets. But the Kremlin is not just Russia's finest artistic monument. It is also an historical monument. Each building here, each nook and cranny, is redolent of history. The Moscow Kremlin with its ancient towers, cathedrals and palaces is associated with some of the most dramatic and stirring pages of Russian history: fierce battles against invaders, popular uprisings and joyous banquets to celebrate military victories.

DIAMOND TREASURY

The exhibition opens with showcases of natural diamonds, mined in Soviet times. These include the largest, named Friendship of Peoples. Builder, Yuri Gagarin. Valen-tina Tereshkova and Maria (named after a woman who worked for many years in diamond mining). The largest gem-quality diamond found in the Soviet Union is the Star of Yakutia (232.1 carats).

The historical section of the exhibition contains the "Seven Wonders" of the Diamond Collection, precious stones which are world famous.

ARMORY

The Armory is housed in a two-storey building on a high socle. In plan it is a long rectangle with semicircular halls at the ends and a circular hall in the middle. The main facade echoes that of the Great Kremlin Palace (about which more is said later), also designed by Konstantin Thon.

The history of the Armoury goes back to the dim and distant past. The oldest repository for the treasures and jewels of the grand princes of Moscow was the Treasury, or Treasury Court, known to have existed in the fifteenth century. It contained richly decorated arms, ceremonial robes, icons, gold and silver plate, ambassadorial gifts, and also the emblems of political power used during coronations, solemn processions of the grand princes and tsars and receptions for foreign envoys.

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