residence of the tsars

Grand Prince Ivan III organized the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting several leading architects of Renaissance Italy, including Pietro Antonio Solari, who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marco Ruffo, who designed the new palace for the prince. During his reign, three of the current Kremlin cathedrals, the Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Mantle and the Palace of Facets, were built. The tallest building in the city and in Moscow Russia was the Belfry of Ivan the Great, built between 1505 and 1508 and expanded to its current height in 1600. The Kremlin wall as it appears today was built between 1485 and 1495 and its Spasskaya Gate still has a Latin inscription praising Pietro Antonio Solari for the design.[2]

After the construction of the new wall and the new Kremlin churches were completed, the monarch decreed that no structures be built in the immediate surroundings of the citadel. The Kremlin was separated from the walled commercial city (Kitay-gorod) with a 30-meter-wide moat, over which St. Basil's Cathedral would be built during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. That tsar also renovated some of his grandfather's palaces, added a new palace and a new cathedral for his children, and made a significant donation to the Trinity Metochion, located inside the Kremlin. This metochion was administered by the Trinity Monastery and included the elegant tented church of St. Sergius, described by foreigners as one of the finest in the country.

During the Time of Instability, the Kremlin was occupied by Polish forces for two years, between September 21, 1610 and October 26, 1612. The liberation of the Kremlin by the volunteer army of Prince Dmitri Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin paved the way for the election of Michael Romanov as the new tsar. During his reign, that of his son Alexius and that of his grandson Theodore, the eleven-domed Cathedral of the Savior, the Heraldic Gate, the Palace of the Terems, the Palace of Amusements and the palace of Patriarch Nikon were built. Following the death of Theodore and the Moscow Revolt of 1682, Tsar Peter I escaped with great difficulty from the Kremlin and consequently developed a dislike for it. Two decades later, in 1703, Peter would leave the residence of his ancestors for his new capital, Saint Petersburg.

The Golden Hall, a throne room with murals probably painted after 1547, was destroyed to allow the construction of the Kremlin Palace, commissioned by Elizabeth of Russia and designed by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1752.[8]​.

imperial era

Although still used for coronation ceremonies, the Kremlin was neglected until 1773, when Catherine the Great commissioned Vasily Bazhenov to build her new residence there. Bazhenov produced an ostentatious neoclassical design on a heroic scale, which involved the demolition of several churches and palaces, as well as part of the Kremlin wall. However, after the completion of preparations, construction was postponed due to lack of funds. Several years later, architect Matvey Kazakov oversaw the reconstruction of the dismantled sections of the wall and some structures of the Chudov Monastery and built the spacious and luxurious Senate Palace "Senate Palace (Russia)"), which would later be adapted for use as the official workplace of the President of Russia. During the imperial era, from the beginning of the century to the end of the century, the Kremlin wall was painted white, in accordance with fashion.[9]​.

French forces occupied the Kremlin from September 2 to October 11, 1812, following Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Later, when Napoleon withdrew from Moscow, he ordered the entire Kremlin to be blown up. The Kremlin Arsenal "Kremlin Arsenal (Moscow)", several sections of the Kremlin wall and some towers were destroyed by the explosions, while the Palace of Facets and other churches were damaged by fire. The explosions continued for three days, from October 21 to 23, 1812. However, rain affected the wicks and the damage was less severe than intended. The restoration works were carried out between 1816 and 1819, under the supervision of Osip Bové. During the remainder of Alexander I's reign, several ancient buildings were renovated in an extravagant neo-Gothic style, but many others, including all the structures of the Trinity metochion, were demolished as being "disused" or "decaying".

Visiting Moscow for his coronation festivities, Tsar Nicholas I was dissatisfied with the Kremlin Palace (also known as the Winter Palace), which had been erected in the 1750s according to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. For this reason, he ordered that this ornate baroque building be demolished, as well as the nearby church of Saint John the Forerunner, built by Aloisius the New in 1508 to replace the first church in Moscow, and commissioned the architect Konstantin Thon to replace them with the Great Kremlin Palace, which was to rival the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg in its dimensions and the opulence of its interiors. This palace was built between 1839 and 1849, followed by the reconstruction of the Kremlin Armory in 1851.

After 1851, the Kremlin changed little until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The only features added during this time were the Alexander II Monument and a stone cross marking the spot where Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich was assassinated by Ivan Kalyayev in 1905. These monuments were destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Soviet era

The Soviet Government moved from Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg) to Moscow on March 12, 1918. Lenin chose the Kremlin's Senate Palace "Senate Palace (Russia)" as his residence. Joseph Stalin also set up his personal quarters in the Kremlin and was eager to remove all "relics of the tsarist regime" from his headquarters. Thus, the imperial eagles on the towers were replaced by the Kremlin stars, illuminated from the inside with incandescent lamps, while the section of the wall next to Lenin's Mausoleum was transformed into the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. The Chudov Monastery and the Ascension Convent, along with their 17th-century cathedrals, were demolished to make way for the construction of the Military School. The Small Palace of Nicholas and the ancient Cathedral of the Savior were also demolished.

During World War II, to confuse German pilots, the Kremlin towers were painted different colors and covered with wooden cabins. All the roofs of the complex were painted rusty brown to make them indistinguishable from typical city roofs. The grounds, paved with cobblestones, were covered with sand. Cottages painted to look like roofs spread across the gardens, and the facades of the buildings were also painted.[10]​.

The headquarters of the Soviet Government was closed to tourists until 1955. It was not until the Khrushchev thaw that the Kremlin reopened to foreign visitors. The Moscow Kremlin Museums were created in 1961, and the complex was one of the first Soviet properties included on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1990.

Although the current director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Elena Gagarina (daughter of Yuri Gagarin), is in favor of a large-scale reconstruction of the destroyed cloisters, recent interventions have been limited to the expensive restoration of the original interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which underwent alterations during Stalin's rule. In total, during the Soviet regime (1917–1991), twenty-eight of the Kremlin's fifty-four historic buildings were destroyed (including seventeen of the thirty-one churches and cathedrals), most of them centuries old.[11]

The State Kremlin Palace, also known as the Palace of Congresses, was commissioned by Nikita Khrushchev as a modern venue to host the congresses of the Communist Party and built within the Kremlin wall between 1959 and 1961. The exterior of the palace is clad in white marble, while the windows are tinted and reflective. Its construction involved the destruction of several heritage buildings, including the former neoclassical State Armory building and some later sections of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The new palace was integrated with the Grand Kremlin Palace complex through walkways that connect it with the Patriarchal Chambers and the Terems Palace.

residence of the tsars

Grand Prince Ivan III organized the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting several leading architects of Renaissance Italy, including Pietro Antonio Solari, who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marco Ruffo, who designed the new palace for the prince. During his reign, three of the current Kremlin cathedrals, the Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Mantle and the Palace of Facets, were built. The tallest building in the city and in Moscow Russia was the Belfry of Ivan the Great, built between 1505 and 1508 and expanded to its current height in 1600. The Kremlin wall as it appears today was built between 1485 and 1495 and its Spasskaya Gate still has a Latin inscription praising Pietro Antonio Solari for the design.[2]

After the construction of the new wall and the new Kremlin churches were completed, the monarch decreed that no structures be built in the immediate surroundings of the citadel. The Kremlin was separated from the walled commercial city (Kitay-gorod) with a 30-meter-wide moat, over which St. Basil's Cathedral would be built during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. That tsar also renovated some of his grandfather's palaces, added a new palace and a new cathedral for his children, and made a significant donation to the Trinity Metochion, located inside the Kremlin. This metochion was administered by the Trinity Monastery and included the elegant tented church of St. Sergius, described by foreigners as one of the finest in the country.

During the Time of Instability, the Kremlin was occupied by Polish forces for two years, between September 21, 1610 and October 26, 1612. The liberation of the Kremlin by the volunteer army of Prince Dmitri Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin paved the way for the election of Michael Romanov as the new tsar. During his reign, that of his son Alexius and that of his grandson Theodore, the eleven-domed Cathedral of the Savior, the Heraldic Gate, the Palace of the Terems, the Palace of Amusements and the palace of Patriarch Nikon were built. Following the death of Theodore and the Moscow Revolt of 1682, Tsar Peter I escaped with great difficulty from the Kremlin and consequently developed a dislike for it. Two decades later, in 1703, Peter would leave the residence of his ancestors for his new capital, Saint Petersburg.

The Golden Hall, a throne room with murals probably painted after 1547, was destroyed to allow the construction of the Kremlin Palace, commissioned by Elizabeth of Russia and designed by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1752.[8]​.

imperial era

Although still used for coronation ceremonies, the Kremlin was neglected until 1773, when Catherine the Great commissioned Vasily Bazhenov to build her new residence there. Bazhenov produced an ostentatious neoclassical design on a heroic scale, which involved the demolition of several churches and palaces, as well as part of the Kremlin wall. However, after the completion of preparations, construction was postponed due to lack of funds. Several years later, architect Matvey Kazakov oversaw the reconstruction of the dismantled sections of the wall and some structures of the Chudov Monastery and built the spacious and luxurious Senate Palace "Senate Palace (Russia)"), which would later be adapted for use as the official workplace of the President of Russia. During the imperial era, from the beginning of the century to the end of the century, the Kremlin wall was painted white, in accordance with fashion.[9]​.

French forces occupied the Kremlin from September 2 to October 11, 1812, following Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Later, when Napoleon withdrew from Moscow, he ordered the entire Kremlin to be blown up. The Kremlin Arsenal "Kremlin Arsenal (Moscow)", several sections of the Kremlin wall and some towers were destroyed by the explosions, while the Palace of Facets and other churches were damaged by fire. The explosions continued for three days, from October 21 to 23, 1812. However, rain affected the wicks and the damage was less severe than intended. The restoration works were carried out between 1816 and 1819, under the supervision of Osip Bové. During the remainder of Alexander I's reign, several ancient buildings were renovated in an extravagant neo-Gothic style, but many others, including all the structures of the Trinity metochion, were demolished as being "disused" or "decaying".

Visiting Moscow for his coronation festivities, Tsar Nicholas I was dissatisfied with the Kremlin Palace (also known as the Winter Palace), which had been erected in the 1750s according to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. For this reason, he ordered that this ornate baroque building be demolished, as well as the nearby church of Saint John the Forerunner, built by Aloisius the New in 1508 to replace the first church in Moscow, and commissioned the architect Konstantin Thon to replace them with the Great Kremlin Palace, which was to rival the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg in its dimensions and the opulence of its interiors. This palace was built between 1839 and 1849, followed by the reconstruction of the Kremlin Armory in 1851.

After 1851, the Kremlin changed little until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The only features added during this time were the Alexander II Monument and a stone cross marking the spot where Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich was assassinated by Ivan Kalyayev in 1905. These monuments were destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Soviet era

The Soviet Government moved from Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg) to Moscow on March 12, 1918. Lenin chose the Kremlin's Senate Palace "Senate Palace (Russia)" as his residence. Joseph Stalin also set up his personal quarters in the Kremlin and was eager to remove all "relics of the tsarist regime" from his headquarters. Thus, the imperial eagles on the towers were replaced by the Kremlin stars, illuminated from the inside with incandescent lamps, while the section of the wall next to Lenin's Mausoleum was transformed into the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. The Chudov Monastery and the Ascension Convent, along with their 17th-century cathedrals, were demolished to make way for the construction of the Military School. The Small Palace of Nicholas and the ancient Cathedral of the Savior were also demolished.

During World War II, to confuse German pilots, the Kremlin towers were painted different colors and covered with wooden cabins. All the roofs of the complex were painted rusty brown to make them indistinguishable from typical city roofs. The grounds, paved with cobblestones, were covered with sand. Cottages painted to look like roofs spread across the gardens, and the facades of the buildings were also painted.[10]​.

The headquarters of the Soviet Government was closed to tourists until 1955. It was not until the Khrushchev thaw that the Kremlin reopened to foreign visitors. The Moscow Kremlin Museums were created in 1961, and the complex was one of the first Soviet properties included on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1990.

Although the current director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Elena Gagarina (daughter of Yuri Gagarin), is in favor of a large-scale reconstruction of the destroyed cloisters, recent interventions have been limited to the expensive restoration of the original interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which underwent alterations during Stalin's rule. In total, during the Soviet regime (1917–1991), twenty-eight of the Kremlin's fifty-four historic buildings were destroyed (including seventeen of the thirty-one churches and cathedrals), most of them centuries old.[11]

The State Kremlin Palace, also known as the Palace of Congresses, was commissioned by Nikita Khrushchev as a modern venue to host the congresses of the Communist Party and built within the Kremlin wall between 1959 and 1961. The exterior of the palace is clad in white marble, while the windows are tinted and reflective. Its construction involved the destruction of several heritage buildings, including the former neoclassical State Armory building and some later sections of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The new palace was integrated with the Grand Kremlin Palace complex through walkways that connect it with the Patriarchal Chambers and the Terems Palace.