Kremlin Trivia | 40 facts about the Russian landmark

The Kremlin is a popular building, that is located in the capital city of Russia, Moscow.

Let’s find out more about Kremlin!

1. The Moscow Kremlin or simply the Kremlin, is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow.
2. It is overlooking the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and the Alexander Garden to the west.
3. It is the best known of the kremlins (Russian citadels).
4. Kremlin includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.
5. In addition, within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace that was formerly the Tsar’s Moscow residence.
6. The complex now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.
7. It is also a museum.
8. 2,746,405 visitors visited Kremlinonly in 2017.
9. The name “Kremlin” means “fortress inside a city”.
10. It is often used metonymically to refer to the government of the Russian Federation in a similar sense to how “White House” refers to the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
11. It previously referred to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars). T
12. he term “Kremlinology” refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics.
13. The Kremlin is open to the public and offers individual and group guided tours.
14. Visible are the Armoury Chamber, Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell, artillery pieces, and the exposition of Russian wooden sculpture and carvings
15. The five stars on top of the Kremlin weigh one ton each.
16. They are made of ruby to enhance their shine.
17. The stars that decorate the towers of the Kremlin were not always there. Previously the four Kremlin towers were topped with two-headed eagles.
18. In 1935 the Soviet government melted these down to replace them with star.
19. The President of Russia commutes to and from the Kremlin by helicopter.
20. A helipad was completed in 2013 in order to stop disruption of traffic caused by a procession.
21. As of 2015, it became the home of the current president, Vladimir Putin.
22. The Kremlin walls got their red brick look late in the 19th century, until then the walls had been painted white to preserve the bricks.
23. To see the White Kremlin, look for works by the 18th- or 19th-century painters, like Pyotr Vereshchagin or Alexei Savrasov.
24. Another definition of the name is that it comes from the Old Russian word “krasnyi”, meaning beautiful.
25. In the days of Tsarist Russia, the four Kremlin towers were topped with two-headed eagles, which had been a Russian coat of arms since the 15th century.
26. The fifth star on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was added later.
27. Of the 20 Kremlin towers only two don’t have proper names, they are called “the first unnamed” and “the second unnamed”.
28. The tallest one is the 80 meter (262 ft) high Troitskaya tower.
29. The most recognizable is Spasskaya, aka the Kremlin Clock tower.
30. Dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on the basic foundations of the current walls.
31. This fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitri’s son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin.
32. The newly built Cathedral of the Annunciation was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, and Prokhor in 1406.
33. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitri’s tutor, Metropolitan Alexis, while his widow, Eudoxia, established the Ascension Convent in 1397.
34. During WWII the Kremlin was elaborately camouflaged to look like a residential building block.
35. The church domes and famous green towers were painted grey and brown respectively, fake doors and windows were painted on the Kremlin walls, and the Red Square was encumbered with wooden constructions. It didn’t suffer much damage, even though Moscow was heavily bombarded in 1941-42.
36. Moscow Kremlin is where you can see the world’s largest bell and the world’s largest cannon.
37. The 6.14 metre (20ft) tall Tsar Bell was made in 1735, broke during metal casting and never rang.
38. The Tsar Cannon, weighing 39.312 tonnes, was cast in 1586 and has never been used in a war, but it’s the largest cannon by caliber, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
39. In their 80 year existence, the illumination of the Kremlin stars has only been turned off only twice First during WWII, when the Kremlin was camouflaged to hide it from bomber aircraft.
40. The second time, they were turned off for a movie. Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov was shooting a scene for the Barber of Siberia, which is set in pre-revolution Russia.