The word Kremlin ( Kreml in Russian) designates the fortress of a city, the old quarter where the cathedral and the sovereign’s palace were protected behind its walls. Those of the Kremlin in Moscow were originally made of wood in the 12C, then of w..

As its name indicates, this is the square for cathedrals. It has no less than four sanctuaries, not counting the Ivan the Great bell tower , all immaculately white or magnificently decorated with gleaming golden onion domes. Muscovite princes and tsa..

Italian Renaissance architect Aristote Fioravanti designed the Cathedral of the Assumption(1475-1479) with its dazzling composition of bell towers, 17C murals on the main façade, frescoes against a gold background and icons inside. The sculpted wood ..

The iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Annunciation is a true marvel. That appreciation holds true even if certain works are no longer attributed to Andrei Rublev, the great 15C Russian painter, or to the Byzantine master Theophanes the Greek. The o..

Behind the name Kremlin Armoury is in fact a fabulous museum of decorative arts containing over 4 000 objects from the imperial family’s treasures. The eggs made of precious stones and metals by Fabergé, a St Petersburg jeweller, are among the most u..

Exceptional sets of jewellery are preserved and displayed at the Diamond Fund, including the crown worn by Catherine II (known as the “great imperial crown”) decorated with some 5,000 diamonds and topped by an enormous ruby, itself crowned with a cro..

The gallery’s rich collection of modern art was acquired thanks to discriminating collectors and patrons like Sergei Shchukin - who bought his first Monet paintings in Paris in 1897 - and brothers Ivan and Mikhail Morozov. Enjoy this in-depth explora..

What finer tribute could be given to the poet of the revolution than creating a museum about him? Designed by Taras Poliakov in 1994 and housed in the kommounalka (communal apartment) where Vladimir Mayakovsky lived his last years and committed suic..

This gallery, which grew out of the enthusiasm of a single man, Pavel Mikhailovitch Tretyakov (1832-1898), takes you on a fascinating journey into the rather unknown world of Russian painting. From Nikitin to Vrubel, Kiprensky, Ivanov, Perov, Repin a..

20C Russian art is on display at the immense Tretyakov Gallery in Krymsky Val, which complements the Tretyakov Gallery . It naturally features all the great early 20C avant-garde masters such as Malevich and Larionov, as well as art works from the S..

The museum was named after Andrei Rublev, a monk, icon and fresco painter active in the 14C, probably due to the fact that he ended his days at Andronikov Monastery. But the rich collection of icons assembled here contains no works by Rublev (mainly ..

You can’t help but be dazzled by the interior decoration of Our Lady of Smolensk, where the greatest talents of the 17C found expression. Simon Ushakov and Feodor Zubov made the delicate icons, Klim Mikhailov and Osip Andreev created the remarkable i..

Walking on legendary Red Square is your first key step in visiting Moscow. This “Beautiful Square” - krasnaya means both “red” and “beautiful” - was built in the late 15C during the reign of Ivan III the Great. Its history has always been connected..

The cathedral, symbolic of traditional Russian architecture, bears the name of St Basil, a “fool” buried here, who had predicted that Ivan the Terrible would assassinate one of his sons. It was this same tsar who had the building erected between 1551..

Bordered by Red Square, the Moskova and the Alexander Gardens, the Kremlin fortifications form a triangle and extend 2 235m along their imposing brick wall, 6m thick in places and punctuated by 20 towers. The view of the whole complex from the opposi..

Dating from 1491 and built by Solari, this is the Kremlin’s main tower, through which high dignitaries and ambassadors entered the fortress. Built with double walls, Savior Tower was enlarged in 1624 with a complex crown composed of a drum( tchetveri..

At a distance from the surrounding walls, to which it is connected by a ramp straddling the Alexander Gardens, the delightful Koutafia Tower is now the entrance for visitors to the Kremlin. Topped since 1685 by an elegant decorative crown, this 13m-h..

Through its collections of objects, furniture and costumes, the Patriarchs’ Palace attests to the life of 17C Russian dignitaries and patriarchs. It was the Patriarch Nikon who had this building erected next to the Church of the Twelve Apostles bet..

The Deposition of the Robe, an Orthodox feast day on 15 July celebrating the transfer of the Virgin’s robe from Palestine to Constantinople, lent its name to this private chapel of the patriarchs. In the exterior gallery, note the icons in bas-relief..

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built between 1505 and 1508 by Italian Bono Friazine, is white and topped by a gilded onion dome. Tsar Boris Godunov had it raised a century later, and since then it has stood at a height of 81m, making it the highest c..