What are the Kremlin stars made of. Ruby stars of the Kremlin

24.01.2016 0 5978

Until 1935, in the very center of the country of victorious socialism, the gilded symbols of tsarism, the double-headed eagles, still flaunted. For three centuries they crowned four Kremlin towers - Troitskaya, Spasskaya, Borovitskaya and Nikolskaya.

These eagles did not sit on spiers for centuries - they were periodically changed. Until now, disputes continue as to what material they were made of - metal or gilded wood. There are suggestions that the bodies of the eagles were wooden, and some parts were metal.

Frame from the film "Circus". On the Spasskaya Tower and on the Historical Museum we see two-headed eagles. In 1936, when the film was released, the eagles had already been replaced by stars.

TASS IS AUTHORIZED TO STATE

In the first years of Soviet power, all double-headed eagles in the state were destroyed. All except four - those that took off and above all and settled on the towers Moscow Kremlin. But over time, they got to them. In 1930, the authorities turned to the artist and art critic Igor Grabar with a request to evaluate the artistic and historical value of the Kremlin eagles.

He replied that "... none of the eagles that currently exist on the Kremlin towers represent an ancient monument and cannot be defended as such."

Let's leave this conclusion to the conscience of the author. One way or another, but in August 1935, a TASS message was published: “The Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decided by November 7, 1935 to remove 4 eagles located on the towers of the Kremlin wall, and 2 eagles from the building Historical Museum. By the same date, it was decided to install five-pointed stars with a hammer and sickle on the Kremlin towers.

Replacing eagles with stars

On October 18, 1935, all the eagles were removed from the Kremlin towers. The eagle from the Trinity Tower, due to its old design, had to be dismantled right on the spot. Work on the removal of birds and the installation of stars was carried out by experienced climbers under the vigilant control of the NKVD. The design and manufacture of the first Kremlin stars was entrusted to two Moscow factories and TsAGI workshops.

The sketches were presented by the famous decorator Academician Fedorovsky. According to his project, the stars intended for different towers differed from each other in size and decor. On the star of the Trinity Tower, the rays were made in the form of ears of corn, the star of the Borovitskaya Tower was two contours inscribed one into the other.

And the rays of the star of the Nikolskaya Tower had no pattern. The stars of the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers were the same size. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4.5 m. The stars of the Trinity and Borovitskaya towers were slightly smaller.

The supporting structure was made in the form of a light but strong stainless steel frame, on which sheets of red copper covered with gold leaf were superimposed. Hammer and sickle emblems adorned with precious Ural stones - rock crystal, amethysts, alexandrites, topazes and aquamarines - were strengthened on both sides of each star. It took about 7,000 stones to make eight emblems.

As a result, each star weighed about 1,000 kg and also had a sail area of ​​up to 6 m2. A careful study revealed that the upper floors of the towers and their tents are in a deplorable state. It was necessary to strengthen the brickwork of the upper floors and equip the structure with additional metal ties.

FIRST STAR

Life-size models of stars were made according to the sketches accepted by the government. Hammer and sickle inlaid with imitations precious stones. Each layout was illuminated by several spotlights, in the rays of which the stars sparkled with a myriad of multi-colored lights. Members of the government came to look at them and the eagles taken down from the towers, and then many thousands of Muscovites gathered. Everyone wanted to admire the beauty and grandeur of the stars that were soon to flare up in the sky of Moscow.

On October 24, 1935, the first star was installed on the Spasskaya Tower, having previously polished it. At 12:40 a command was heard: “Vira little by little!”, And a huge structure, breaking off from the ground, slowly crawled up. When she was at a height of 70 m, the winch stopped.

The climbers standing at the very top of the tower carefully picked up the star and pointed it at the spire. At 13:00, the star descended exactly on the support pin. Hundreds of people gathered on Red Square that day. The moment the star was on the spire, the crowd burst into applause.

The next day, the star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower, and on October 26 and 27, the stars shone over the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The installers had already worked out the lifting technique so well that it took them no more than an hour and a half to install each star. The exception was the star of the Trinity Tower, the rise of which due to strong wind lasted about two hours.

The life of the new characters was short-lived. A year later, under the influence of precipitation, gemstones faded. In addition, the stars did not really fit into the architectural ensemble because of their too large sizes. Therefore, in May 1937, it was decided to replace them with new ones - luminous, ruby, installing the same on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.

Special ruby ​​glass for new stars was welded at the Konstantinovsky glass factory. In total, it was required to produce 500 m2 of glass. Powerful bearings were installed at the base of each star so that they could rotate like a weather vane. But, unlike the weather vane, which indicates which way the wind is blowing, the stars, thanks to the diamond-shaped cross-section, always face it. At the same time, they are able to withstand the pressure of even a hurricane wind.

IF THE STARS LIGHT...

It would seem that everything is fine. But it suddenly became clear that sunshine ruby stars look black! The solution was found: the glass should be made two-layer, and the inner layer should be milky white, well scattering light. At the same time, this provided a more even glow and hid the filaments of the lamps.

In order for the glow of the entire surface of the star to be even, glass of various thicknesses and color saturation was used, and the lamps were enclosed in prismatic refractors. To protect the glass from the thermal effects of powerful (up to 5,000 W) lamps, ventilation of the internal cavity was organized. About 600 m3 of air per hour is passed through the stars, which completely protects them from overheating.

The Kremlin luminaries are not threatened by a power outage, since their energy supply is autonomous. Each star lamp has two filaments connected in parallel. If one of them burns out, the lamp continues to burn, and a malfunction signal is sent to the control panel. The mechanism for changing lamps is interesting: you don’t even have to climb to the star, the lamp goes down on a special rod right through the bearing. The whole procedure takes up to half an hour.

In the entire history of the stars went out only twice. The first time was during the war, when they were extinguished so as not to become a beacon for German bombers. Covered with burlap, they patiently waited out the bombardment, but when it was over, it turned out that some of the glass was damaged and needed to be replaced. Moreover, our anti-aircraft gunners turned out to be the unwitting culprits.

The second time the stars briefly went out at the request of Nikita Mikhalkov in 1997, when he was filming his "The Barber of Siberia". Since then, the Kremlin stars have been burning unceasingly, becoming the main symbol of the Russian capital.

It would seem that nothing threatens them. After the collapse Soviet Union the Kremlin stars were not dismantled, unlike other Soviet symbols (hammers and sickles, coats of arms on palaces, etc.). And yet their fate today is not so cloudless. For a quarter of a century, discussions about the appropriateness of Soviet symbols over the Kremlin have not ceased in society. Whether they will continue to shine, time will tell.

She replaced the "Tsar's Eagle" on the Spasskaya Tower. Next, the stars were hoisted on the Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya and Troitskaya towers. Then, when the stars were replaced in 1937, the fifth star appeared on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, where before that state symbols had not been placed.

Installing stars on the Kremlin towers

Dismantling the eagles

Double-headed eagles, being the state symbols of Russia, have been on the tops of the tents of the Kremlin towers since the 17th century. About once a century, the gilded copper eagles were changed, just as the image of the state emblem changed. At the time of the removal of the eagles, they were all of different years of manufacture: the oldest eagle of the Trinity Tower - 1870, the newest - the Spasskaya Tower - 1912.

A week later, on June 20, 1930, Gorbunov wrote to the secretary of the presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR A. S. Yenukidze:

V. I. Lenin several times demanded the removal of these eagles and was angry that this work was not done - I personally confirm this. I think it would be nice to remove these eagles and replace them with flags. Why should we keep these symbols of tsarism?

With communist greetings,
Gorbunov.

In an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the secretariat of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated December 13, 1931, there is a mention of a proposal to include 95 thousand rubles in the estimate for 1932 for the costs of removing eagles from the Kremlin towers and replacing them with the coats of arms of the USSR.

While the stars were being made, the builders-installers solved the main problem - how to actually remove the double-headed eagles from the towers and fix the stars. At that time, there were no large high-rise cranes that could help carry out this operation. Specialists of the All-Union office "Stalprommekhanizatsiya" developed special cranes that were installed directly on the upper tiers of the towers. Strong console platforms were built through the tower windows at the base of the tents, on which the cranes were assembled. The installation of cranes and dismantling of the eagles took two weeks.

Finally, on October 18, 1935, all 4 double-headed eagles were removed from the Kremlin towers. Due to the old design of the eagle from the Trinity Tower, it had to be dismantled right at the top of the tower. The work on removing the eagles and raising the stars was carried out by experienced climbers under the guidance and control of the operational department of the NKVD and the commandant of the Kremlin Tkalun. In the memorandum of the head of the Operational Department of the OGPU Pauker to I. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov dated November 4, 1935, it is reported: “... I was instructed to remove the eagles from the Kremlin towers and from the Historical Museum by November 7, replacing them with stars. I report that this task of the Politburo has been completed ... "

Convinced that the eagles are of no value, the first deputy people's commissar of the NKVD wrote a letter to L. M. Kaganovich: “I ask for your order: to issue the NKVD of the USSR for gilding Kremlin stars 67.9 kilograms of gold. The gold covering of the eagles will be removed and handed over to the State Bank.”

gem stars

New gemstone stars weighed about a ton. The tents of the Kremlin towers were not designed for such a load. The tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers had to be reinforced from the inside with metal supports and pins, on which it was planned to plant stars. A metal pyramid with a support pin for a star was installed inside the tent of the Borovitskaya Tower. A strong metal glass was installed on top of the Trinity Tower. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.

October 24 a large number of Muscovites gathered on Red Square to watch the hoisting of a five-pointed star on the Spasskaya Tower. On October 25, a five-pointed star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower, on October 26 and 27 on the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

The first stars were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. For gilding 130 m² of copper sheets, galvanizing shops were specially built. In the center of the star, a symbol was laid out with Ural gems. Soviet Russia- hammer and sickle . The sickle and hammer were covered with gold 20 microns thick, the pattern was not repeated on any of the stars. The star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays that radiated from the center to the tops. The rays of the star mounted on the Trinity Tower were made in the form of ears of corn. On the Borovitskaya tower the pattern followed the contour of the five-pointed star itself. The star of the Nikolskaya Tower was smooth, without a pattern. However, very soon the stars lost their original beauty. The soot, dust and dirt of the Moscow air, mixing with precipitation, made the gems fade, and the gold lost its luster, despite the spotlights illuminating them. In addition, they did not fully fit into the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin because of their size. The stars turned out to be too big and visually hung heavily over the towers.

The star, which was located on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in 1935-1937, was later installed on the spire of the Northern River Station.

ruby stars

Unlike gem stars, ruby ​​stars have only 3 different patterns(Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya are identical in design), and the frame of each star is a multifaceted pyramid. Each beam of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers has 8, and the Nikolskaya tower has 12 faces.

Design features

Special bearings are installed at the base of each star so that, despite their weight (more than 1 ton), they can rotate like a weather vane. The "frame" of the stars is made of special stainless steel produced by the Elektrostal plant near Moscow.

Each of the five stars has double glazing: the inner one is made of milky glass, which diffuses light well, and the outer one is made of ruby ​​glass, 6-7 mm thick. This was done with the following goal: in bright sunlight, the red color of the stars would appear black. Therefore, a layer of milky-white glass was placed inside the star, which allowed the star to look bright and, in addition, made the filaments of the lamps invisible. Stars have different sizes. On Vodovzvodnaya, the beam span is 3 m, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 m, on Troitskaya - 3.5 m, on Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - 3.75 m.

Ruby glass was brewed at the Avtosteklo plant in the city of Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of the Moscow glass maker N. I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to weld 500 m² of ruby ​​glass, for which it was invented new technology- selenium ruby. Until then, in order to achieve desired color gold was added to glass, which lost to selenium in cost and color saturation.

Lamps for the Kremlin stars were developed by special order at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant, they were developed by specialists from the lighting laboratory. Each lamp has two filaments connected in parallel, so even if one of them burns out, the lamp will not stop shining. The lamps were made at the Peterhof factory of precise technical stones. The power of electric lamps in the stars on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya towers is 5 kW, on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya - 3.7 kW.

When solving the problem of uniform illumination of the stars, they immediately abandoned the idea of ​​installing many light bulbs inside the star, therefore, to ensure a uniform distribution of the light flux, the lamp is enclosed in many glass prisms. For the same purpose, the glass at the ends of the rays of stars has a lower density than in the center. During the day, the stars are illuminated more strongly than at night.

The central control panel for the control and ventilation of the stars is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. Every day, twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and the blower fans are switched. To protect the stars from overheating, a ventilation system was developed, consisting of an air filter and two fans, one of which is a backup. Power outages are not terrible for ruby ​​stars, as they are self-powered.

Stars are usually washed every 5 years. Scheduled preventive maintenance is carried out on a monthly basis to maintain the reliable operation of auxiliary equipment; more serious work is carried out every 8 years.

For the second time in their history, the stars were redeemed in 1996 during the filming of the Moscow night scene for the film "The Barber of Siberia" at the personal request of director Nikita Mikhalkov.

Red stars abroad of the USSR

Many socialist countries built red stars over their public institutions as a symbol public policy and ideology. From 1954 to 1990, a red star towered over the Central House of the BKP in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia - an exact copy of the Soviet ones that were erected over the Moscow Kremlin. Today this star can be seen in the Museum of Socialist Art. The red star was installed on the parliament building in Budapest, built in 1885-1904, and dismantled in 1990.

Since the 1990s, there has been public discussion about the appropriateness of Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Kremlin stars were not dismantled, unlike other (hammer and sickle, emblems on palaces, etc.) Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. Attitude to ruby stars in society is ambiguous.

Supporters of the return of double-headed eagles

A number of social movements (“Return”, “People’s Cathedral”, “For Faith and Fatherland”, etc.), as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, take a certain position, declaring “what would be fair to return to Kremlin towers double-headed eagles that have adorned them for centuries." In 2010, in connection with the opening of the gate icons of the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers, disputes about the appropriateness of ruby ​​stars flared up with renewed vigor.

On September 10, 2010, a month before the 75th anniversary of the installation of stars over the Kremlin, members of the Return Foundation turned to the president with a proposal to return the double-headed eagle to the Spasskaya Tower. The appeal caused a public discussion, but there was no response from the president, and then the opportunity to return the Kremlin eagles was completely canceled due to mass protests from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, as well as due to the elections to the State Duma and the presidential elections in Russia, held on December 4, 2011 and March 4 2012, respectively.

Star conservationists

The museum community is skeptical about the idea of ​​replacing stars with eagles:

Consistently throughout the entire discussion, the replacement of stars is opposed by and

The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest and central part of Moscow on Borovitsky Hill, on the left bank of the Moskva River. Its walls and towers were built of white stone in 1367, and in 1485-1495 of brick. The modern Kremlin has 20 towers.

In the 50s of the 17th century, a coat of arms was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin (Spasskaya) Russian empire- double-headed eagle Later, the coats of arms were installed on the highest travel towers of the Kremlin: Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya.

After the revolution of 1917, the question arose repeatedly of replacing the royal eagles on the Kremlin towers with figures symbolizing new period in the life of the country - the emblems of the USSR, gilded emblems with a hammer and sickle, or on simple flags, as on other towers. But in the end we decided to install the stars. However, this required large financial outlays that she could not afford. Soviet authority during the first years of its existence.

In August 1935, the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was published to replace the double-headed eagles on the Kremlin towers with five-pointed stars with a hammer and sickle by November 7, 1935. Before that, back in 1930, the authorities requested famous artist Igor Grabar about historical value orlov. He found that they were changed on the towers once a century, or even more often. The oldest was the eagle on the Trinity Tower - 1870, and the newest - on Spasskaya - 1912. In a memorandum, Grabar said that "none of the eagles now existing on the Kremlin towers is an ancient monument and cannot be protected as such."

Double-headed eagles were removed from the Kremlin towers on October 18, 1935. For some time they were exhibited on the territory of the Park of Culture and Leisure, and then.

The first five-pointed star was erected on the Spassky Tower on October 24, 1935, with a large crowd of people on Red Square. On October 25, the star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower, on October 26 and 27 - on the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

Throughout the years of existence, the Kremlin stars have been provided with the most thorough care. They are usually washed every five years. Every month, to maintain the reliable operation of auxiliary equipment, scheduled preventive maintenance is carried out; more serious work is carried out every eight years.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Spasskaya Tower(until 1658 - Frolovskaya) - the most famous of the 20 towers Moscow Kremlin, goes to Red Square near Execution Ground and Intercession Cathedral. The tent of the tower is decorated with a chiming clock, which made the Spasskaya Tower a collective symbol of the Kremlin and Moscow as a whole.

The tower was built in 1491 by a Milanese architect Pietro Antonio Solari, later built on by an English architect Christopher Galoway together with the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov. Originally built of red brick, different years depending on aesthetic preferences.

The shape of the base of the tower is a quadrangle, which is crowned with a multi-tiered tent completion with a chiming clock and a rich decorative design. The upper part of the quadrangle is decorated with a lace arched belt with turrets at the corners and figures of fantastic animals; also, in the carved design of the belt, you can find images of flowers and shells, and above the chimes - figures of peacocks. Above the chimes is a belfry, crowned with a tower of tents with a red star on top.

The total height of the Spasskaya Tower with a star is 71 meters. A massive retractable archer with a gate adjoins the tower.

History of the Spasskaya Tower

During the reign Ivan III in Moscow, a radical restructuring of the Kremlin began, during which, in 1485-1495, instead of the old white stone walls and towers, new ones were erected - from burnt bricks. Construction of the Spasskaya Tower according to the project Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari from Milan became initial stage erection of the eastern line of fortifications of the Moscow Kremlin; before her, the Frolovskaya Strelnitsa was in this place. Since a moat was dug under the Kremlin walls, a bridge was thrown over it from the tower.

In memory of the construction of the tower above the gate, 2 white stone tablets with a commemorative inscription in Latin (from the side of Red Square) and Russian (from the side of the Kremlin) were installed:

At the end of the 16th century, the tower was crowned with a wooden tent top with a double-headed eagle, but in 1624-1625 another restructuring was carried out: according to the project of the English architect Christopher Galovey, with the participation of the Moscow master Bazhen Ogurtsov, a multi-tiered top was erected over the tower in gothic style, decorated with nude figures - "boobs". The naked figures on the tower were perceived ambiguously, and by decree of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, special caftans were sewn for them, however, in any case, the "doodles" did not have long to live - in 1628 they burned down in a fire. In the middle of the 17th century, a double-headed eagle was again erected on the top of the tower - the coat of arms Russian state, subsequently installed also on the Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

Before the Revolution of 1917, chapels were located to the left and right of the Spassky Gates - first wooden, then rebuilt in stone, but in 1925 they were demolished.

Initially, the tower, like the archer that preceded it, was called Frolovskaya - after the church of Frol and Lavr on Myasnitskaya Street, where the road from the gate led - until 1658, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya, since icons of the Savior were placed above the Spassky Gate Smolensky (from Red Square) and the Savior Not Made by Hands (from the Kremlin).

Savior of Smolensk and Savior Not Made by Hands

One of the features of the tower, thanks to which it received its modern name, have become the icons of the Savior of Smolensk and the Savior Not Made by Hands placed above the travel gate.

Image Savior of Smolensk was written in 1514 in gratitude for the capture of Smolensk and placed above the gate from the side of Red Square. In 1521, when Moscow managed to avoid a siege by the troops of Khan Mehmed Giray, instead of the icon, a fresco was painted on the wall, which depicts the Savior with the open Gospel and saints falling at his feet. Reverend Sergius Radonezhsky and Varlaam Khutynsky. During the years of Soviet power, the image was plastered and for a long time was considered lost, since official documents did not record what happened to it, and experts did not have accurate information about whether it was painted on the wall or was a separate element. When the issue of restoring the icon was raised in the 2000s, they searched for it for a long time in the storerooms. art museums, but in the end the image was found under a layer of plaster in its rightful place: in 2010 it was cleared and restored.

The appearance of the image Savior Not Made by Hands on the inside of the gate (from the side of the Kremlin) is associated with the plague epidemic that swept through Russia in the middle of the 17th century. Moscow suffered greatly from the epidemic, but one of the cities - Khlynov (modern Kirov) - was bypassed by it; there were rumors that the reason for getting rid of Khlynov's illness was miraculous image Savior Not Made by Hands, to whom the inhabitants of the city prayed. In 1648, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the image was delivered to Moscow. Having placed the original icon in the Novospassky Monastery, two lists were made from it: the first was sent to Khlynov, the second was placed on the inside of the gates of the Spasskaya Tower. Unfortunately, in Soviet years the image was destroyed, and the original icon disappeared; to date, the kiot on the inside of the gates of the Spasskaya Tower remains empty.

Chimes of the Spasskaya Tower

- probably the most famous clock Russia, because it is on them that Russians meet New Year- the chime of the Kremlin chimes has become one of the brightest new year traditions peace.

The chimes are installed on the upper quadrant of the tower from all four sides and have impressive dimensions:

Dial diameter - 6.12 meters;

The length of the minute hand is 3.27 meters;

The length of the hour hand is 2.97 meters;

The height of Roman numerals is 0.72 meters.

The watch has musical mechanism: at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 the hymn is played Russian Federation, at 03:00, 09:00, 15:00 and 21:00 - the melody of the choir "Glory" from Glinka's opera "Life for the Tsar".

For the first time, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared in the 16th century and almost nothing is known about them. In 1625, according to the project of Christopher Galoway, the old clock was replaced with a new one, which had a unique structure: the clock counted day and night time, indicated by Slavic letters and Arabic numerals, while the arrow stylized under the Sun was motionless - the dial itself rotated. In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the clock was remade in the German way: with a dial at 12 o'clock, and in 1770 they installed on the tower english watch. Modern chimes were made by the brothers Nikolai and Ivan Butenop in 1851-1852.

Star of the Spasskaya Tower

The star at the top of the Spasskaya Tower appeared in 1935, when the Soviet government wished to hoist it on the Kremlin towers new character instead of the ideologically obsolete double-headed eagle.

The first Kremlin stars were made of stainless steel and red copper, in the middle there was a gilded hammer and sickle, lined with Ural gems. The star on the Spasskaya Tower, among other things, was decorated with rays diverging from the middle. Unfortunately, the stars of 1935 quickly dimmed under the influence of the weather, and already in 1937 they were replaced by luminous ruby ​​ones, which can still be seen today.

The span of the rays of the star on the Spasskaya Tower is 3.75 meters.

Spasskaya Tower Today it is one of the symbols of Moscow and a prominent tourist attraction.

You can get to the Spasskaya Tower on foot from the metro stations "Okhotny Ryad" Sokolnicheskaya line, "Theatrical" Zamoskvoretskaya and "Revolution square" Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya.

Exactly 80 years ago, the famous ruby ​​stars were installed on the towers of the Moscow Kremlin, which became a symbol of the capital. What they came to replace, how much they weigh and why Nikita Mikhalkov needed to put them out - the Moscow 24 portal has collected 10 of the most interesting facts.

Fact 1. There were eagles before the stars

From the 17th century on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Nikolskaya towers of the Moscow Kremlin towered gilded double-headed royal eagles made of copper.

They have not reached our days. By decision of the new government, on October 18, 1935, the eagles were removed and later melted down. The then historians decided that they were of no value and the metal was simply disposed of.

Fact 2. The first stars were installed on four towers

The first Kremlin star was installed on October 23, 1935 on the Spasskaya Tower. From October 25 to 27, the stars appeared on the Troitskaya, Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

Fact 3. Before ruby ​​stars were copper and with gems

Initially, the stars were made of red copper sheet, which was fixed on a metal frame. Each star weighed approximately one ton.

The bronze emblems of the hammer and sickle were placed on the stars. The emblems were inlaid with Ural stones - rock crystal, topaz, amethyst, aquamarine, sandrite, alexandrite. Each stone weighed up to 20 grams.

Fact 4. The spire of the Northern River Station is crowned by the Kremlin Gem Star

Gem Stars Dismantled Shortly Before 20th Anniversary October revolution. One of them, taken from the Spasskaya Tower, was subsequently hoisted onto the spire of the Northern River Station in Moscow.

Fact 5. Ruby stars on five towers

Gem stars were replaced by new ones - ruby ​​ones. They were installed on November 2, 1937. The old stars were dimmed, and the gems did not shine very brightly.

Fact 6. Inside the stars - lighting lamps

ruby stars glow from within. For their illumination, the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant (MELZ) developed special lamps in 1937.
The power of electric lamps in the stars on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya towers was 5 kW, on Vodovzvodnaya and Borovitskaya - 3.7 kW.

Fact 7. Stars have different sizes

Photo: TASS/Vasily Egorov and Alexey Stuzhin

Ruby stars of the Kremlin have different sizes. The span of the rays on the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers is 3.75 meters, on Troitskaya - 3.5, on Borovitskaya - 3.2, and on Vodovzvodnaya - 3 meters.

Fact 8. The stars rotate like a weather vane

At the base of each star are special bearings. Thanks to them, a star weighing one ton can rotate in the wind like a weather vane. This was done to reduce the load at large air currents. Otherwise, the star may fall off the spire.

Fact 9. During the war, the stars were covered with a tarpaulin

The stars were extinguished for the first time during the Great Patriotic War. They were a good guide for enemy aircraft. The stars were covered in a tarpaulin. Subsequently, they were repaid again at the request of director Nikita Mikhalkov for the sake of shooting one of the episodes of The Barber of Siberia.

Fact 10. Since 2014, the stars have the next stage of reconstruction

In 2014, a complex reconstruction of the star was carried out at the Spasskaya Tower: it had new system lighting with several metal halide lamps with a total power of 1000 watts.

In 2015, the lamps in the star of the Trinity Tower were replaced, and in 2016, the Nikolskaya Tower. In 2018, the Borovitskaya Tower will be renovated.