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, on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin (Spasskaya) they erected the coat of arms of the Russian Empire - a 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 a new period in the life of the country - the coats of arms of the USSR, gilded emblems with a hammer and sickle, or simple flags, as on other towers. But in the end we decided to install the stars. However, this required large financial expenditures, which the Soviet government could not afford in 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 asked the famous artist Igor Grabar about the historical value of the eagles. 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 defended 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

In the autumn of 1935, the last symbol of the Russian monarchy, the double-headed eagles on the Kremlin towers, was ordered to live long. Instead, five-pointed stars were installed.

Symbolism

Why exactly the five-pointed star became the symbol of Soviet power is not known for certain, but it is known that this symbol was lobbied by Leon Trotsky. Seriously fond of esotericism, he knew that the star, the pentagram, has a very powerful energy potential and is one of the most powerful symbols. The swastika, the cult of which was very strong in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, could well become a symbol of the new state. The swastika was depicted on the "Kerenki", swastikas were painted on the wall of the Ipatiev House by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna before being shot, but the Bolsheviks settled on a five-pointed star almost by Trotsky's sole decision. The history of the 20th century will show that the "star" is stronger than the "swastika"... The stars also shone over the Kremlin, replacing the double-headed eagles.

Technics

Putting a thousand-kilogram stars on the towers of the Kremlin was not an easy task. The catch was that there was simply no suitable equipment in 1935. The height of the lowest tower, Borovitskaya, is 52 meters, the highest, Troitskaya, is 72. There were no tower cranes of such a height in the country, but for Russian engineers there is no word “no”, there is a word “must”. Specialists of Stalprommekhanizatsiya designed and built a special crane for each tower, which could be installed on its upper tier. At the base of the tent, through the tower window, a metal base was mounted - a console. A crane was assembled on it. So, in several stages, the double-headed eagles were first dismantled, and then the stars were hoisted.

Tower reconstruction

The weight of each of the stars of the Kremlin reached a ton. Considering the height at which they had to be located and the sail surface of each star (6.3 square meters), there was a danger that the stars would simply be torn out along with the tops of the towers. It was decided to test the towers for durability. Not in vain: the upper ceilings of the vaults of the towers and their tents fell into a dilapidated state. The builders reinforced the brickwork of the upper floors of all the towers, additionally metal ties were introduced into the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

So different and spin

They did not make the same stars. Four stars differed from each other in decoration. On the edges of the Spasskaya Tower star there were rays emanating from the center. On the star of the Trinity Tower, the rays were made in the form of ears of corn. The star of the Borovitskaya Tower consisted of 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 in size. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4.5 meters. The stars of the Trinity and Borovitskaya towers were smaller. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4 and 3.5 meters, respectively. Stars are good, but spinning stars are doubly good. Moscow is big, there are a lot of people, everyone needs to see the Kremlin stars. Special bearings made at the First Bearing Plant were installed at the base of each star. Thanks to this, despite the significant weight, the stars could easily rotate, turning "face" to the wind. By the arrangement of the stars, thus, one can judge from where the wind is blowing.

Gorky Park

The installation of the Kremlin stars has become a real holiday for Moscow. The stars did not begin to be taken under the cover of night to Red Square. The day before the hoisting on the Kremlin towers, the stars were put on display in the Park. Gorky. Together with mere mortals, the secretaries of the city and regional CPSU (b) came to see the stars, in the light of the searchlights, the Ural gems sparkled and the rays of the stars sparkled. The eagles, taken from the towers, were installed here, clearly demonstrating the dilapidation of the "old" and the beauty of the "new" world.

Ruby

Kremlin stars were not always ruby. The first stars, installed in October 1935, were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each star, on either side, were the hammer and sickle emblems, inlaid with precious stones. The precious stones faded after a year, and the stars were too large and did not fit well into the architectural ensemble. In May 1937, it was decided to install new stars - luminous, ruby. At the same time, one more tower was added to the four towers with stars - Vodovzvodnaya. Ruby glass was brewed at a glass factory in Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of the Moscow glass maker N. I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to weld 500 square meters of ruby ​​glass, for which a new technology was invented - "selenium ruby". Prior to this, gold was added to the glass to achieve the desired color; selenium is both cheaper and the color is deeper.

Lamps

The Kremlin stars not only spin, but also glow. To avoid overheating and damage, about 600 cubic meters of air per hour is passed through the stars. The stars are not in danger of a power outage, since their power supply is autonomous. Lamps for the Kremlin stars were developed at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant. The power of three - on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Troitskaya towers - is 5000 watts, and 3700 watts - on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya. In each, two filaments are mounted, connected in parallel. If one burns out, the lamp continues to burn, and a malfunction signal is sent to the control panel. To change the lamps, you do not need to climb to the star, the lamp goes down on a special rod right through the bearing. The whole procedure takes 30-35 minutes. The stars have gone out twice in history. Once - during the war, the second - during the filming of "The Barber of Siberia".

They installed five-pointed stars, which replaced the two-headed royal eagles. Once every 100 years they were updated, as the image of the state emblem also changed.

All the eagles on the Kremlin towers turned out to be of different times. For example, the eagle was the oldest - 1870.

Lenin said many times that the eagles should be removed from the Kremlin towers. But they could not find the technology how to do it and not damage the towers. For example, in 1924 they wanted to pick up the eagles to balloons and lower them to the ground. But it turned out that balloons are not able to withstand such a load. The question of replacing the eagles was raised again in 1935.

The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decided by November 7, 1935 to remove 4 eagles located on the Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Trinity towers of the Kremlin wall and 2 eagles from the building of the Historical Museum. By the same date, it was decided to install a five-pointed star with a sickle and a hammer on the indicated 4 towers of the Kremlin.

It was proposed to replace the emblematic eagles with flags, emblems with a hammer and sickle, emblems of the USSR, but stars were chosen. The preparation of sketches was entrusted to Evgeny Lansere. In the first draft, Stalin did not like the circle in the center. Lansere quickly corrected everything and gave a new sketch for approval. Stalin again did not like the project because of the fastening stick. After that, the development of a sketch of the stars was transferred to F.F. Fedorovsky.

It took two weeks to dismantle the eagles. The gold coating was removed from them and transferred to the State Bank.

On October 23, 1935, the Kremlin stars sparkling with gold and gems were placed on public display in the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure. Nearby they placed eagles with peeled coverings. And the very next day they were sent for smelting.

The new five-pointed stars weighed about a ton, so the tower tents had to be strengthened to install them. And the tent was so old that it had to be rebuilt.

On October 24, Muscovites gathered at to watch the installation of a star on. On October 25, the star was installed on, on October 26 and 27 - on Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya.

The first Kremlin stars were cast from red copper and stainless steel. For their gilding, special electroplating shops were built. In the center of each star, the symbol of the USSR, the hammer and sickle, was laid out with Ural gems. In total, it took about 7 thousand stones ranging in size from 20 to 200 carats (one carat is equal to 0.2 grams).

Each star had its own pattern. For example, the star was decorated with rays from the center to the tops, the star of the Trinity Tower - ears of corn. The pattern of the star repeated its contour. The star of the Nikolskaya tower was without a picture.

But the first stars quickly lost their brilliance: soot, dust and dirt, mixing with precipitation, caused the gems and gold to fade.

In May 1937, they decided to install new Kremlin stars made of ruby ​​glass. They lit up over November 2, 1937.

The history and structure of the Spasskaya Tower star of the Moscow Kremlin on Infographics

Vodovzvodnaya was added to the four towers. So the five-pointed stars became symbolically five. And the semi-precious star from the Spasskaya Tower was transferred to the Northern River Station.

Ruby stars have only 3 types of pattern (Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya are the same), and their frame is based on a multifaceted pyramid. The stars differ in size: on Vodovzvodnaya, the beam span is 3 meters, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 meters, on Troitskaya - 3.5 meters, on Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - 3.75 meters. Bearings are installed at the base of each star so that they can rotate like a weather vane, despite their weight.

Each star had double glazing: the inner one was made of milky glass, and the outer one was made of ruby. This allowed the Kremlin stars to remain red instead of black, even in bright sunlight.

It is known that during the Great Patriotic War, the stars on the towers were extinguished and covered with a tarpaulin so that they would not become a guide for enemy aircraft. At the same time, windows were painted on the walls of the Kremlin. After that, a complete restoration of the Kremlin stars was required. They returned to the towers in March 1946.

This time the stars were glazed with three layers. First, a flask was blown out of molten ruby ​​glass, then it was covered with crystal and milk glass. Sheets were smelted from this “puff” cylinder. This made the new stars even brighter.

The second time the stars on the Kremlin towers were extinguished in 1999 for the filming of the Moscow night scene of the film "The Barber of Siberia" at the request of director Nikita Mikhalkov.

The central console for monitoring and controlling the ventilation of the Kremlin stars is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. Twice a day, check the operation of the lamps and switch the blowers. Each lamp has two filaments connected in parallel, which allows the lamp to shine even if one of them burns out.

Stars are washed every 5 years, and preventive work is carried out monthly.

On September 10, 2010, the members of the Return Foundation addressed the President with a request to return the eagle to the Spasskaya Tower, but received no answer. It is worth noting that the eagles on the towers of the building returned back in 1997.

Do you have anything to tell about the history of the Kremlin stars?

Kremlin Stars is a brand known all over the world. Their ruby ​​color is remembered in dozens of songs and poems, and the image is unmistakably associated with the Russian capital. Moscow and the Kremlin stars are firmly linked in the minds of every Russian. However, few people wonder how difficult it is to produce a product worthy of decorating the heart of Russia. Now almost the only enterprise in the country owns the technology and manufacturing capabilities of the Kremlin star. Zvezda talked with Vyacheslav Samsonov, deputy director of NPK Glass of the Romashin ONPP Technologiya. It is this research and production complex that owns the secrets of producing Kremlin stars. How did the stars before the war Kremlin stars were not always made of ruby ​​glass; initially, the creators thought to make them from precious and semi-precious materials. In the 30s, prototypes of such products were made, but later the idea had to be abandoned, since the stars made of precious stones looked completely nondescript from a height, Samsonov said.

“In 1937, they made it from ruby ​​glass, but the attempt was unsuccessful, since the lighting element is an incandescent lamp that stands and illuminates these stars. She was visible through the glass. That is, there was no such effect that the star burned, the lamp itself was visible from the inside, ”said the deputy director of NPK Glass.

Taking into account the mistakes, the creators corrected the project by adding an inner layer of milky glass at a distance of two millimeters from the ruby ​​one. The milky glass scattered the light of the lamp, and it was then that the stars acquired the world-famous ruby ​​glow. How did the stars after the war From the 37th to the 47th year, the Kremlin had stars produced at the Avtosteklo enterprise in Ukrainian Konstantinovka. After the war, the stars had to be repaired, and the next version was created at the Krasny May plant in Vyshny Volochek. There, the project was finalized by adding a damper layer of crystal, and the production technology of the Kremlin star acquired a modern look.

“In Vyshny Volochek they made another version, a working one. This is overlay glass. What is overlay glass? Ruby red is typed, a cylinder of red glass is blown, and immediately from the second furnace, which is nearby, crystal glass, colorless, is typed on it. And on top is another third layer, this is already opal, or milky glass. Here is a three-layer sandwich. They made stars out of it, these stars have proven themselves well, ”Vyacheslav Samsonov shared.

The stars created in this way have been standing on the Kremlin for about 70 years. They proved to be very durable, the damper layer and improved technology played a role. However, time takes its toll, and sooner or later the Kremlin stars will have to be changed. In particular, the star on the Trinity Tower is already in need of replacement. How do the stars do now According to Samsonov, the FSO officers approached his company about this. The company is engaged in all types of glass required for the production of the Kremlin star, and has the necessary competencies. The only thing missing is a multi-pot furnace, but NPK Steklo has already agreed on it with a glass company from Gus-Khrustalny. FSO officers have traveled all over the country, says Samsonov, and only his NPK, together with Gus-Khrustalny, will be able to produce real Kremlin stars.
The complexity of production lies not least in the complex chemical composition of the glasses. The most complex of them is ruby, it contains about ten different elements.

“Getting them (ruby glasses - ed.) is difficult. They contain about ten elements in composition, quartz sand, soda, zinc white and boric acid ... selenium metal and cadmium carbonate are used as a dye, which in certain proportions give such color saturation. Selenium glass is very difficult to cook, it is a very volatile material, if the temperature regimes are gone, then it can darken, become light or even disappear,” Samsonov said.

Despite the complexity of the production process, the Deputy Director is confident that the stars created by his NPC will be able to stand for at least 50 years. When drawing up the estimate, the employees did not even include profits, since collecting stars at their enterprise, which the whole country will look at for another 50 years, is worth a lot in itself.

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

The gem stars were dismantled shortly before the 20th anniversary of the 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 is done to reduce the load at high air flows. 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 received a new lighting system with several metal halide lamps with a total power of 1000 W.

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.