Vasilievsky Spusk and the Kremlin towers. Vasilievsky Spusk Square Vasilyevsky Spusk history

When starting a journey through the cities of Russia, not a single person can get around the capital of a great power - Moscow. Where else can you get real pleasure from visiting monasteries, temples, museums, and art exhibitions? But there is an interesting narrow topic that is almost never offered travel agencies- areas ancient city. Their stories are closely connected with events that played a significant role in the life of the capital. How many travelers know about Manezhnaya or Theater Square, the majestic Red Square, the unique Ivanovskaya and Sobornaya, Vasilievsky Spusk? The last name, widely known today, could not be heard either in speech or in writing back in the 80s of the 20th century.

History of appearance

We can say about Vasilyevsky Spusk that it is an inclined passage, which was named so only in 1995. This place became a square after a fire during the Patriotic War of 1812. And the last buildings were demolished only in 1936. This was due to the construction of the Bolshoi

This part of Moscow is unique because of the sloping section, which is limited on one side by the embankment, on the other it is limited by Red Square. Vasilyevsky Spusk is architecturally united with it.

If you go from the Moscow River

The area of ​​the descent from the Church of the Intercession Holy Mother of God, better known as the cathedral, it is difficult to call it in the usual sense before the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. And the story is interesting not only about Vasilievsky Spusk, but also about everything that surrounds it. And if you stand with your back to the river, tourists will first of all have a view of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In its place, until 1554, stood a modest church bearing the name of the Holy Trinity. But after the victory of the Russian people over the Kazan Khanate, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of a cathedral in a prominent place in memory of this event for all centuries. The construction of 9 picturesque churches of different heights was entrusted to the masters Postnik and Barma. And in 1561, Vasilyevsky Spusk in Moscow was crowned with a unique cathedral of its kind. It’s simply amazing that over the centuries of its existence, the temple not only has not lost its grandeur, but thanks to the churches added to it, it has become even more beautiful.

A miracle created by human hands

Speaking about Vasilyevsky Spusk, one cannot fail to mention the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. From the end of the 15th century to the present day, this building has undergone more than just reconstruction. Initially, the crossing was a floating structure, and only in 1829 did three wooden spans acquire stone foundations. The bridge’s familiar appearance was given to us by two authors: engineer Kirillov and architect Shchusov. This happened in 1937. The monolithic reinforced concrete structure, lined with pink granite, fits harmoniously into the center of the capital.

And, of course, the history of the bridge attracts the attention of tourists. At the end of the 20th century, a German pilot dispelled the myth about the inviolability of the borders of the Soviet Union. It was the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge that became the landing pad for the adventurer pilot’s plane.

About Vasilyevsky Spusk today

If the area has been used only for parking for a long time tourist buses, then over the past three decades the situation has changed a lot. This wonderful place hosts a lot of sports, cultural and artistic events. Thus, since 1996, Vasilyevsky Spusk became the starting place for the International Peace Marathon. Moscow has opened the doors to Red Square through a unique adjacent square to rock musicians.

A separate line should be said about fashion shows on Vasilyevsky Spusk. These are grandiose performances taking place in pavilions on three squares of the capital. Fashion weeks take place at the beginning of spring. But none weather conditions cannot interfere with an amazing celebration of style and taste. The pavilions are equipped with all the necessary equipment so that guests and participants can view and work with comfort and pleasure.

New Year's festivities on Vasilyevsky Spusk will not only remain in the memory for a long time, this celebration will be one of the most vivid memories in life. The show starts an hour before midnight. Trained animals, magicians, clowns, and acrobats entertain Muscovites and guests of the capital. And a fantastically beautiful fireworks display accompanied by the chiming clock ends the holiday.

A little about the sad

Vasilievsky Spusk evokes not only positive emotions among contemporaries. The miners' strikes and rallies of various political parties are still fresh in our memory. But since 2012, by decree of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, it is possible to organize a mass meeting of people on Vasilyevsky Spusk only with the personal permission of the President of the Russian Federation.

Every trip to Russia should definitely begin with a visit to Moscow. The history of its streets, alleys and squares is an interesting book that every self-respecting tourist should read.

Big Moskvoretsky Bridge. Photos of 1930-1935 from the TsIGI fund

Vasilyevsky Spusk is famous these days for hosting all sorts of shows and concerts. It’s hard to believe, but free space appeared here not so long ago, in 1936, when the buildings standing on this slope were demolished to make way for demonstrations and traffic on the new Moskvoretsky Bridge, built by Academician Shchusev a little to the left of the place where the old bridge stood.

Vasilyevskaya Square. Photos from 1900-1910

Previously, the space between Moskvoretskaya Street and Vasilievskaya Square was occupied by a long block, and each of its houses was in full swing with life. It was especially interesting in the 19th century in one ancient building, called from old memory the “Yamsky order”. It was inhabited by shoemakers, mostly single artisans, sometimes united in artels of 2-3 people, which was not of much use for joint work, but it helped to fool the authorities. When an official came from the craft or city government to check the trade certificates, all the “free riders” hid in all directions, and the holder of the legal piece of paper talked his teeth into the inspector’s mouth and averted his eyes, skillfully pretending that he was the only one working here on three workbenches at once.

But when a buyer entered the “Yamskaya Prikaz”, literally a ton of people crawled out of all the cracks, and everyone grabbed the breadwinner by the sleeve and dragged him to show his goods, the cheapest in the city. People really came here in search of cheap prices, risking running into a completely worthless product, but hoping for their shopping experience and good luck. Not everyone was lucky: the new thing could easily part with the heel or sole halfway to the house.

The female part of the population also took an active part in business.

“Cheap warm goods were traded near the Kremlin wall - down from the Spassky Gate to the Moscow River there was a row of tents with stockings, mittens, scarves, and hand-knitted sweatshirts. The traders of this product immediately produced it, sitting knitting at their tents. Some traders sold their goods from their hands and walked around hung with stockings, scarves, and handkerchiefs.”

(I. Belousov, “Gone Moscow”)

Moskvoretskaya street. Postcard 1900-1910

More respectable businessmen were located closer to Zaryadye.

“There are shops selling spices along Moskvoretskaya Street; There's always a pungent smell here. They sell wax and church candles, as well as soap and the then famous Murom tallow candles. They were so strong that traders in the cold winter knocked them against each other, and they did not crack or break. They produced little soot and burned brightly.

On the opposite side they were selling ropes, matting, and various papers, and at the very corner near the bridge there were live fish shops with cages on the river, from where Moscow was supplied with a yard of live sterlets.”

(P. I. Bogatyrev, “Moscow antiquity. China Town”)

Moskvoretskaya embankment. Chromolithograph from the collection of the Library of Congress (1890)

The section of the Kitai-Gorod wall with the Moskvoretsky Gate, dismantled in 1819, adjoined the Kremlin wall at the Moskvoretsky Tower, which was also called Beklemishevskaya - behind it, in the corner of the Tainitsky Garden, stood the chambers of the boyar Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev in the 16th century. In the basement of this tower there is a secret well, which in the event of a siege of the Kremlin was supposed to supply water to the defenders of the fortress.

The next tower, Konstantino-Eleninskaya, got its name from the Church of Saints Constantine and Helena, built in the mid-14th century and destroyed in 1928. In the tower you can see the outline of the gate, which was bricked up in the 18th century and almost hidden by the lawn. From the gates of the tower that stood on this site in 1380, Dmitry Donskoy and his soldiers left the Kremlin, heading to the Kulikovo Field. Then in front of the tower there was a bridge over the moat and a diversion arch similar to the one we saw next to the Manege, only wooden, like the entire Kremlin in those days. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, Spassky became the main gate, and in the Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower, having blocked the passage, a robbery order was placed, and since then the tower has been nicknamed Torture.

Kremlin wall. Postcard 1914-1917

The next tower is Nabatnaya. The sound of a bell hanging on it alerted Moscow residents about a fire or enemy attack. The instigators of the plague riot also sounded the alarm, and the townspeople who fled to Red Square captured the Kremlin. The next day the riots were suppressed, and everyone who fell into the hands of the authorities suffered severe punishment. Even the bell got it. The angry Catherine II ordered him to tear out his tongue. The bell, deprived of its voice, was removed from the tower in 1817 and transported to the Arsenal. Nowadays it is kept in the Armory, and no one knows where the language is.

Due to soil subsidence, the Alarm Tower deviated quite noticeably from the vertical - almost a meter in the upper part - but after strengthening the foundation, the angle of inclination stopped increasing.

The smallest of the towers, reminiscent of a teremok, is called Tsarskaya. They say

that from it Ivan the Terrible loved to watch fist fights when they were held on Red Square. But this is nothing more than a legend - the Tsarskaya Tower was built already under Alexei Mikhailovich, and fist fights were usually held on the ice of the Moscow River.

In fact, the Tsar’s Tower is not even a tower, but simply a small tent on the side of the wall, needed solely for the surroundings: during special celebrations, the Tsar appeared to the assembled people, standing under this canopy and enjoying the general rejoicing. With the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, both this and another custom of these places ceased - they stopped taking out the box from the gates of the Spasskaya Tower into which petitions to the sovereign were allowed to be placed.

Unknown artist of the 19th century. "View from the Spassky Gate."

This gate, like the tower, until 1648 was called Frolovsky after the church of Frol and Lavra, closest to it, and the new name was established by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich when the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands was transferred from the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin to the Novospassky Monastery in a solemn religious procession. On the Frolovsky gate, through which the procession moved, an image of the Savior in a golden robe was placed, and it was ordered to call the gate Spassky, and to walk through it only with an uncovered head. It was also forbidden to pass the gate on horseback, and if anyone dared to ride on horseback or pass without taking off his headdress, the guard archers were supposed to stop him and force him, regardless of rank and rank, to bow down to the ground in front of the icon up to 50 times, “and if anyone resists, he will be punished.” of that batogami."

Alexey Mikhailovich himself, returning from the Lithuanian campaign in 1655, entered the Kremlin with his head uncovered; But Emperor Napoleon, according to legend, almost fell from his horse in front of the gate when a rushing gust of wind tore off the Corsican’s cocked hat.

Spasskaya Tower. Photo from the 1900s

The Spasskaya Tower is most famous for the fact that it houses the Kremlin chimes. There was even a play, if you remember, about how this clock, which was hit by a shell during shelling of the Kremlin, was ordered by the wise Lenin in 1918 not only to be repaired, but also to be taught to perform “The Internationale”. This historical fact. But speaking of facts, the first mechanical clock in the Kremlin appeared in 1404 on the tower of the palace of Grand Duke Vasily I. It was installed by the Athonite monk Lazar Serbin, and for this work the prince awarded the master 30 pounds of silver. Every hour the metal man struck the bell with a hammer, striking everyone who saw that wonder.

And the clock appeared on the tower in 1624, when in its tent, specially built for this purpose by the architect Bazhen Ogurtsov, the Englishman Christopher Galovey and the Russian masters Zhdan and Shumilo assembled a mechanism made in England.

The watch was not completely mechanical and from a modern point of view even looked rather strange. The current hour was indicated by a single and motionless hand, under which a huge wooden dial, covered with blue paint and dotted with gold and silver stars, rotated. The divisions on it were designated not by numbers, but by letters of the Slavic alphabet, so it would not be easy for you and me to find out the time using this clock, especially since there were not 12, but 17 divisions (after all, in our latitudes, a July day and a December night last 17 hours)

The clock keeper climbed the tower twice a day - at dawn and at sunset, that is, when the sun crossed the horizon - and manually moved the dial to zero, only after which the mechanism began to automatically count the hours of day or night.

Illustration from the book by S. P. Bartenev “Moscow, the Kremlin in the old days and now.” M., 1912

When appointed to the position, the watchmaker of the Spasskaya Tower swore an oath “not to drink or drink with the rabble in the chapels at the Spasskaya Tower, not to play cards and not to trade in wine and tobacco, and I will not keep people of thieves, and will not keep visitors, and with thieves.” not an expert, and run the clock with any fear without interference and those clocks that there are buildings on that tower that must be protected and not destroyed.”

When Peter the Great introduced the Gregorian calendar, he at the same time transferred the country to a single daily timekeeping system, so I had to order a new type of watch from Holland - with two hands and a dial marked with the usual 12 divisions. When the clock was brought to Moscow on 30 carts in 1706, the blacksmith Nikifor Yakovlev installed and started the mechanism, and soon chimes appeared on the tower - a device that plays a melody using bells.

Shaft for chimes and part of the clock mechanism

The main detail of the chimes is a drum with a set of pins (pegs), like in a music box. When the drum rotates, each bell at a certain moment sets in motion the corresponding lever, which pulls the wire stretched to one of the bells, which bends and, hitting the tongue, makes a ringing sound. It's simple. There are, in fact, only two difficulties: Russian church bells have a rather wide range, and therefore difficult to use where a sound that exactly matches a certain note is required. In addition, “the wires by which the bell hammers are supposed to be driven, being too long, swing; and in winter, due to the influence of frost, they shrink; from which the expression of musical sounds is not pure and incorrect.” However, in the times of Peter the Great, craftsmen managed to make the clock play the march of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

Clock mechanism of the Spasskaya Tower

The design of the watch, as it was in the 19th century, was described by S.P. Bartenev as follows: “The mechanism consists of four winding shafts. The 1st shaft serves to move the hands, the 2nd to strike the clock, the 3rd to strike the quarters, and the 4th to strike the chimes. The shafts are driven by weights made from set circles, weighing 1/3, 1 and 2 pounds each. For each shaft, a weight weighing 7 pounds is collected, and in winter, when the friction in the mechanism increases, up to 11 pounds.”

Clock mechanisms fell into disrepair from long-term use and were destroyed in fires, they were repaired or replaced completely, the chimes played either the German song “Ah, my dear Augustine”, or Bortnyansky’s melody “How glorious is our Lord in Zion”, or even a funeral march “You fell a victim in the fatal struggle...” - but be that as it may, it is now impossible to imagine Red Square without the Spasskaya Tower with its clock and chimes striking every quarter of every hour.

Metro

If you are going to visit Red Square, then the first question that will arise is the nearest metro stations to Red Square.

These are the stations - Okhotny Ryad (1 red), Teatralnaya (2nd green line), Revolution Square (3rd blue).

The nearest metro stations for tourist walks are near - metro station "Library named after V.I. Lenin", metro station "Alexandrovsky Garden", metro station "Arbatskaya"(dark blue line, east exit) or metro station "Borovitskaya"- closest to the Borovitsky Gate of the Kremlin and the exit to the Kremlin embankment.

For an overview of the remaining walls of the Kremlin near Red Square - stations: "Okhotny Ryad", "Theatrical" And "Revolution Square"- for walks at the northern end of the Kremlin, and subsequent walks through the Alexander Garden or through Red Square.

The closest exit of the Teatralnaya metro station to Red Square and the Bolshoi Theater,photo: © site

360° panorama of Red Square: St. Basil's Cathedral (direction: southeast), the Kremlin with the Lenin Mausoleum (1930) in front, the State Historical Museum (northwest) and GUM. The barely visible Resurrection Gate is located to the right of the museum, the Kazan Cathedral is to the left of GUM, and the monument to Minin and Pozharsky is opposite St. Basil's Cathedral (originally stood opposite GUM). Photo: A.Savin,

Vasilyevsky Spusk

Vasilyevsky Spusk- nearest metro China Town And Okhotny Ryad, with a short walk along the picturesque Varvarka Street.

Square Vasilyevsky Spusk- an area located from Red Square to the Kremlin embankment along the Kremlin wall. The square often hosts ceremonial, festive and sporting events.

Until the 1930s, Vasilyevsky Spusk was still built up with the old area, which was finally liquidated with the construction of a new bridge.

Initially, on the site of the current square in the 18th century, there were houses right up to the moat that surrounded the Kremlin. The square was formed as a result of reconstruction carried out at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1909, trams began running through the square. In 1936, the buildings on the square were demolished. The Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge connects the square with Bolshaya Ordynka Street (via the Maly Moskvoretsky Bridge). Modern bridge was built in 1938.

Red Square – city ​​square Moscow, the capital of Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal fortress and currently official residence President of Russia, from the historical shopping district known as China Town. Red Square is often seen as central square Moscow and all of Russia, since the main streets of Moscow, which connect with the main roads of Russia, originate on the square.

Origin of the name

The name Red Square does not come from the color of the surrounding bricks (which, in fact, were whitewashed at some point in history), nor from the connection between the color red and communism. Rather, it appeared because the Russian word “krasnaya” can mean both “red” and “beautiful” (the latter is rather an archaism). This word, meaning "beautiful", was originally applied to St. Basil's Cathedral, and was later transferred to the nearby square. It is assumed that it acquired its current name (instead of the old "Fire", or "burnt place") in the 17th century. Several ancient Russian cities, such as Suzdal, Yelets and Pereslavl-Zalessky, call their main squares Red Square.

Story

The rich history of Red Square is reflected in many paintings by Vasily Surikov, Konstantin Yuon and others. It was intended to serve as the main market of Moscow. The square was also the site of various public ceremonies and official announcements, and sometimes the coronations of Russian Tsars. The square was built gradually, as it was used for official ceremonies of all Russian governments since its creation.

Red Square in the painting by Vasnetsov V. M.

Red Square before the 18th century

The eastern side of the Kremlin triangle, lying next to Red Square and located between the Moscow rivers and now underground river Neglinnaya is recognized as the most vulnerable party to attack, since it is not protected by rivers or any other physical barriers, like other parties. Thus, Kremlin wall built for the greatest height on this side, and the Italian architects involved in the construction of these fortifications convinced Ivan the Great to clear the area outside the walls to create a shooting field. Corresponding decrees were issued in 1493 and 1495. They called for the demolition of all buildings within 110 fathoms (234 meters) of the wall.

From 1508 to 1516 Italian architect Aleviz Novy organized the construction of a moat in front of the Eastern Wall, which was connected to the Moscow River and Neglinnaya, and was filled with water from Neglinnaya. This ditch, known as the Alevizov Ditch, is 541 meters long, 36 meters wide and 9.5-13 meters deep, and is built of stone. In 1533, fenced on both sides by low, 4-meter-thick jagged brick walls. On this side of the wall there are three gates of the square, which in the 17th century were called: Konstantino-Elena, Spassky, Nikolsky (they owe their names to the icons of Constantine and Helen, the Savior and St. Nicholas, which hung above them). The last two are located directly opposite Red Square, while the Konstantino-Elensky ones are located behind St. Basil's Cathedral. At the beginning of the 19th century, the arch of the Constantine-Helen Gate was paved with brick. Spassky Gate was the main gate of the Kremlin and was used as a royal entrance. From this gate, wooden and (and after improvements in the 17th century) stretched across the moat. stone bridges. Books were sold there, and stone platforms for cannons, called “rolls,” were built nearby. The Tsar Cannon was located on a platform near the Execution Ground.

The square was called Great Torg or simply Torg, and then Trinity after the small Trinity Church, which burned down in a big fire during the Tatar invasion in 1571. After this, the square received the name Pozhar. Only in 1661–1662 was she first mentioned in his modern name Red.

Bookstores on Spassky Bridge, near the main gate of the Kremlin.

Red Square was a pier and shopping center Moscow. Ivan the Great decreed that trade should only be carried out from person to person, but over time, this rule was relaxed and permanent trading structures began to appear on the square. After a fire in 1547, Ivan the Terrible reorganized the wooden shops on the eastern side into shopping arcades. Ilyinka and Varvarka streets were divided into Upper (now GUM), Middle and Lower rows, although the latter were already in Zaryadye.

After several years, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral, was built on the moat during the reign of Ivan IV. This was the first building that gave the square its characteristic modern silhouette (the pyramidal roofs on the Kremlin towers had not yet been built). In 1595, wooden trading rows were replaced with stone ones. By this time, a brick platform for the proclamation of royal decrees, known as the Execution Place, was also built.

Red Square was considered a sacred place. Various festive processions were held there, and on Palm Sunday the famous “donkey procession” was organized, in which the Patriarch, sitting on a donkey, accompanied by the Tsar and the people, left St. Basil’s Cathedral in the Kremlin.

During the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow in 1612, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky entered the Kremlin through the square. In memory of this event, he built the Kazan Cathedral, in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which accompanied his army on the campaign.

At the same time (1624-1625) the Spasskaya Tower received modern shop roofs. This was done at the suggestion and drawing of Christopher Galloway from England, who was called in to design a new tower clock. He also proposed a plan for a tent over the clock. In the middle of the century, a gilded double-headed eagle was installed on the top of the tower. After this, the square became known as Beautiful.

At the end of the 17th century (1679–1680), the area was cleared of all wooden structures. Then all the Kremlin towers received tents, with the exception of Nikolskaya. One was erected on the wall above Red Square (the so-called Tsar's Tower, so the Tsar could watch the ceremonies on the square from this place). Tents were also built over the Resurrection Gate, which is part of the Kitai-Gorod wall. This was a fortified gate to the Resurrection Bridge over the Neglinnaya River.

In 1697 and 1699, the gates on both sides of the Resurrection Bridge were rebuilt into large stone buildings: the Mint and the Zemsky Prikaz (the body responsible for city issues and law and order). The Zemsky Prikaz (on the site of the current Historical Museum) was known as the Main Pharmacy, founded by order of Peter the Great. In 1755, the first Russian university was initially housed in the Zemsky Prikaz building before moving to a more famous building on Mokhovaya Street opposite Manezhnaya Square. At the same time (already dried up by that time) Alevizov ditch was used as a garden of the state pharmacy for growing medicinal plants.

Painting by Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev. Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin in the background. 1801

In 1702, the first public theater in Russia was built near the Nikolsky Gate. It stood until 1737, when it was destroyed by fire. In the 1730s, a new mint building, called the Provincial Office, was built in front of the old one.

During the reign of Catherine the Great, a decision was made to improve the square. In 1786, the upper row of the trading lines was built of stone. This row was located on the opposite side of the square, near the moat between the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers. Later, the architect Matvey Kazakov erected (in the old forms) a new Execution Place of cut stone, slightly to the west of the place where it was before.

Red Square 19th century and early 20th century

In 1804, at the request of merchants, the square was paved with stone. In 1806, the Nikolskaya Tower was reconstructed in the Gothic style; it also received a hip roof. A new stage of improvement of the square began after the invasion of Napoleon and the fire in 1812. The ditch was filled in in 1813, and rows of trees were planted in its place. Shopping arcades along the moat after the fire they collapsed and were demolished, and on the eastern side, Osip Bove built new buildings for the rows in the Empire style. In 1818, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected, which symbolized the growth of patriotic consciousness during the war.

Time series on Red Square, early 20th century

In 1874, the historical building of the Zemsky Prikaz was demolished. In its place, the Imperial Historical Museum was built in pseudo-Russian style. After the Beauvais rows were demolished, new large buildings were erected in their place from 1888 to 1893, also in the pseudo-Russian style: Upper (GUM) and Middle rows. The upper ones were intended for retail trade and together, in fact, entered the first department store in Moscow. The middle rows were intended for wholesale trade. At the same time (in 1892), the square was illuminated with electric lights. In 1909, a tram appeared on the square for the first time.

Modern stage

IN Soviet era, Red Square retained its significance, becoming the center for the new state. In addition to being the official address of the Soviet government, the square has been known as a site for military parades since 1919. The Lenin Mausoleum has been part of the square complex since 1924, and also serves as a platform for dignitaries at all national celebrations. In the 1930s, the Kazan Cathedral and the Iverskaya Chapel with the Resurrection Gate were demolished to make room for heavy military equipment passing through the square (both structures were later restored after the fall of the Soviet Union). There were plans to demolish Moscow's most recognized building, St. Basil's Cathedral, and to make way for an enlarged Red Square, including the State Historical Museum. Legend has it that Lazar Kaganovich, Stalin's associate and director of the Moscow reconstruction plan, prepared a special model of Red Square in which the cathedral could be removed, and brought it to Stalin to show how much the cathedral was obstructing parades and traffic. But when he pulled the cathedral out of the model, Stalin objected with a rather famous quote: “Lazarus! Put it back!”

Two of the most significant military parades on Red Square were on November 7, 1941, when the city was besieged by the Germans and troops left Red Square for the front line, and the Victory Parade in 1945, when the banners of the defeated fascist army were thrown at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum. The Soviet Union held many parades on Red Square in honor of May Day, Victory Day and the anniversary of the October Revolution, which consisted of propaganda, flags, workers' demonstrations, troop marches and displays of tanks and missile systems. Military marches and parades were also held on Victory Day in 1945, 1965, 1985 and 1990.

On May 28, 1987, West German pilot Matthias Rust landed a Cessna 172 light aircraft on Red Square and crashed into St. Basil's Cathedral, causing a big scandal in the Soviet air defense forces.

In 1990, the Kremlin and Red Square became the first sites in the USSR to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Red Square also served as a venue for high-profile concerts. Linkin Park, The Prodigy, t.A.T.u., Shakira, Scorpions, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and other celebrities performed there. It also hosted New Year's celebrations in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and created an ice skating rink. Paul McCartney's performance was a historic moment for many, as the Beatles were banned in the Soviet Union, preventing any live performances there by either of them. The Soviet Union also banned sales of Beatles records. While McCartney's performance was historic, he was not the first Beatle to perform in Russia. Former Beatle Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band performed at Moscow's Rossiya Hall in August 1998.

In January 2008, Russia announced that it would resume the parade of military equipment through Red Square, although the latest restoration of the Iversky Gate is complicated by the closure of one of the existing passages along the Historical Museum to heavy-duty vehicles.

In May 2008, Russia held its annual Victory Parade, marking the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in Great Britain. Patriotic War. For the first time since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Russian military vehicles marched around the square. On December 4, 2008, the KHL announced that they would hold their first All-Star Game on January 10 at an outdoor venue on Red Square.
9 May 2010, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the German surrender in 1945, armed forces France, Great Britain and the United States of America marched in the Victory Day parade in Moscow for the first time in history.

On November 10, 2013, Pyotr Pavlensky, a Russian performance artist, reportedly sat naked in a square for an hour and a half with a nail driven through his scrotum into the ground before he was taken away by police. According to him, the action was a metaphor for “apathy, apoliticality and fatalism in modern Russian society.”

Main attractions

The buildings surrounding the square are all significant in one way or another. The Lenin Mausoleum, for example, contains the embalmed body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union. Not far from the south side is the intricate, colorful, domed St. Basil's Cathedral, as well as the palaces and cathedrals of the Kremlin.

On the eastern side of the square there is GUM and next to it the restored Kazan Cathedral. The northern side is occupied by the State historical museum, whose outlines repeat the outlines of the Kremlin towers. The Resurrection Gate and chapel were restored in the north-west.

The only sculptural monument on the square is a bronze statue of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who helped cleanse Moscow of Polish invaders in 1612, during the Time of Troubles. Nearby is the so-called Place of Execution, a round platform on which public ceremonies were usually held. The statue of Minin and Pozharsky and Lobnoye Mesto were once located closer to the center of Red Square, but were moved to their current locations to facilitate large military parades Soviet era. The square itself is about 330 meters (1,080 ft) long and 70 meters (230 ft) wide.

World Heritage List

The Kremlin and Red Square were recognized as places World Heritage UNESCO in 1990, due to their inextricable connection with Russian history since the 13th century.

The Great Manege building was built by order of Alexander I over eight months in 1817 on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the victory in the War of 1812. The construction was carried out according to the design of engineer Augustin Betancourt by a special staff of engineers and architects subordinate to the chief inspector of hydraulic and earthworks in Moscow, Major General Lev Carbonnier. The building was then called “exertzirgauz” (house for military exercises).

This is not to say that the construction went smoothly. The idea proposed by Betancourt and implemented by Carbonnier implied a unique technological principle: a one-of-a-kind wooden rafter structure that spanned a space of 44.86 m without intermediate supports. However, with the onset of heat at the end of July 1818, two trusses of the Manege cracked. They were fixed, but a year later, in the heat, damage occurred in the rafters again. By the highest order of Alexander I, from September 1823 to May 1824, the farms were rebuilt, and their number increased from 30 to 45. In August 1824, a ceiling was sewn to the roof of the Manege. The miracle of technology from Empire times is the result of the joint action of many architects. The ideas of A. Betancourt and L. Carbonier were brought to mind by honest and modest professionals, about whom history is almost silent: Colonel R.R. Bausa, engineer-lieutenant A.Ya. Kashperov and others. Chief Architect In 1825, the famous Moscow architect Osip Bove decorated the Manege with stucco and plaster decorations for the buildings. Since 1831, concerts and folk festivals were regularly held in Manege. After the revolution, there was a government garage in Manege, and during the time of Nikita Khrushchev (since 1957), the Central Exhibition Hall opened in the building. Interesting fact said researcher Sergei Petrov, who studied the design of the Manege for many years as head of the Main Directorate for the Protection of Monuments of the USSR. It turns out that in order to preserve the wooden structures, in Beauvais’s time the entire attic was filled with shag. Half a meter. All kinds of rodents and insects do not like this smell. Despite the fact that the shag itself was smoked during the war of 1941–1945, all the structures were as good as new back in the seventies of the 20th century. But even then there was still a thick smell of tobacco in the attic.

It’s interesting that the incident with shag in Manezh brings with it a beautiful trail of cultural associations. Associations relate, first of all, to the history of Russian architecture. That's shag! When pronouncing this, today almost exotic, word, how can one not recall the symbol of the transformations of modern Moscow - the Maxim Gorky Central Park of Culture and Culture, on the territory of which the first All-Union Agricultural Exhibition - VSKhV - was located in 1923. And its symbol for subsequent generations was the “Makhorka” pavilion built by the young architect Konstantin Melnikov - one of the first examples of avant-garde form-making.

Sergei Khachaturov

In the formation of new Russian urban toponyms after 1917, for obvious socio-political reasons, they were practically not used names of churches, monasteries, Christian holidays and similar vocabulary.

In addition to simply returning to the map many losses of the Soviet period (Znamenka instead of Frunze Street, Prechistenka instead of Kropotkinskaya Street, Rozhdestvenka instead of Zhdanova Street, etc.), some agiotoponyms (the word agios in Greek means “holy”) are generally born, as it were, anew. A good example is a Moscow toponym that has become very famous in a short time Vasilyevsky Spusk, which until the early 90s was practically not used either orally, much less in writing.

Vasilyevsky Spusk is the territory of the slope leading from the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Basil's Cathedral) down to the embankment of the Moscow River and the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge.

Before the cathedral, on this steep slope there was the Church of the Holy Trinity (that’s why the original name of Red Square was Trinity, but more on that a little later).

Now both Muscovites and tourists usually call this cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral, but its true name is the Intercession Cathedral (or more precisely, the Intercession Cathedral, which is “on the ditch”). It was built by Russian architects Barma and Postnik (according to some assumptions, these are two names of the same person) in 1554-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible, in honor of the victory of the Russian army over the Kazan Khanate. The temple seemed to perpetuate the heroic deeds of the people and preserve the memory of those who died in the Kazan campaign. Barma and Postnik erected an unusually picturesque cathedral of nine, as required by the masters. artistic composition(later there were ten of them), temples of different heights, located around one central one. The churches also symbolized the days of the siege of Kazan. The decorativeness and beauty of the temple were predetermined by the fact that it stood on the largest public square in Moscow and, as it were, was specially created for the people. And the very place where he stood was quite unusual - the highest in the square: it was really the beginning of the cliff to the Moscow River, and nearby there was a ditch that protected the Kremlin wall.

An excellent expert on Moscow, Yakov Belitsky, knew how to suggest how to examine the monuments of Moscow antiquity, including St. Basil's Cathedral. This is what he wrote about it in his book “Forgotten Moscow”: “The cathedral, like many things on Red Square, has a secret. From a distance, he, familiar from book pictures, from albums, is no longer able to bestow you with at least some novelty. But you need to come close to it and slowly walk around it, and then... Then you will see in detail its domes and carved porches, and the festive multicolor of its tiles will float before your eyes.”

The cathedral was consecrated in honor of the holiday of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, famous and beloved by the Russian people. In the “Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary” of the beginning of the 20th century, the following is said about this holiday: “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1) holiday Orthodox Church. Installed in memory of an event that took place in Constantinople... In the war with the Saracens, the city was in danger, but on this day St. Andrew the Fool and his disciple Epiphanius, while in the Blachernae Church during the all-night vigil, saw the Mother of God in the air with a host of saints, praying and spreading her veil (omophorion) over the Christians. Encouraged, the Greeks repulsed the Saracens. There is an akathist in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.”

The cathedral really rose above the moat, which was reflected in its full name: the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which is “on the moat.”

In 1588, a small church of St. Vasily, perceived by the people as built in honor of the Moscow holy fool Vasily. So, almost thirty years later, it received another name: St. Basil's Cathedral, which existed along with the official Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. In our time, the first name is more known and used. It also formed the basis of toponyms.

That part of Red Square, which was enclosed between the cathedral and the Kremlin wall, was called Vasilyevskaya Square even before 1938: after 1938 it was officially included in Red Square.

The territory located below the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin, i.e. Vasilievsky Spusk, began to be used for various kinds of events at the end of the so-called “perestroika”, when Red Square remained a closed place for these events. But in the media, journalists used the toponym Red Square, although in reality they were talking (as, for example, in the text about the start of the international peace marathon from the center of Moscow, which took place on Vasilyevsky Spusk) about the territory lying beyond the border of the square.

Later, with the transfer of rallies and demonstrations from Manezhnaya Square to the site of interest to us near St. Basil's Cathedral, an urgent need arose to use its exact geographical name. Thanks to the influence of the media in as soon as possible In Russian speech, the unofficial (because it is not registered anywhere and in any way!) toponym Vasilievsky Spusk has become firmly entrenched. The sharp increase in the toponym Vasilievsky Spusk in the speech of Muscovites, in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television is also due to the fact that this place began to be actively used for a wide variety of cultural and sporting events - from concerts of rock bands to the display of fashion collections.

Both components, both parts of the toponymic phrase are noteworthy Vasilyevsky Spusk. Common noun descent is perceived by Russian speakers as an integral part of the thematic group of words that means intracity objects such as “street”, “square”, “alley”. In fact, we are dealing with the false part of such a thematic series, because even historically the word descent was not included in it, in contrast, for example, to the word sacrum, which has fallen out of use with the meaning “small city square with a crossroads”: Nikolsky sacrum, Varvarsky sacrum, Ilyinsky sacrum, etc. A special chapter in one of the best books on the history of the capital is devoted to Moscow sacrums, their history, and the etymology of their names (see: Moscow. Detailed historical and archaeological description of the city. Published by A. Martynov. The text was compiled by I. N. Snegirev. T. 1. M., 1865, p. 176189).

The famous scientist, professor E.M. Murzaev in his special study “ Geographical terms in the toponymy of Moscow" (article published in the collection " Geographical names in Moscow" does not highlight the term descent among the terms shaft, gate, butyrki, mountain, shore, swamp, enemy (ravine), outpost etc. However, the same researcher introduced the dictionary entry SPUSK into his “Dictionary of Folk Geographical Terms”.

“Descent. An inclined surface along which one descends (here E.M. Murzaev first refers to the well-known 17-volume dictionary of the Russian language of the USSR Academy of Sciences. M. G.). In toponymy, a slope with a road, path, or street laid along it. Wed. go down, start. St. Klovsky Spusk and Andreevsky Spusk in Kyiv. For semantic parallel, see gangway».

It is precisely due to this content that the term descent accurately characterizes the features of this territory: in front of us is the road down along the Kremlin wall, the slope near St. Basil's Cathedral.

Let us quote some pre-revolutionary and modern publications:

“Already the Intercession Cathedral (St. Basil’s Cathedral) is immediately distinguished by its bizarre architecture from the Kremlin churches. Built in memory of the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan, which gave the trade routes to the Caspian and Siberia into the hands of the Moscow Posad, it was made up of eight original churches... And as a “votive” temple, connected with the growth of the Moscow Posad, and not the boyars who came at that time fell into disrepair, it was taken to spite the boyars outside the Kremlin, to the suburb, to the moat that separated Red Square from the descent to the Moscow River" (this is an excerpt from the book "Around Moscow: Walks around Moscow and its artistic and educational institutions" edited . N. A. Geinike and others);

“The Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, better known as St. Basil’s Cathedral, is located in the southern part of Red Square, near the Spassky Gate of the Kremlin, above the descent to the Moscow River” (this quote is an excerpt from the fundamental publication “Architectural Monuments of Moscow” of the early 80s x years).

Because the word descent in our Moscow toponym it is still associated with a thematic series street, embankment, mountain(type Poklonnaya Gora), then it should be written in the title with a lowercase letter: descent. In the Kiev toponym, this same noun has long and firmly become part of the name of the street, therefore both components of the name Andreevsky Spusk must be written with a capital letter, similar to the Moscow names that are similar in structure: street Kuznetsky Most, Sushchevsky Val street, Tserkovnaya Gorka street.

No less interesting is the history of the first part of the toponym Vasilievsky Spusk. Having the form of an adjective, it is formed by, as scientists say, transonymization (i.e., the transition of one proper name into another name, title, designation), not the official name of the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but its popular name - St. Basil's Cathedral. Such was the power of the spiritual folk tradition: Muscovites loved and revered the holy fool Vasily as a teacher, and after his death as a heavenly prayer book and patron. The following is known about this, in particular: “The place where he (cathedral. M. G.) was founded, it used to be a cemetery with a church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, in which the holy fool Vasily the Blessed was buried... There are many legends associated with the pious deeds and prophetic abilities of the holy fool, for example, such having heard a lot about the ascetic life of Vasily, Ivan the Terrible one day he called him to his palace and ordered him to bring him a glass of wine. The blessed one, having accepted it, poured the wine out the open window. The Tsar ordered another to be poured for him, and Vasily did the same. Then the king angrily asked the holy fool:

Why are you acting so dishonestly with the sovereign’s salary?

“I’m putting out the fire in Novgorod,” answered the blessed one.

Soon the news of the fire in Novgorod justified the words of the holy fool. They said that in 1547 Vasily predicted the great fire of Moscow... In order to correct the morals of the people and those in power, he took upon himself the feat of “foolishness for the sake of Christ.” Foolishness - a new order of lay holiness - has been included in the Russian Church since the beginning of the 14th century.” Like this interesting story V. G. Cherkasov-Georgievsky included about St. Basil in his book about religious centers and communities in Moscow.

And here’s how, even more interestingly, Ya. M. Belitsky wrote about the holy fool Vasily, nicknamed the Blessed, in the book “Forgotten Moscow” I already mentioned: “...Across this square among countless shops, among the noisy whirlwind of people in rags and barefoot Vasily's son Yakovlev once wandered at any time. He was born in 1480 in the parish of the Church of the Epiphany in Elokhov. They say that his father was a shoemaker and he should have been a shoemaker too, but even in his adolescence he left his parental home, wandered around Moscow, and the glory of a healer and clairvoyant followed him.

There are a great many legends about Vasily, nicknamed the Blessed.

They say that one day some rich man gave him a fur coat from his shoulder. The gang of thieves noticed this fur coat and sent a rogue to him, who said to the holy fool in a mournful voice:

My comrade died. And he and I were so poor that we had nothing to cover him. Give your fur coat to God's cause, holy man.

“Take it,” said Vasily, “and let everything be as you told me.”

When the swindler approached with a fur coat to the one who, pretending to be dead, was lying on the ground, he saw that he had actually given his soul to God.

Basil the Blessed died in 1551, and three years later, in commemoration of the victory over the Kazan Khanate, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich founded the Church of the Intercession.”

The motivation and specific type of model of formation in Russian speech of the city toponym Vasilievsky Spusk are quite transparent (despite the unusual details of its history and modern facts of the 90s of the 20th century): the anthroponym (person's name) Vasily the Blessed, and the chapel of St. Basil's Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Basil's Cathedral, and Vasilyevsky Descent. By the way, this new name can also be defined as a kind of toponymic metonymy.