7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Coordinates:554515N373712E

RedSquare
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

RedSquare(Russian:

,tr.
KrsnayaPlshchaIPA:[krasnjplot])isa
citysquare(plaza)inMoscow,Russia.Itseparatesthe
Kremlin,theformerroyalcitadelandcurrentlythe
officialresidenceofthePresidentofRussia,froma
historicmerchantquarterknownasKitaigorod.Red
Squareisoftenconsideredthecentralsquareof
MoscowsinceMoscow'smajorstreets,whichconnect
toRussia'smajorhighways,originatefromthesquare.

UNESCOWorldHeritageSite

KremlinandRedSquare,Moscow
NameasinscribedontheWorldHeritageList(http://whc.unesco.org/en/list)

Contents
1 Originandname
2 History
2.1 Beforethe18thcentury
2.2 18thcentury
2.3 19thandearly20thcenturies
2.4 Sovieteraandmodernera
3 Mainsights
4 WorldHeritageListing
5 Seealso
6 Sources
7 References
8 Externallinks

Originandname

ViewofRedSquarelookingnorthwestfromSt.Basil's
Cathedral
Type

Cultural

Criteria

i,ii,iv,vi

Reference

545(http://whc.u
nesco.org/en/list/
545)

UNESCOregion(http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/?sear

Russia

ch=&search_by_country=&type=&media=&region=
&order=region)

ThenameRedSquareneitheroriginatesfromthe
Inscriptionhistory
pigmentofthesurroundingbricks(which,infact,
Inscription
1991 (14th
werewhitewashedatcertainperiods)norfromthelink
Session)
betweenthecolorredandcommunism.Rather,the
namecameaboutbecausetheRussianword
(krasnaya),whichmeans"red,"wasappliedtoasmallareabetweenSt.Basil'sCathedral,theSpasskyTowerof
theKremlin,andtheLobnoeMesto(itactuallyneverwasaplaceofexecution),andTsarAlexeiMikhailovich
officiallyextendedthenametotheentiresquare,whichhadpreviouslybeencalledPozhar,or"burntoutplace",in
referencetothefactthatseveralbuildingshadtobeburneddowntomakeplaceforthesquare.Severalancient
Russiantowns,suchasSuzdal,Yelets,andPereslavlZalessky,havetheirmainsquarenamedKrasnayaploshchad.

History
TherichhistoryofRedSquareisreflectedinmanypaintingsbyVasilySurikov,KonstantinYuonandothers.The
squarewasmeanttoserveasMoscow'smainmarketplace.Itwasalsothesiteofvariouspublicceremoniesand
proclamations,andoccasionallyacoronationforRussia'sTsarswouldtakeplace.Thesquarehasbeengradually
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

1/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

builtupsincethatpointandhasbeenusedforofficialceremoniesbyallRussiangovernmentssinceitwas
established.

Beforethe18thcentury
TheEastsideoftheKremlintriangle,lyingadjacenttoRedSquareandsituatedbetweentheriversMoskvaandthe
nowundergroundNeglinnayaRiverwasdeemedthemostvulnerablesideoftheKremlintoattack,sinceitwas
neitherprotectedbytherivers,noranyothernaturalbarriers,astheothersideswere.Therefore,theKremlinwall
wasbuilttoitsgreatestheightonthisside,andtheItalianarchitectsinvolvedinthebuildingofthesefortifications
convincedIvantheGreattocleartheareaoutsideofthewallstocreateafieldforshooting.Therelevantdecrees
wereissuedin1493and1495.Theycalledforthedemolitionofallbuildingswithin110sazhens(234metres)of
thewall.
From1508to1516,theItalianarchitectAloisiotheNewarrangedfortheconstructionofamoatinfrontofthe
Easternwall,whichwouldconnecttheMoskvaandNeglinnayaandbefilledinwithwaterfromNeglinnaya.This
moat,knownastheAlevizovmoathavingalengthof541meters,widthof36meters,andadepthof9.513mwas
linedwithlimestoneand,in1533,fencedonbothsideswithlow,4meterthickcoggedbrickwalls.Threesquare
gatesexistedonthissideofthewall,whichinthe17thcentury,wereknownas:KonstantinoEleninsky,Spassky,
Nikolsky(owingtheirnamestotheiconsofConstantineandHelen,theSaviorandSt.Nicholaswhichhungover
them).ThelasttwoaredirectlyoppositeRedSquare,whiletheKonstantinoElenenskygatewaslocatedbehind
SaintBasil'sCathedral.Intheearly19thcentury,theArchofKonstantinoElenenskygatewaspavedwithbricks,
buttheSpasskyGatewasthemainfrontgateoftheKremlinandusedforroyalentrances.Fromthisgate,wooden
and(followingthe17thcenturyimprovements)stonebridgesstretchedacrossthemoat.Booksweresoldonthis
bridgeandstoneplatformswerebuiltnearbyforguns"raskats".TheTsarCannonwaslocatedontheplatformof
theLobnoyemesto.
ThesquarewascalledVelikyTorg(Greatmarket)orsimplyTorg(Market),thenTroitskayabythenameofthe
smallTroitskaya(Trinity)Church,burntdowninthegreatfireduringtheTatarinvasionin1571.Afterthat,the
squareheldthenamePozhar,whichmeans"burnt".Itwasnotuntil166162,whenitwasfirstmentionedbyits
contemporaryKrasnaya"Red"name.
RedSquarewasthelandingstageandtradecenterforMoscow.IvantheGreat
decreedthattradeshouldonlybeconductedfrompersontoperson,butintime,
theseruleswererelaxedandpermanentmarketbuildingsbeganappearingonthe
square.Afterafirein1547,IvantheTerriblereorganizedthelinesofwooden
shopsontheEasternsideintomarketlines.ThestreetsIlyinkaandVarvarkawere
dividedintotheUpperlines(nowGUMdepartmentstore),Middlelinesand
Bottomlines,althoughBottomLineswerealreadyinZaryadye).
Afterafewyears,theCathedralofIntercessionoftheVirgin,commonlyknownas
SaintBasil'sCathedral,wasbuiltonthemoatundertheruleofIvanIV.Thiswas
thefirstbuildingwhichgavethesquareitspresentdaycharacteristicsilhouette
(pyramidalroofshadnotyetbeenbuiltontheKremlintowers).In1595,the
woodenmarketlineswerereplacedwithstone.Bythattime,abrickplatformfor
theproclamationofthetsar'sedicts,knownasLobnoyeMesto,hadalsobeen
constructed.

SaintBasil'sCathedral
(finished1561)

RedSquarewasconsideredasacredplace.Variousfestiveprocessionswereheld
there,andduringPalmSunday,thefamous"processiononadonkey"was
arranged,inwhichthepatriarch,sittingonadonkey,accompaniedbythetsarandthepeoplewentoutofSaint
Basil'sCathedralintheKremlin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

2/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

DuringtheexpulsionofPolesfromMoscowin1612,PrinceDmitryPozharskyenteredtheKremlinthroughthe
square.Inmemoryofthisevent,hebuilttheKazanCathedralinhonoroftheKazanIconoftheMotherofGod,
followedhisarmyinacampaign.
Atthesametime(16241625),Spasskayatowerreceivedcontemporarytentroofs.Thiswasdoneontheproposal
andthedraughtofChristopherGallowayfromScotland,whowassummonedtodesignthenewtower'sclockand
suggestedthearrangementofthetentroofovertheclock.Inthemidcenturyagildeddoubleheadedeaglewasset
ontopofthetower.Afterthis,thesquarebecameknownasKrasivaya("beautiful").
Inthelate17thcentury(16791680)thesquarewasclearedofallwoodenstructures.ThenallKremlintowers
receivedtentroofs,exceptNikolskaya.OnetentwaserectedonthewallaboveRedSquare(thesocalled
TsarskayaTower,sothatthetsarcouldwatchfromthisspottheceremoniesinthesquare).Tentroofswerealso
constructedatVoskrerensky(Iberian)gates,arrangedinthewallofKitaigorod.Thesewerethefortifiedgatesat
VoskresenskyBridgeovertheRiverNeglinnaya.
In1697and1699,gatesonbothsidesofVoskresenskyBridgewererebuiltintolargestonebuildings:theMintand
Zemskyprikaz(departmentinchargeofurbanandpolicematters).Zemskyprikaz(onthesiteofcurrentHistorical
Museum)wasthenknownastheMainPharmacy,foundedunderordersofPeterTheGreat.In1755thefirst
RussianUniversitywasoriginallyhousedinthebuildingofZemskyprikaz,beforemovingtothebetterknown
buildingonMokhovayastreetfurtheracrossManegeSquare.Atthesametimethe(bythenalreadydrained)
AlevizovmoatwasusedasastatePharmacy'sgardenforgrowingmedicinalplants.

17thcenturyPalmSundayprocessionleavingSaint
BasilforKremlin.

ExecutionofstreltsybyTsarPeterI(totherightona
horse)inRedSquare,1698(painted1881)

BookshopsattheSpasskybridgeatthe
maingateoftheKremlin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

KazanCathedral(1993reconstruction,it
originatesbackto161225)
3/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Zemskyprikaz,townhallbuilt1700

18thcentury
In1702,thefirstpublictheaterinRussiawasbuiltneartheNikolskygateItstooduntil1737,whenitwas
destroyedinafire.Inthe1730s,anewmintbuilding,calledtheGubernskoyepravlenie(ProvincialBoard),was
builtinfrontoftheoldone.
Duringherreign,CatherinetheGreatdecidedtomakeimprovementstothesquare.In1786theupperfloorofthe
marketlineswasmadeofstone.Thislinewasbuiltontheoppositesideofthesquare,nearamoatbetweenthe
SpasskayaandNikolskayatowers.ThenarchitectMatveyKazakovbuilt(intheoldforms)thenewLobnoyemesto
ofhewnstone,slightlyWestoftheplacewhereitwasbefore.

19thandearly20thcenturies
In1804,attherequestofmerchants,thesquarewaspavedinstone.In1806NikolskayaTowerwasreconstructed
intheGothicstyle,andreceivedatentroof.Thenewphaseofimprovementofthesquarebeganafterthe
Napoleonicinvasionandfirein1812.Themoatwasfilledin1813andinitsplace,rowsoftreeswereplanted.The
marketLinealongthemoat,dilapidatedafterthefire,hadbeendemolished,andontheEasternside,JosephBov
constructednewbuildingoflinesintheEmpirestyle.In1818theMonumenttoMininandPozharsky,waserected,
symbolisingtheriseinpatrioticconsciousnessduringthewar.
In1874thehistoricbuildingofZemskyprikazwasdemolished.InitsplacetheImperialHistoricalMuseumwas
builtinpseudoRussianstyle.AfterBov'slinesweredemolished,newlargebuildingswereerectedbetween1888
and1893,alsointhepseudoRussianstyle:upperlines(Gumdepartmentstore)andmiddlelines.Theupperlines
wereintendedforretailsaleandtogetherinfactcomprisedthefirstdepartmentstoreinMoscow.Middlelines
wereintendedforwholesaletrade.Atthesametime(in1892)thesquarewasilluminatedbyelectriclanterns.In
1909atramappearedonthesquareforthefirsttime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

4/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheKremlinwithAlevizovmoatand
NikolskayaTowerinfront.ByFedor
Alekseev,1800.

Leftright:Zemskyprikaz,Voskresensky
gates,ProvincialBoardandKazan
Cathedral,1802

Leftright:marketlinesbyBove,Saint
BasilandKremlin.Viewfrom1816.
MarketlineswerereplacedbyGUM
storein1893.

MininPozharskymonumentfrom1818
commemoratingtheexpulsionofthe
PolishLithuanianCommonwealthfrom
Moscow,19thcentury

SaintBasil'sCathedral,Monumentto
MininandPozharskyandSpasskaya
Towerin1908

RedSquarewithSt.Basil'sCathedral
andMoscowKremlininbackground,by
FedorAlekseev,1801.

Sovieteraandmodernera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

5/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

DuringtheSovietera,RedSquaremaintaineditssignificance,becomingafocalpointforthenewstate.Besides
beingtheofficialaddressoftheSovietgovernment,itwasrenownedasashowcaseformilitaryparadesfrom1919
onward.Lenin'sMausoleumwouldfrom1924onwardbeapartofthesquarecomplex,andalsoasthegrandstand
forimportantdignitariesinallnationalcelebrations.Inthe1930s,KazanCathedralandIverskayaChapelwiththe
ResurrectionGatesweredemolishedtomakeroomforheavymilitaryvehiclesdrivingthroughthesquare(both
werelaterrebuiltafterthefalloftheSovietUnion).TherewereplanstodemolishMoscow'smostrecognized
building,SaintBasil'sCathedral,aswelltomakewayforalargerRedSquare,aswellastheStateHistorical
Museum.ThelegendisthatLazarKaganovich,Stalin'sassociateanddirectoroftheMoscowreconstructionplan,
preparedaspecialmodelofRedSquare,inwhichthecathedralcouldberemoved,andbroughtittoStalintoshow
howthecathedralwasanobstacleforparadesandtraffic.Butwhenhejerkedthecathedraloutofthemodel,Stalin
objectedwithhisratherfamousquote:"Lazar!Putitback!".
TwoofthemostsignificantmilitaryparadesonRedSquarewereNovember7,1941,whenthecitywasbesieged
byGermansandtroopswereleavingRedSquarestraighttothefrontlines,andtheVictoryParadein1945,when
thebannersofdefeatedNaziarmieswerethrownatthefootofLenin'sMausoleum.TheSovietUnionheldmany
paradesinRedSquareforMayDay,VictoryDay,andtheOctoberRevolution,whichconsistedofpropaganda,
flags,alabordemonstration,andatroopsmarchandshowoffoftanksandmissiles.OnVictoryDayin1945,
1965,1985,1990,and2015thereweremilitarymarchesandparadesaswell.
In1963agroupofAfricanstudentsorganizedaprotestonRedSquareinresponsetotheallegedmurderofa
medicalstudentEdmundAssareAddo.ThiswasthefirstrecordedpoliticalprotestonRedSquaresincethelate
1920s.[1]
OnMay28,1987,aWestGermanpilotnamedMathiasRustlandedaCessna172lightaircraftatSt.Basilnextto
RedSquare,causingamajorscandalintheSovietAirDefenseForces.
In1990theKremlinandRedSquarewereamongtheveryfirstsitesintheUSSRaddedtoUNESCO'sWorld
HeritageList.
RedSquarehasalsoservedasavenueforhighprofileconcerts.LinkinPark,TheProdigy,t.A.T.u.,Shakira,
Scorpions,PaulMcCartney,RogerWaters,RedHotChiliPeppers,andothercelebritiesperformedthere.Forthe
NewYear2006,2007,and2008celebrations,askatingrinkwassetuponRedSquare.PaulMcCartney's
performancetherewasahistoricmomentformany,asTheBeatleswerebannedintheSovietUnion,preventing
anyliveperformancesthereofanyofTheBeatles.TheSovietUnionalsobannedthesalesofBeatlesrecords.
WhileMcCartney'sperformancewashistoric,hewasnotthefirstBeatletoperforminRussia.FormerBeatle
RingoStarrandHisAllStarrBandperformedatMoscow'sRussiaHallinAugust1998.
InJanuary2008,RussiaannounceditwouldresumeparadingmilitaryvehiclesthroughRedSquare,[2]although
recentrestorationofIverskiGatecomplicatedthis,byclosingoneofexistingpassagesalongHistoricalMuseum
fortheheavyvehicles.
InMay2008,RussiahelditsannualVictorydayparade,markingthe63rdanniversaryofthedefeatofNazi
GermanyinWorldWarII.ForthefirsttimesincethecollapseoftheUSSRin1991,Russianmilitaryvehicles
paradedthroughthesquare.OnDecember4,2008,TheKHLannouncedtheywouldbeholdingtheirfirstallstar
gameoutdoorsonJanuary10atRedSquare.[3]
OnMay9,2010,tocommemoratethe65thanniversaryofthecapitulationofGermanyin1945,thearmedforces
ofFrance,theUnitedKingdom,andtheUnitedStatesmarchedintheMoscowVictoryDayparadeforthefirst
timeinhistory.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

6/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Lenin'smausoleum

2008Militaryparademarkingthesixty
thirdanniversaryofVictoryintheGreat
PatrioticWar

RedArmysoldierscheerJosephStalinin
RedSquareinascenefromthe1942
filmMoscowStrikesBack

Mainsights

360PanoramaofRedSquare:SaintBasil(direction:SE),KremlinwithLeninMausoleum(from1930)infront,State
HistoricalMuseum(NW)andGUMstore.HardlyseenareVoskresenskygatesjusttotherightofmuseum,KazanCathedral
justtotheleftofGUMstoreandtheMininPozharskymonumentinfrontofSaintBasil(originallyitwasinfrontofGUM
store).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

7/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ThebuildingssurroundingtheSquareareallsignificantinsomerespect.Lenin'sMausoleum,forexample,
containstheembalmedbodyofVladimirIlyichLenin,thefounderoftheSovietUnion.NearbytotheSouthisthe
elaboratebrightlydomedSaintBasil'sCathedralandthepalacesandcathedralsoftheKremlin.
OntheEasternsideofthesquareistheGUMdepartment
store,andnexttoittherestoredKazanCathedral.The
NorthernsideisoccupiedbytheStateHistoricalMuseum,
whoseoutlinesechothoseofKremlintowers.TheIberian
GateandChapelhavebeenrebuilttotheNorthwest.
Theonlysculpturedmonumentonthesquareisabronze
statueofKuzmaMininandDmitryPozharsky,whohelped
toclearMoscowfromthePolishinvadersin1612,during
theTimesofTrouble.NearbyisthesocalledLobnoye
Mesto,acircularplatformwherepublicceremoniesused
totakeplace.BoththeMininandPozharskiystatueand
theLobnoyeMestowereoncelocatedmorecentrallyin
RedSquarebutweremovedtotheircurrentlocationsto
facilitatethelargemilitaryparadesoftheSovietera.The
squareitselfisaround330meters(1,080feet)longand70
meters(230feet)wide.

V.Gates
KazanCathedral
State
Museum

GUMstore

Lenin
Mausoleum
Kremlin
SaintBasil

MapofRedSquare.

WorldHeritageListing
TheKremlinandRedsquareweretogetherrecognizedasaUNESCOWorldHeritageSitein1990,duetotheir
inextricablelinkstoRussianhistorysincethe13thcentury.

Seealso
AlexanderGarden
Kremlintowers
KremlinWall
KremlinWallNecropolis
LubyankaSquare
SaintBasil'sCathedral

Sources
...,,1991.ISBN5239011397
...()...,1958

References
1.JulieHessler."DeathofanAfricanStudentinMoscow".CAIRN.info.Retrieved15July2014.
2.Aksyonov,Pavel(January21,2008)."TankstoreturntoRedSquare".BBCNews.RetrievedJune14,2009.
3.Sports.espn.go.com(http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3745399)
4.Chance,Matthew(May9,2010)."WesterntroopsjoinRussia'sVictoryDayparade".CNN.RetrievedMay9,2010.

Externallinks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

8/9

7/3/2016

RedSquareWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

DocumentaryMoscowcladinsnow,00:07:23,1908(https://ww
WikimediaCommonshas
w.youtube.com/watch?v=SCeVdiFJlXA)onYouTube
mediarelatedtoRed
RedSquareinMoscow,themostimportantplaceinthecountry's
Square.
largest.(http://thewotme.com/2012/11/plazarojademoscuellugar
masimportantedelpaismasgrande/)ThewotmeTravelBlog
MoscowLife:AguidetoMoscow'sRedSquare(http://www.moscowlife.com/moscow/redsquare)
3DmodelofRedSquare(http://vizerra.com/portfolio/redsquare/category/tourism)
VisitingRedSquare(http://www.moscow.info/redsquare/index.aspx)Usefulinformationforvisitorsto
RedSquareandtheKremlin
RedSquareandsurroundingarea(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzQ5iFER_aA)onYouTubetime
lapsevideo
360VirtualTourofRedSquare(http://round.me/tour/2883/view)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_Square&oldid=727547000"
Categories: Nationalsquares Carfreezones SquaresinMoscow WorldHeritageSitesinRussia
KitayGorod RedSquare LandmarksinRussia VisitorattractionsinMoscow
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon29June2016,at18:08.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmayapply.
Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregisteredtrademark
oftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square

9/9