Kremlin (fortification)

Not to be confused with Gremlin (disambiguation).

This article is about Russian fortresses. For the kremlin in Moscow, see Moscow Kremlin. For other uses, see Kremlin (disambiguation).

File:Kremlin from Bolshoy kamenny bridge.jpg

The Moscow Kremlin, which is the most well-known one.

A wall of Smolensk Kremlin in 1912.

Remains of the Kolomna Kremlin.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.

The bishop residence in Rostov, sometimes called a Kremlin

A kremlin (Russian: кремль, romanized: kreml, IPA: [ˈkrʲemlʲ], castle; same root as in kremen (Russian: кремень, romanized: kremen, IPA: [krʲɪˈmʲenʲ], flint)) is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the most famous, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there.

The short list of Russian cities with kremlins

• World Heritage Sites
  • Moscow Kremlin
  • Novgorod Kremlin
  • Solovetsky Monastery
  • Suzdal Kremlin
  • Kazan Kremlin
• Extant
  • Astrakhan Kremlin
  • Kolomna Kremlin
  • Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
  • Pskov Kremlin
  • Rostov Veliky Kremlin (a bishop residence, not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Smolensk Kremlin
  • Tobolsk Kremlin (the sole stone kremlin in Siberia)
  • Tula Kremlin
  • Zaraysk Kremlin
  • Ivangorod Fortress (not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Oreshek Fortress (not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Staraya Ladoga
  • Alexandrov Kremlin (a czar residence, not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Korela Fortress (not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Izborsk Kremlin
• In ruins
  • Gdov Kremlin
  • Porkhov Kremlin
  • Serpukhov Kremlin
  • Velikie Luki Kremlin
  • Torzhok Kremlin
  • Mozhaysk Kremlin
  • Fortress of Koporye (not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Vyazma Kremlin (one tower)
  • Syzran Kremlin (one tower, 1683)
  • Ufa
• Unwalled
  • Vladimir Kremlin (Tower Golden Gate and bank)
  • Dmitrov
  • Ryazan
  • Vologda (a bishop residence, not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Yaroslavl (two towers)
  • Pereslavl-Zalessky
  • Khlynov (Vyatka)
  • Volokolamsk
• Only traces
  • Borovsk
  • Opochka
  • Zvenigorod
  • Starodub
  • Tver – a wooden fortress was burned down in a fire in 1763
  • Sknyatino – underwater since flooding during the 1930s.
  • Yam Fortress (not formally considered a kremlin)
  • Fortress of Radonezh
  • Ryazan
  • Old Ryazan (60 km from modern Ryazan)
  • Ostrov (14th-15th centuries)
  • Belgorod (bank of fortress)
  • Vereya
  • Kaluga
  • Kleshchin
  • Kostroma
  • Pustozyorsk
  • Uglich
  • Staritsa
  • Sviyazhsk
  • Cheboksary
  • Yuryev-Polsky
  • Aleksin
  • Opochka
  • Oryol
  • Rurikovo gorodishche
  • Mtsensk
  • Raskiel
• Modern imitations
  • Izmaylovo Kremlin

Kremlins outside borders of modern Russia

After the disintegrations of the Kievan Rus, the Russian Empire and the USSR, some fortresses considered Kremlin-type, remained beyond the borders of modern Russia. Some are listed below:

• Belz, Ukraine (only traces)
• Kiev, Ukraine (reconstructed tower of the Golden Gate)
• Putyvl, Ukraine
• Novhorod-Siverskyi, Ukraine
• Chernihiv, Ukraine (only traces)
• Kamyanyets, Belarus (shafts and Belaya Vezha tower)
• Belgorod Kievsky, Ukraine (now village Belgorodka)

The same structure in Ukraine is called dytynets (Ukrainian: дитинець, from dytyna - child). The term has been in use since the 11th century. The term Kremlin first appeared in 14th century in Russian territories, where it replaced dytynets.

Many Russian monasteries have been built in a fortress-like style similar to that of a kremlin. For a partial list, see Monasteries in Russia.

Further reading

• Воронин Н. Н. Владимир, Боголюбово, Суздаль, Юрьев-Польской. М.: Искусство, 1967.
• Кирьянов И. А. Старинные крепости Нижегородского Поволжья. Горький: Горьк. книжн. изд., 1961.
• Косточкин В. В. Русское оборонное зодчество конца XIII — начала XVI веков. М.: Издательство Академии наук, 1962.
• Крадин Н. П. Русское деревянное оборонное зодчество". М.: Искусство, 1988.
• Раппопорт П. А. Древние русские крепости. М.: Наука, 1965.
• Раппопорт П. А. Зодчество Древней Руси. Л.: Наука, 1986.
• Раппопорт П. А. Строительное производство Древней Руси (X—XIII вв.). СПб: Наука, СПб, 1994.
• Сурмина И. О. Самые знаменитые крепости России. М.: Вече, 2002.
• Тихомиров М. Н. Древнерусские города. М.: Гос. изд. полит. лит-ры, 1956.
• Яковлев В. В. Эволюция долговременной фортификации. М.: Воениздат, 1931.

See also

• Citadel

External links

• Media related to Fortresses in Russia at Wikimedia Commons
• Russian Fortification Architecture
• Man sues Russian Government to own Moscow Kremlin (RT article)
• Twelve Russian Kremlins
• Cynthia Marsh. "Kremlin". Words of the World. Brady Haran (University of Nottingham).