From what distance are the Kremlin stars visible? How ruby ​​stars appeared on the Kremlin towers. Did the stars ever go out?

On November 2, 1937, ruby ​​stars were lit on the towers of the Moscow Kremlin. Finials made according to sketches main artist Bolshoi Theater Fedor Fedorovsky, have become one of the most recognizable symbols of the Russian capital.

What were the towers topped with before the ruby ​​stars appeared?

Since the 17th century, gilded double-headed eagles made of copper “sat” on the spiers of the Kremlin. They decorated four towers - Troitskaya, Spasskaya, Borovitskaya and Nikolskaya. In 1935, the eagles were replaced with stars, which were made of stainless steel, lined with copper sheets and decorated with Ural gems. The state allocated 67.9 kg of precious metal for the gilding of the finials. The entire scope of work was carried out under the control of the NKVD operational department and took two weeks. A few months after this, the stars that were illuminated by spotlights dimmed.

What was proposed to replace the double-headed eagles?

In place of the double-headed eagles, they initially planned to install flags or emblems with a hammer and sickle. But in the end, the authorities chose the stars. Sketches were assigned to the artist Evgeniy Lansere. At his first job, Stalin made the remark: “Okay, but it should be without a circle in the center.” The word “without” is underlined twice. Lanceray corrected everything and submitted the sketch again for approval. After this, the Secretary General made another remark: “Okay, but it would be necessary without the fastening stick.” “Without” is again underlined twice. As a result, Lansere was removed from the project.

Filmed from Kremlin towers double-headed eagles. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Why did five ruby ​​stars appear on the towers instead of four eagles?

In 1937, on the orders of Joseph Stalin, not four, but five stars were installed on the Kremlin spiers. In addition to Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Nikolskaya, the Vodovzvodnaya Tower also received ruby ​​toppings. The leader of the people motivated his decision by the fact that the Kremlin would look more beautiful this way.

What is the size and weight of the Kremlin stars?

The size of each star depends on the height and architecture of the tower. Thus, the distance between the ends of the rays of the star on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower is 3 meters, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 meters, on Troitskaya - 3.5 meters, on the Nikolskaya and Spasskaya Towers - 3.75 meters each. One star weighs about a ton, but thanks to bearings installed in the base, it can turn in the wind.

Ruby on the outside, milky on the inside?

The supporting structure of the stars is made of stainless steel. The rays of the tops of the Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Spasskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers each have 8 sides, and the Nikolskaya towers have 12 sides. They have milk glass inside and ruby ​​glass outside. Double glazing is necessary so that the stars do not look dark during daylight hours.

The recipe for cooking ruby ​​glass was created by the famous glazier Nikanor Kurochkin. Special lamps are installed inside the stars; their power on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya towers is 5 kilowatts, on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya - 3.7 kilowatts.

The stars shine day and night.

Moscow Kremlin. Photo: www.russianlook.com

Have the stars ever gone out?

Yes. They went out only twice. The first time they were extinguished during the Great Patriotic War and covered it with a tarpaulin so that the Kremlin would not be so visible to German aircraft. The stars were extinguished for the second time in 1999 at the request of directed by Nikita Mikhalkov for the filming of The Barber of Siberia.

How often do stars get repaired?

The reconstruction was carried out twice. The first time was in 1945-1956, when the stars suffered during the war, and again in 1974. Maintenance of Kremlin stars usually occurs every five years. To climb to them, special lifting structures and scaffolding are used. In 2010, there was freezing rain in Moscow, and giant icicles up to three meters long formed on the stars. They had to be cleaned off.

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 replaced, how much they weigh and why Nikita Mikhalkov needed to extinguish them - the Moscow 24 portal has collected 10 of the most interesting facts.

Fact 1. Before the stars there were eagles

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

They have not survived to this day. By decision of the new government, on October 18, 1935, the eagles were removed and later melted down. Historians of that time 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, stars appeared on the Trinity, Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

Fact 3. Before ruby ​​stars, they were copper and had gems.

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

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 with the Kremlin star-gem

The gem stars were dismantled shortly before the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution. One of them, taken from the Spasskaya Tower, was subsequently installed on the spire of the Northern River Station in Moscow.

Fact 5. Ruby stars on five towers

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

Fact 6. There are lighting lamps inside the stars

Ruby stars glow from within. To illuminate them, 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

The Kremlin's ruby ​​stars have different sizes. The beam span on the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers is 3.75 meters, on the Troitskaya tower - 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 from the spire.

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

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

Fact 10. Since 2014, the stars have been undergoing another stage of reconstruction

In 2014, a comprehensive reconstruction of the star was carried out on the Spasskaya Tower: it now has new system lighting 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 - in the Nikolskaya Tower. In 2018, renovations will be carried out on the Borovitskaya Tower.

In the evening and at night, bright scarlet stars burn over the Moscow Kremlin - symbols of our country’s socialist past. These five-pointed lamps, made of special “ruby” glass, were installed to replace the Armorial Eagles Russian Empire in the 1930s of the last century.

Ideas about replacing the royal eagles on the Kremlin towers with stars were repeatedly expressed immediately after October revolution. But such a reconstruction was associated with too much money and therefore could not be carried out for a long time.

In August 1935, the following TASS message was published in the central press: “The Council People's Commissars The USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) decided by November 7, 1935 to remove 4 eagles located on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, 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 hammer and sickle on the indicated 4 Kremlin towers.”

The first star replaced the eagle on the Spasskaya Tower. This event took place on October 24, 1935, and the next day the second star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower. On October 26 and 27, the stars shone over the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers. On Vodovzvodnaya the star appeared later than others - only in May 1937.

The design and production of the first Kremlin stars were carried out by two Moscow factories, as well as workshops of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. The drawings were created by an outstanding decorative artist, academician Fyodor Fedorovich Fedorovsky, who not only calculated their shape and size, but also sketched the finishing options.

It was decided to make the first Kremlin stars from stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each of them, on both sides, emblems laid out from precious stones were supposed to sparkle. Soviet state- hammer and sickle.

For presentation to the leaders of the party and government, full-size models of all four stars were made, which, it must be said, differed from each other in artistic design.

On the edges of the star of the Spasskaya Tower there were rays emanating from the center; on the Trinity star - the rays were made in the form of ears of corn. The “Borovitskaya” star consisted of two contours inscribed one into the other, and the rays of the Nikolskaya Tower star had no pattern at all.

The country's leaders appreciated the splendor shown to them and agreed to make the stars. True, with one condition: that the symbols of the country be rotating - let Muscovites and guests of the capital admire them from everywhere. Soon several factories received government orders of particular importance.

The supporting structure of the huge stars was made in the form of a light but durable stainless steel frame, on which framing decorations made of red copper sheets were applied. The red metal was plated with 18 to 20 microns of gold.

On each star, a hammer and sickle emblem measuring 2 meters and weighing 240 kilograms was attached on both sides. The frame of the emblem was made of bronze and stainless steel. Separately attached to it were precious stones set in gilded silver, making up the hammer and sickle.

Two hundred and fifty of the best jewelers in Moscow and Leningrad worked on the creation of these emblems for one and a half months. In total, about 7 thousand Ural gems - topazes, aquamarines, amethysts and alexandrites, ranging in size from 20 to 200 carats - were used to make the eight emblems.

The craftsmen installed special bearings manufactured at the First Bearing Plant at the base of each star. Thanks to this, the stars, despite their significant weight (about a ton), could easily rotate and withstand any wind.

The task of lifting the stars was entrusted to the specialists of the All-Union office Stalprommekhanizatsiya, who found an original solution - they designed and built a special crane for each tower, which could be installed on its upper tier. The operation to install one star took about two hours.

However, the first stars of the Kremlin did not decorate its towers for long. Under the influence of atmospheric precipitation, within a year the Ural gems faded and the gilding ceased to shine.

In May 1937, it was decided to install new stars - luminous, ruby ​​ones. The star, which in 1935–1937 crowned the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower, was moved to the spire of the capital’s Northern River Station.

The new stars received double glazing: the inner one was made of milky glass, which scatters light well, and the outer one was made of ruby, bright red glass, 6–7 mm thick. This was done because in bright sunlight the red color of the stars would appear black from the earth.

There are no precious stones in them: the resemblance to a ruby ​​is given to the glass by the selenium added to it during cooking.

The lamps of the Kremlin stars deserve special attention. They were developed by special order at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant. They contain two filaments connected in parallel. Therefore, even if one of them burns out, the lamp will not stop shining.

During the war, in order to camouflage the capital, the Kremlin stars were covered with tarpaulin. When the disguise was removed, it turned out that the glasses of the stars were severely damaged. They were probably hit more than once by anti-aircraft artillery shells defending Moscow from German air raids.

A complete restoration of the Kremlin stars was carried out at the end of 1945 - beginning of 1946. The craftsmen resumed gilding the frame, and made the glass three-layered: a crystal layer appeared between the ruby ​​and milk glass. The Kremlin stars have become even brighter, stronger and more beautiful.

Several years ago, the ruby ​​stars were once again subjected to restoration - craftsmen examined the lamps and replaced some cracked glass.

Stars are usually washed every five years. To maintain reliable operation of auxiliary equipment, scheduled preventive work, more serious ones are performed once every eight years.

The Kremlin star system has a single control center, which is located in the Trinity Tower. Twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and their fans are also switched. There is no threat of a power outage for the five-pointed Kremlin luminaries - they have an autonomous power supply.

The five towers of the Moscow Kremlin, Borovitskaya, Troitskaya, Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Vodovzvodnaya, still shine with red stars, but the towers of the State Historical Museum are now proudly crowned with double-headed eagles. This is how the heirs of the glorious past of our great country coexist peacefully on Red Square.

On October 24, 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. Let's remember 7 facts about Kremlin stars.

1. SYMBOLICS

Why the five-pointed star became the symbol of Soviet power is not known for certain, but what is known is that Leon Trotsky lobbied for this symbol. Seriously interested in esotericism, he knew that the star - a pentagram, has a very powerful energy potential and is one of the most powerful symbols.

The symbol of the new state could well be the swastika, the cult of which was very strong in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The swastika was depicted on the “Kerenki”; ​​swastikas were painted on the wall of the Ipatiev House by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna before being executed. But by an almost unanimous decision, at the suggestion of Trotsky, the Bolsheviks settled on a five-pointed star. 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.

2. TECHNIQUE

Placing thousand-kilogram stars on the Kremlin towers was no 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 this height in the country, but for Russian engineers there is no word “no”, there is the word “must”.

Stalprommekhanizatsiya specialists designed and built a special crane for each tower, which could be installed on its upper tier. At the base of the tent, a metal base - a console - was mounted through the tower window. A crane was assembled on it. So, in several stages, the double-headed eagles were first dismantled, and then the stars were erected.

3. RECONSTRUCTION OF TOWERS

The weight of each of the Kremlin stars reached up to a ton. Considering the height at which they were supposed to be located and the sail surface of each star (6.3 sq.m.), 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 tower vaults and their tents have fallen into disrepair. The builders strengthened the brickwork of the upper floors of all towers: additional elements were added to the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers metal connections. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

4. SO DIFFERENT AND TURNING

They didn't make identical stars. The four stars differed from each other in their artistic design.

On the edges of the star of the Spasskaya Tower 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 manufactured at the First Bearing Plant were installed at the base of each star. Thanks to this, despite their significant weight, the stars could easily rotate, turning to face the wind. By the location of the stars, therefore, one can judge where the wind is blowing from.

5. GORKY PARK

The installation of the Kremlin stars became a real holiday for Moscow. The stars were not taken under cover of darkness to Red Square. The day before they were installed on the Kremlin towers, the stars were put on display in the Park named after. Gorky. Together with mere mortals, the secretaries of the city and district CPSU(b) came to look at the stars; in the light of the spotlights, Ural gems sparkled and the rays of the stars sparkled. The eagles removed from the towers were installed here, clearly demonstrating the dilapidation of the “old” and the beauty of the “new” world.

6. 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 both sides, the emblem of the hammer and sickle, laid out in precious stones, sparkled. The precious stones faded after a year, and the stars were too big and did not fit well into the architectural ensemble.

In May 1937, it was decided to install new stars - luminous, ruby ​​ones. At the same time, another one was added to the four towers with stars - Vodovzvodnaya.

Ruby glass was welded at a glass factory in Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to cook 500 square meters ruby glass, for which a new technology was invented - “selenium ruby”. Previously, gold was added to glass to achieve the desired color; Selenium is cheaper and the color is deeper.



But suddenly the following was discovered: in sunlight, ruby ​​stars appear... black. The answer was found - the five-pointed beauties had to be made in two layers, and the bottom, inner layer of glass had to be milky white, scattering light well. By the way, this provided both a more even glow and hiding the filaments of the lamps from human eyes. By the way, a dilemma arose here too - how to make the glow even? After all, if the lamp is installed in the center of the star, the rays will obviously be less bright. The combination of different thicknesses and color saturations of the glass helped. In addition, the lamps are enclosed in refractors consisting of prismatic glass tiles.

7. LAMPS

The Kremlin stars not only rotate, but also glow. To avoid overheating and damage, about 600 cubic meters of air per hour are passed through the stars. The stars are not in danger of a power outage because their energy supply is self-sufficient. Lamps for the Kremlin stars were developed at the Moscow Electric Tube Plant. The power of three - on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Troitskaya towers - is 5000 watts, and 3700 watts - on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya. Each contains two filaments connected in parallel. If one lamp burns out, the lamp continues to light, and a fault signal is sent to the control panel. To change lamps you do not need to go up to the star; the lamp goes down on a special rod directly through the bearing. The entire procedure takes 30-35 minutes.

In the entire history of the stars, they went out only 2 times. The first time was during World War II. It was then that the stars were extinguished for the first time - after all, they were not only a symbol, but also an excellent guiding light. Covered in burlap, they patiently waited out the bombing, and when it was all over, it turned out that the glass was damaged in many places and required replacement. Moreover, the unintentional pests turned out to be their own - the artillerymen who defended the capital from fascist air raids. The second time was when Nikita Mikhalkov filmed his “The Barber of Siberia” in 1997.
The central control panel for star ventilation is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. The most modern equipment is installed there. Every day, twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and the fans for blowing them are switched.

Once every five years, the glasses of the stars are washed by industrial climbers.

The beautiful ruby ​​stars fit so harmoniously into the appearance of the five ancient Moscow towers that they seem to be their natural continuation. But long years no less beautiful double-headed eagles sat on the Kremlin towers.

Huge gilded double-headed eagles have appeared on four Kremlin towers since the mid-50s of the seventeenth century.

Spasskaya Tower with an eagle

Spasskaya Tower with an eagle and mausoleum. 1925

In the first years after the revolution, the Bolsheviks tried to destroy all the symbols of the old world, but the eagles on the Kremlin towers were not touched, and the Soviet government did not reach them. Although Lenin repeatedly reminded of the need to dismantle them, this operation required a lot of money, was very technically complex, and at first the Bolsheviks could not decide what to replace the eagles with? There were various proposals - flags, the coat of arms of the USSR, an emblem with a hammer and sickle... Finally, we settled on stars.

In the spring of 1935, watching the planes fly by at the parade, Stalin was especially irritated by the sight of the royal eagles spoiling the whole picture.

Parade on Red Square. 1935

At the end of the summer of 1935, a TASS message was published: “The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) decided by November 7, 1935 to remove 4 eagles located on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, 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 the indicated 4 towers of the Kremlin a five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle."

They decided to make all the stars different, each with its own unique design. A smooth star without a pattern was designed for the Nikolskaya Tower.

When the models were ready, the country's leaders came to look at them and gave the go-ahead for the production of real stars. Their only wish was to make the stars rotate so that they could be admired from everywhere.
They decided to make the stars from high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. The real decoration should have been the symbol of Soviet Russia, sparkling in the sun and under the rays of spotlights - the hammer and sickle. I worked for a month and a half to create this beauty from a huge number of Ural gems. a whole army jewelers.

The stars turned out to be much heavier than the eagles; the weight of each star was about 1000 kg. Before installing them, we had to additionally strengthen the tents on the towers. The structure had to withstand even hurricane winds. And in order for the stars to become rotating, bearings were installed at their base, which were manufactured for this purpose at the First Bearing Plant.

Now the extremely difficult task lay ahead of dismantling the double-headed eagles and then installing huge stars in their place. The towers had a height of 52 to 72 meters, and there were no suitable equipment - high cranes - then. It was necessary to come up with something, and the engineers finally found a way out. A crane was designed separately for each tower, which was installed on the upper tier on a special metal base, specially mounted for this purpose.

Dismantling the eagles

After the eagles were dismantled using this technique, they did not immediately raise the stars in their place, but decided to first show them to Muscovites. To do this, for one day they were put on public display in the Park named after. Gorky.

The eagles, from which the gilding had already been removed, were also placed nearby. Of course, the eagles played next to the sparkling sparkling stars, symbolizing the beauty of the new world.

Double-headed eagles taken from the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers, in the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. Gorky, October 23, 1935

On October 24, 1935, having thoroughly checked the equipment, we began to slowly raise the star to the Spasskaya Tower. Having reached a height of 70 meters, the winch was stopped, and the climbers, carefully guiding the star, very accurately lowered it onto the support spire. Everything worked out! Hundreds of people gathered in the square and watched this unique operation, the installers applauded.

The star begins to rise

The first Kremlin stars over Moscow

Over the next three days, three more stars were installed, shining on the Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya and Trinity towers.

However, these stars did not appear on the towers for long. Just two years later they lost their shine and became dull - soot, dust and dirt did their job.
It was decided to replace them, and it was recommended to reduce their size, since the first stars still looked rather heavy. The task was set to do this in as soon as possible, to the 20th anniversary of the revolution.

This time it was decided to make the stars from ruby ​​glass and glowing from within, and not from spotlights. The country's best minds were recruited to solve this problem.
The recipe for ruby ​​glass was developed by Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin - to achieve the desired color, selenium was added to the glass instead of gold. Firstly, it was cheaper, and secondly, it made it possible to obtain a more saturated and deep color.

And so, on November 2, 1937, new ruby ​​stars lit up on the Kremlin towers. Another star appeared - on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, and there were five such towers, like the rays of the star.

These stars truly glow from within.

This effect is achieved thanks to special lamps inside them with a power of 5000 watts, made to special order. In addition, they have two filaments, one for safety net. In order to change the lamp, you do not need to climb up to it; you can lower it on a special rod.
The stars have double glazing. The outside is ruby ​​glass for color, and the inside is milky white for better dispersion. Milky white glass is used to prevent ruby ​​glass from appearing too dark in bright light.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin stars went out - they were covered up, since they were an excellent reference point for the enemy. And after the war, when the tarpaulin was removed, it turned out that they had received minor shrapnel damage from an anti-aircraft battery located nearby. The stars had to be sent for restoration, after which they shone even brighter. A new three-layer glazing of the stars was made (ruby glass, frosted glass and crystal), and their gilded frame was also updated. In the spring of 1946, the stars were returned to the towers.

Before the rise of the restored star to the Trinity Tower, March 1946

Once every five years, industrial climbers ascend to the stars to wash them.

It is interesting that now on Red Square, against the backdrop of the Kremlin ruby ​​stars, you can again see eagles. In the summer of 1997, four eagles returned to their rightful places, which, along with lions and unicorns, adorned the roof of the Historical Museum. The eagles were removed from the museum in 1935, as were the eagles from the Kremlin towers. But these were luckier - they returned.

A copy of the golden Double-Headed Eagle, returned in 1997 to the tower of the State Historical Museum in Moscow.

And in December 2003, the lions and unicorns were also returned, taking their original places on the low towers of the museum.

Unicorn on the building of the Historical Museum

Lions on the building of the Historical Museum

New ruby ​​star