Kremlin

President of Russia

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THE ARSENAL |

| Moscow Kremlin

Administrative buildings | The Kremlin Towers | The Kremlin Cathedrals | Squares and Gardens

The Senate

Building 14 (The Presidium)

The Arsenal

The Poteshny Palace

The State Kremlin Palace

The Grand Kremlin Palace

The Terem Palace

The Armory

The Faceted Palace

The State History Museum

The Arsenal

The Arsenal was constructed on the order of Peter I in place of the royal barns, which burnt down in 1701. The austere building, which fits well with the fortress walls of the Kremlin, was designed as a museum of weapons. To implement the idea, the authorities issued an order to collect guns and other military trophies captured by Russian regiments from foreign invaders, to bring them to Moscow and “to place them in the newly built museum for everlasting glory.”

Architects D. Ivanov and C. Conrad worked on the Arsenal from 1701-1736. (Work was halted in 1706 because of the war with Sweden and resumed only in 1722.)

The two-story building is over 30 meters high, with widely spaced twin windows with large sills accentuating the formidable walls. The Arsenal is a remarkable example of the Petrine period. Along its facade are 875 guns captured by Russian troops from Napoleon’s army (including 365 French guns, 189 Austrian, 123 Prussian, 40 Neapolitan, 34 Bavarian, 70 Italian and 22 Dutch). Along its southern wall there are also 20 Russian cannons made by outstanding Russian gunsmiths of the 16th-17th centuries: the Troilus by Andrei Chokhov, the Wolf by Yakov Dubinin, the Gamayun by Martyn Osipov and others.

In October 1917, clashes between military cadets and pro-revolution soldiers took place near the Arsenal. At present, the Arsenal is an administrative building.

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