Kremlin

President of Russia

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National Priorities:
| Education and Science
| Tax Reform
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DISCOVERING THE KREMLIN |

A Residence Fit for Princes

Daniil Alexandrovich’s son, Ivan Kalita, who ruled from 1328-1340, did much to develop Russia. While paying tribute to old traditions and customs, he set about ensuring that Moscow and its rulers would have a solid foundation for their power by reaching agreements with the Golden Horde. As the prince of Moscow, Ivan Kalita obtained from the Golden Horde the right to collect the tributes it demanded from all the lands of Russia. This made the other princes financially dependent on the prince of Moscow, which soon led to political dependence as well.

Ivan Kalita was the first of the Moscow princes to call himself grand prince of all Russia. This title was officially given to Ivan III, much later.

By the mid-14th century the Moscow princes had considerably expanded their lands. These new lands and increased revenues could not help but be reflected in the status of the Kremlin.

At that time, the princes’ residences spread out over a much larger area than before. New parts of the palace were built on the most attractive sites in the Kremlin and rose up over all the surrounding area.

The residence of the grand prince stood roughly on the site where the Great Kremlin Palace stands today. Borovitsky Hill became the traditional site for the residences of princes and tsars. Ivan Kalita moved into his newly built residence with all his family.

Under Ivan Kalita, the Kremlin began to take on the outlines of what it would become in the future. The old wooden fences surrounding it were replaced with a real wall of oak logs with a diameter as large as 70 centimeters.

Through the efforts of its rulers, Moscow became one of the leading Russian towns, and the Moscow princes became the most influential of all the Russian princes.

[Next... The White Stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoi]

| The Histiry of the Kremlin |  | The Era of Peter the Great
| The Origin of the Kremlin |  | The Second Half of the 18th Century
| The “Small Wooden Town” on Borovitsky Hill |  | 1812 and the Restoration of the Kremlin
| The Kremlin in the 13th Century |  | Construction Work in the Kremlin in the 19th Century
| A Residence Fit for Princes |  | The 20th Century: the Kremlin’s Losses
| The White Stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoi |  | The Most Recent History of the Ancient Kremlin
| The Kremlin in the 15th - 17th Centuries |  |

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