From what distance are the Kremlin stars visible? Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin

In August 1935, a Council resolution was adopted people's commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on replacing old symbols with new ones.

Until this historical moment, the spiers of the Kremlin towers were decorated with heraldic double-headed eagles. The first double-headed eagle was erected on top of the tent of the Spasskaya Tower in the 50s of the 17th century. Later, Russian coats of arms were installed on the highest passage towers of the Kremlin - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya. In October 1935, instead of the double-headed royal eagles, five-pointed stars appeared over the Kremlin.

It was proposed to replace the armorial eagles with flags, as on other towers, and with emblems with a hammer and sickle, and with the coats of arms of the USSR, but stars were chosen.

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. The weight of the steel supporting frame, covered with metal sheets and decorated with Ural stones, reached a ton.

The design of the stars was designed to withstand the load of hurricane winds. Special bearings manufactured at the First Bearing Plant were installed at the base of each star. Thanks to this, the stars, despite their significant weight, could easily rotate and become their frontal side against the wind.

Before installing the stars on the Kremlin towers, engineers had doubts: would the towers withstand their weight and storm wind loads? After all, each star weighed on average one thousand kilograms and had a sail surface of 6.3 square meters. A thorough examination revealed that the upper ceilings of the tower vaults and their tents had fallen into disrepair. I had to strengthen the brickwork upper floors all the towers on which the stars were to be installed. In addition, metal connections were additionally introduced into the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. And the tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

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. They collected on it crane. So, in several stages, the double-headed eagles were first dismantled, and then the stars were erected.

The next day, a five-pointed star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower. On October 26 and 27, the stars shone over the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The installers had perfected the lifting technique so well that it took them no more than an hour and a half to install each star. The exception was the star of the Trinity Tower, whose rise due to strong wind lasted about two hours. A little more than two months have passed since the newspapers published the decree on the installation of stars. Or rather, only 65 days. Newspapers wrote about the labor feat of Soviet workers, who created real works of art in such a short period of time.

However, the new symbols were destined for a short life. Already the first two winters showed that due to the aggressive influence of Moscow rains and snow, both the Ural gems and the gold leaf that covered the metal parts became tarnished. In addition, the stars turned out to be disproportionately large, which was not identified at the design stage. After their installation, it immediately became clear: visually the symbols are absolutely not in harmony with the slender tents of the Kremlin towers. The stars literally overwhelmed the architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin. And already in 1936, the Kremlin decided to design new stars.

In May 1937, the Kremlin decided to replace the metal stars with ruby ​​ones with powerful internal illumination. Moreover, Stalin decided to install such a star on the fifth Kremlin tower - Vodovzvodnaya: from the new Bolshoi Stone Bridge There was a stunning view of this slender and very architecturally harmonious tower. And it became another very winning element." monumental propaganda» era.

Ruby glass was welded at glass factory in Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of the 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 the glass to achieve the desired color; Selenium is cheaper and the color is deeper. Special bearings were installed at the base of each star so that, despite their weight, they could rotate like a weather vane. They are not afraid of rust and hurricanes, since the “frame” of the stars is made of special stainless steel. The fundamental difference: weather vanes indicate where the wind is blowing, and Kremlin stars indicate where the wind is blowing. Have you understood the essence and significance of the fact? Thanks to the diamond-shaped cross-section of the star, it always stubbornly faces the wind. Moreover, any - up to a hurricane. Even if everything around is completely demolished, the stars and tents will remain intact. That's how it was designed and built.

But suddenly the following was discovered: 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.

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

Since the 1990s, there have been public discussions about the appropriateness of Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. In particular, the Russian Orthodox Church and a number of patriotic organizations take a categorical position, declaring “that it would be fair to return to the Kremlin towers the double-headed eagles that have decorated them for centuries.”

As for the first stars, one of them, which was on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in 1935-1937, was later installed on the spire of the Northern River Station

In the fall of 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.

Symbolism

Why symbol Soviet power It was precisely the five-pointed star that became unknown for certain, but what is known is that Leon Trotsky lobbied for this symbol. Seriously interested in esotericism, he knew that the star, the 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 the execution, but by almost the sole decision 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.

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 - 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.

Reconstruction of the 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, and additionally introduced metal connections into the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

So different and spinning

They didn't make identical stars. The four stars were different from each other decoration. 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.

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.

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, sparkled lined with precious stones hammer and sickle emblems. 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 weld 500 square meters of 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.

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. Throughout history, the stars have gone out twice. Once - during the war, the second - during the filming of “The Barber of Siberia”.

Kremlin Stars is a brand known all over the world. Their ruby ​​color is remembered in dozens of songs and poems, and their image is unmistakably associated with Russian capital. Moscow and the Kremlin stars are firmly connected with each other in the minds of every Russian. However, few people wonder how difficult it is to produce a product worthy of decorating the heart of Russia. Now the technology and capabilities for manufacturing the Kremlin star are owned by almost the only enterprise in the country. Zvezda talked with the deputy director of the Research and Production Company Steklo of the Romashin ORPE Tekhnologiya, Vyacheslav Samsonov. It is this research and production complex that holds the secrets of producing Kremlin stars. How the stars did before the war Kremlin stars were not always made of ruby ​​glass; initially the creators thought of making them from precious and semi-precious materials. In the 1930s, prototypes of such products were made, but later the idea had to be abandoned, since from a height the stars made of precious stones looked completely inconspicuous, Samsonov said.

“In 1937 they made it from ruby ​​glass, but the attempt was unsuccessful, since the lighting element is an incandescent lamp that stands and illuminates these stars. She was visible through the glass. That is, there was no such effect that the star was burning, the lamp itself was visible from the inside,” noted the deputy director of NPK Steklo.

Taking into account the errors, the creators corrected the project by adding an inner layer of milk glass at a distance of two millimeters from the ruby ​​glass. The milk glass scattered the light of the lamp, and it was then that the stars acquired their world-famous ruby ​​glow. What the stars did after the war From 1937 to 1947, the Kremlin had stars produced at the Avtosteklo enterprise in Konstantinovka, Ukraine. After the war, the stars had to be repaired, and the next version was created at the Krasny May plant in Vyshny Volochek. There the project was finalized by adding a damper layer of crystal, and the technology for producing the Kremlin star acquired a modern look.

“In Vyshny Volochyok they made another option, a working one. This is overhead glass. What is overlay glass? Ruby red is collected, a cylinder of red glass is blown, and then crystal glass, colorless, is poured onto it from the second furnace nearby. And on top there is a third layer, this is opal, or milk glass. Here's a three-layer sandwich. Stars were made from it, these stars have proven themselves well,” shared Vyacheslav Samsonov.

The stars created in this way have been on the Kremlin for about 70 years. They turned out to be very durable, the damping layer and improved technology played their role. However, time takes its toll, and sooner or later the Kremlin stars will have to be changed. In particular, the star on the Trinity Tower already requires replacement. What the stars are doing now According to Samsonov, FSO employees contacted his company about this. The company deals with all types of glass needed for the production of the Kremlin star, and has the necessary competencies. The only thing missing is a multi-pot furnace, but NPK Steklo has already agreed on it with a glass company from Gus-Khrustalny. FSO employees have traveled all over the country, Samsonov claims, and only his research and production complex, together with Gus-Khrustalny, will be able to produce real Kremlin stars.
The complexity of production lies not least in the complex chemical composition glass The most complex of them is ruby, it contains about ten different elements.

“It’s difficult to get them (ruby glasses - editor’s note). They contain about ten elements in composition, quartz sand, soda, zinc white and boric acid... metallic selenium and cadmium carbonate are used as dyes, which in certain proportions give such color saturation. Selenium glass is very difficult to cook; it is a very volatile material, if temperature conditions gone, it may darken, become light, or disappear altogether,” Samsonov said.

Despite the difficulty production process, the deputy director is confident that the stars created by his research and development team will be able to last for at least 50 years. When drawing up the estimate, the employees did not even include profits, since collecting stars at your enterprise that the whole country will look at for another 50 years is in itself worth a lot.

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 mounted on 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 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 had 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.

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The tops of the spiers of the Moscow Kremlin towers in the shape of five-pointed stars, made of ruby ​​glass and installed instead of the Armorial eagles Russian Empire in the 1930s on five Kremlin towers - Borovitskaya, Troitskaya, Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Vodovzvodnaya

Made according to sketches People's Artist USSR, chief artist Bolshoi Theater- Academician F.F. Fedorovsky in 1935-37.

The first five-pointed star was installed in 1935, it replaced the “Tsar’s Eagle” on the Spasskaya Tower. Next, stars were placed on the Nikolskaya, Borovitskaya and Trinity towers. Then, when the stars were replaced in 1937, a fifth star appeared on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, where state symbols had not been placed before.

Xepec, Public Domain

Installation of stars on the Kremlin towers

Dismantling the eagles

Double-headed eagles, being the state symbols of Russia, have been on the tops of the tents of the Kremlin towers since the 17th century. About once a century, the gilded copper eagles were changed, as was the image. state emblem. At the time the eagles were removed they were all different years production: the oldest eagle of the Trinity Tower is from 1870, the newest is from the Spasskaya Tower, from 1912.

After the Bolsheviks came to power, V.I. Lenin repeatedly spoke about the need to dismantle the double-headed eagles from the Kremlin towers. However, at that time, for various reasons, this was not done. In newsreels from the early 1930s, the towers of the Moscow Kremlin are still crowned with double-headed eagles.

unknown, Public Domain

In 1930, the operational department of the NKVD ordered specialists from the Central Art and Restoration Workshops, under the leadership of the famous Russian artist and restorer I. E. Grabar, to conduct an examination of the Kremlin double-headed eagles. Academician Grabar, in his report by the manager of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to Gorbunov, wrote that “... not one of the eagles currently existing on the Kremlin towers represents an ancient monument and cannot be protected as such.”

A week later, on June 20, 1930, Gorbunov writes to the secretary of the presidium of the USSR Central Executive Committee A. S. Enukidze:

"IN. I. Lenin several times demanded the removal of these eagles and was angry that this work was not done - I personally confirm this. I think it would be nice to remove these eagles and replace them with flags. Why do we need to preserve these symbols of tsarism?

With communist greetings,
Gorbunov."

In an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the secretariat of the USSR Central Executive Committee dated December 13, 1931, there is a mention of a proposal to include 95 thousand rubles in the estimate for 1932 for the cost of removing eagles from the Kremlin towers and replacing them with the coats of arms of the USSR.

However, only in August 1935 the Politburo resolution was issued:

“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 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.”

There were several proposals to replace the coat of arms eagles - with simple flags, like on other towers, with the coats of arms of the USSR, gilded emblems with a hammer and sickle. But in the end they decided to install the stars. The sketches were entrusted to the artist E. E. Lansere. In the first sketch with a five-pointed star, Stalin makes the remark: “Okay, but it should be without a circle in the center.” The word “without” is underlined twice. Lanceray quickly corrected everything and again submitted the sketch for approval. Stalin makes a very strange remark: “Okay, but it would be necessary without the holding stick.” “Without” is again underlined twice. As a result, Lanceray was removed from the project and the development of the stars was given to the artist F. F. Fedorovsky.

unknown, Public Domain

While the stars were being made, the builders and installers were solving the main problem - how to actually remove the double-headed eagles from the towers and fix the stars. At that time there were no large high-altitude cranes to help with this operation. Specialists from the all-Union office “Stalprommekhanizatsiya” developed special cranes that were installed directly on the upper tiers of the towers. Through the tower windows at the base of the tents, strong console platforms were built, on which the cranes were assembled. The work of installing the cranes and dismantling the eagles took two weeks.

Finally, on October 18, 1935, all 4 double-headed eagles from the Kremlin towers were removed. Due to the old design of the eagle from the Trinity Tower, it had to be dismantled right at the top of the tower. The work of removing the eagles and raising the stars was carried out by experienced climbers under the guidance and control of the NKVD operational department and the Kremlin commandant Tkalun. The report of the head of the Operations Department of the OGPU Pauker to I.V. Stalin and V.M. Molotov dated November 4, 1935 states: “...I was instructed to remove the eagles from the Kremlin towers and from the Historical Museum by November 7, replacing them with stars. I inform you that this task of the Politburo has been completed..."

Convinced that the eagles were of no value, the First Deputy People's Commissar of the NKVD addressed a letter to L. M. Kaganovich:

“I ask for your order: Issue 67.9 kilograms of gold to the NKVD of the USSR for gilding the Kremlin stars. The gold covering of the eagles will be removed and handed over to the State Bank.”

On October 23, 1935, the stars were delivered to Central Park culture and recreation named after Gorky and installed on pedestals upholstered in red. New symbols appeared for review by Muscovites and guests of the capital state power, shimmering with gold and Ural gems. Next to the golden stars sparkling from the light of the spotlights, they placed the removed eagles with the stripped gold, sent to be melted down the next day.

Gem stars

The new gem stars weighed about a ton. The tents of the Kremlin towers were not designed for such a load.

The tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers had to be reinforced from the inside with metal supports and pins, on which it was planned to plant the stars. A metal pyramid with a support pin for the star was installed inside the Borovitskaya Tower tent. A strong metal glass was installed at the top of the Trinity Tower. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.

October 24 a large number of Muscovites gathered on Red Square to watch the hoisting five-pointed star to the Spasskaya Tower. On October 25, a five-pointed star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower, and on October 26 and 27 on the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

The first stars were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. Electroplating workshops were specially built to gild 130 m² of copper sheets. In the center of the star, a symbol was laid out with Ural gems Soviet Russia- hammer and sickle. The hammer and sickle were covered with gold 20 microns thick; the pattern was not repeated on any of the stars.

The star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays diverging from the center to the tops. The rays of the star installed on the Trinity Tower were made in the form of ears of corn. On the Borovitskaya Tower, the pattern followed the contour of the five-pointed star itself. The star of the Nikolskaya Tower was smooth, without a pattern.

However, very soon the stars lost their original beauty. The soot, dust and dirt of the Moscow air, mixing with precipitation, caused the gems to fade, and the gold lost its shine, despite the spotlights illuminating them. In addition, they did not fully fit into the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin due to their size. The stars turned out to be too large and visually hung heavily over the towers.

The star, which in 1935-37. was located on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, and later was installed on the spire of the Northern River Station.

Ruby stars

In May 1937, a decision was made to replace the semi-precious stars that had lost their shine with new stars - luminous ones made of ruby ​​glass. The reflected light of Ural gems and gold was replaced by the light of powerful electric lamps. The ruby ​​stars were made according to the sketches of the People's Artist of the USSR, the main artist of the Bolshoi Theater - Academician F. F. Fedorovsky. Professor A.F. Landa was appointed chief engineer for the development and installation of new luminous stars.

kp.ru, CC BY-SA 3.0

On November 2, 1937, new ruby ​​stars lit up over the Kremlin. To the four towers with stars, another one was added, which did not previously have an ending in the form of an eagle - Vodovzvodnaya.

ITAR-TASS, CC BY-SA 3.0

Unlike semi-precious stars, ruby ​​stars only have 3 different patterns(Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya are identical in design), and the frame of each star is a multifaceted pyramid. Each beam of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers has 8, and the Nikolskaya tower has 12 faces.

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Design Features

At the base of each star, special bearings are installed so that, despite their weight (more than 1 ton), they can rotate like a weather vane. The “frame” of the stars is made of special stainless steel produced by the Elektrostal plant near Moscow.

Each of the five stars has double glazing: the inner one is made of milk glass, which diffuses light well, and the outer one is made of ruby ​​glass, 6-7 mm thick. This was done for the following purpose: in bright sunlight, the red color of the stars would appear black. Therefore, a layer of milky-white glass was placed inside the star, which allowed the star to look bright and, in addition, made the filaments of the lamps invisible. Stars have different sizes. On Vodovzvodnaya the beam span is 3 m, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 m, on Troitskaya - 3.5 m, on Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - 3.75 m.

Ruby glass was welded at the Spetstekhsteklo plant in Konstantinovka according to the recipe of Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to weld 500 m² of 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.

Lamps for Kremlin stars were developed by special order at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant; their development was carried out by specialists from the lighting laboratory of the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. Each lamp contains two filaments connected in parallel, so even if one of them burns out, the lamp will not stop shining. The lamps were manufactured at the Peterhof Precision Stones Plant. The power of electric lamps in the stars on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya towers is 5 kW, on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya - 3.7 kW.

When solving the problem of uniform illumination of the star, they immediately abandoned the idea of ​​​​installing many light bulbs inside the star, therefore, to ensure uniform distribution of the light flux, the lamp is enclosed in many glass prisms. For the same purpose, the glass at the ends of the rays of stars has a lower density than in the center. During the day, the stars are illuminated more strongly than at night.

During the Great Patriotic War, the stars were extinguished and covered with a tarpaulin, as they were a very good reference point for enemy aircraft.

When the protective camouflage was removed, fragmentation damage from a Moscow medium- and small-caliber anti-aircraft air defense battery, located in the area of ​​the Kremlin's Big Square, became visible. The stars were removed and lowered to the ground for repairs. The complete restoration was completed by New Year 1946. In March, the stars were raised onto the towers again. This time the stars were glazed in a completely new way. According to a special recipe developed by N. S. Shpigov, three-layer ruby ​​glass was made. First, a flask was blown from molten ruby ​​glass, which was covered with molten crystal and then with milk glass. The “layered” cylinder welded in this way was cut and straightened into sheets. Three-layer glass was produced at the Krasny May glass factory in Vyshny Volochyok. The steel frame was re-gilded. When the stars were lit again, they became even brighter and more elegant.

With these renewed stars, a grand celebration of the 800th anniversary of Moscow took place in September 1947.

The central control panel for star ventilation is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. Every day, twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and the blower fans are also switched. To protect stars from overheating, it was developed ventilation system, consisting of an air purification filter and two fans, one of which is a backup. Power outages are not a problem for ruby ​​stars, since they are self-powered.

Stars are usually washed every 5 years. To maintain reliable operation of auxiliary equipment, scheduled preventative maintenance is carried out monthly; more serious work is carried out every 8 years.

For the second time in its history, the stars were extinguished in 1996 during the filming of a Moscow night scene for the film “The Barber of Siberia” at the personal request of director Nikita Mikhalkov.

Red stars abroad USSR

Many socialist countries erected red stars over their public institutions as a symbol public policy and ideology. From 1954 to 1990 over Central house BKP in the Bulgarian capital Sofia rose a red star - exact copy Soviet ones, which were erected above the Moscow Kremlin. Today this star can be seen in the Museum of Socialist Art. The red star was installed on the parliament building in Budapest, built between 1885 and 1904, and dismantled in 1990.

Since the 1990s, there has been public debate about the appropriateness of Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. After the breakup Soviet Union Kremlin stars were not dismantled, unlike other (hammer and sickle, coats of arms on palaces, etc.) Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. Attitude to ruby stars in society it is ambiguous.

Supporters of the return of double-headed eagles

Row patriotic movements(“Return”, “People’s Council”, “For Faith and Fatherland”, etc.), as well as Russian Orthodox Church take a certain position, declaring “that it would be fair to return to the Kremlin towers the double-headed eagles that have decorated them for centuries.” In 2010, in connection with the opening of the gate icons of the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers, disputes about the appropriateness ruby stars flared up with renewed vigor.

On September 10, 2010, a month before the 75th anniversary of the installation of stars over the Kremlin, members of the Return Foundation approached the president with a proposal to return the double-headed eagle to the Spasskaya Tower, which caused big wave discussions in society, but no response was received from the president.

Supporters of star conservation

The museum community is skeptical about the idea of ​​replacing stars with eagles:

Consistently throughout the discussion, communists also oppose the replacement of stars.