Unexpected discoveries of the Moscow Kremlin dungeons, which opened new pages in the history of Russia

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For many, the Kremlin is a symbol of power, and of the Russian state itself. It was built over the centuries on the site of the residence of the Moscow princes. The centuries-old moors, majestic towers and mysterious dungeons of this legendary building still do not leave the minds of scientists. Only on rare occasions were researchers allowed to directly conduct expeditions to the Kremlin, and even those were under strict control. That is why amazing archaeological discoveries are still being made in the Moscow Kremlin, but despite this, its dungeons still keep many secrets.

The first attempt to explore the underground of the Moscow Kremlin

Not all of the legends about the Moscow Kremlin have sprung up out of nowhere. Many of them are based on real documents, reports and records of keepers.

Hoping to reveal as many secrets of the dungeons as possible, enthusiasts have tried to explore it more than once. The first attempt to explore the Kremlin's dungeons was made by the sexton of the Church of John the Baptist in Presnya, Konon Osipov, in 1718. He obtained permission from the prince to find the chambers filled with treasures, which, as they say, the clerk of the big treasury, Vasily Makariev, had seen.

In the Taynitskaya tower, the sexton found the entrance to the gallery, but during the excavation there was a threat of collapse, as a result of which the work was stopped. Six years later, Osipov returned to his search by order of Peter I. Labor was allocated for the work, but the search was again unsuccessful.

How Prince Shcherbakov was not stopped even by a dead end

Previously, research was carried out on other parts of the Kremlin. So, in 1894, archaeologist Nikolai Shcherbatov went in search of the archives of Ivan IV the Terrible.

As a result of excavations under the tower of Konstantin Yelenin, scientists discovered an entrance to a passage with narrow windows for prisoners. Some historians claim that since the middle of the 16th century, the lower chambers of the Trinity Tower formed the so-called stone "bags" for prisoners. It is possible that this secret object was originally used to defend the fortress, and later became a dungeon.

Also in the area of the Nabatnaya Tower N. S. Shcherbatov discovered a cache of old ammunition. Historian Taisiya Belousova suggests that these shells were hidden to bombard enemy positions.

The opening of secret passages by the Bolsheviks

As soon as the Bolsheviks came to power, they were concerned about the safety of the citadel. The photos of the passages kept by Shcherbatov were seized, the wells of the Taynitskaya tower were filled up, and the premises under the Troitskaya tower were walled up.

After the incident with the Red Army soldier who fell into the ground in 1933, the archaeologist Ignatiy Stelletsky took up the study of the dungeons. He suggested that earlier the well of the Taynitskaya Tower was dry, and branches of the passages came from it.

The discovery was made during the excavation of the "Osipovsky" passage under the Arsenalnaya Uglova. An unloading arch was discovered under the wall, opening the entrance to the walled Alexander Garden. However, the group led by Steretsky ran into a stone block. He believed that there was a bottomless passage further below, but the scientist was ordered to stop work.

Other unexpected finds under the Kremlin

Employees of the tsarist regime and representatives of the Soviet regime treated scientific research in the residence of the state administration with caution. After a series of instances, archaeologists were allowed to explore only part of the Kremlin's dungeons. They were looking for everything: from the aforementioned office of Ivan the Terrible to the Holy Grail.

Since 2014, scientists of the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been carrying out excavations at the site of the demolished building No. 14. It was erected in 1932 on the site of the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries. During the research, a collection of jewelry was discovered, of which the 12th century decorative brooch-clasp is of particular interest.

Fragments of gold and enamel bowls of Syrian origin, shards from ceramics of the Far East and lead seals were also found.

In 2019, a cache with equipment of the Napoleonic army during the Patriotic War of 1812 was discovered at the base of one of the premises.

In 1985, during construction work in the area of the Chudov Monastery, a truly terrible discovery was made. In one of the underground rooms of the Kremlin, a sarcophagus was found hiding a human-sized doll in military uniform. Later, scientists came to the conclusion that Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, who died in 1905 as a result of a terrorist attack, was buried in this place. As you know, during the explosion, little remained of the body, so the prince's remains were collected in a vessel and placed at the head of the tomb.

It has long been impossible to surprise archaeologists with ancient jewelry or other finds in the Moscow Kremlin. The centuries-old history of the Russian state left everything on its pages. But many of them opened up new horizons and made us appreciate the life and customs of our ancestors in a new way.