Moscow Kremlin Museums: ABOUT THE MUSEUM

History of the Museum

The Moscow Kremlin is considered to be a symbol of the Russian statehood. The Kremlin hill became the main sightseeing of Moscow. The architectural ensemble “The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square” is included into the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site incorporates the Armoury Chamber and the architectural ensemble of the Cathedral Square, consisting of the Assumption, Archangel and Annunciation cathedrals, the Church of Laying Our Lady's Holy Robe, the Patriarch's Palace with the Twelve Apostles' Church and the 'Ivan the Great' Bell Tower complex, as well as the exhibition halls in the Assumption Belfry and in the One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch’s Palace.

The history of organizing and developing the museum institution in the Moscow Kremlin covers almost three hundred years and involves periods of prosperity and rapid development of museum and research activities, periods of heroic struggle for saving national treasure as well as periods of stagnation, followed by revival.

In 2020, The Moscow Kremlin Museums have launched a theme-based satellite site The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square – the Cultural Heritage Sites of the UNESCO. It is dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the inclusion of the architectural ensemble “The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square” UNESCO World Heritage List.

Moscow Kremlin Museums in the early 19th century

The history of the formation, development and activity of museum institution in the Moscow Kremlin covers almost three centuries.

Evacuation of the Museum in 1812

At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812 the staff of the newly established museum in the Kremlin assumed the responsibility for the preservation and evacuation of the museum's precious collections — tsars' treasuries, historical artifacts and state relics — and they honourably performed their duties to their service and country. In the time of the Napoleon's invasion of Russia a lot of objects of the cultural heritage have been damaged, ruined, lost or relocated. The activities of our predecessors aimed to protect and preserve the museum collections make us proud of being their followers. The State Armoury Chamber was initiated as a national-historical museum and the possible loss or damage of its valuable treasures could have become a real tragedy for the country.

Moscow Kremlin Museums till 1917

In 1814 the first museum exposition was open for visitors. According to the highest Decree of Emperor Nicholas I, signed on the 22th of August, 1831, the name of the museum was changed to «The Moscow Armoury Chamber».

Moscow Kremlin Museums in the first half of the 20th century

After the 1917 February Revolution the treasures of the Moscow Kremlin aroused an intense interest on the part of the reseachers and members of the general public. Well-known historians and critics have been invented plans of transformation of the Kremlin into a city-museum. However, events of autumn 1917, the return of the Soviet government to Moscow and the Civil war raised questions of a museum's organization and preservation of treasures of the Moscow Kremlin in a new way.

Moscow Kremlin Museums during Great Patriotic War

Every year, early in May, Russian people celebrates the significant Victory Day dedicated to the glorious struggle and vistory of Russia in the World War II. All of us feel gratitude for the great exploits performed by our soldiers, heroes, who kept fighting in the rear of the war for the great peace in all the human world people. We aslo should pay tribute to the courage and selfless labour of the museum workers, who honourably performed their duties to their service and country and managed to save priceless monuments of the past preserved in the museums for future generations, for example the collection of the Armoury Chamber and museums-cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin.

Moscow Kremlin Museums in the second half of the 20th century

The development of the museum in the second half of the 20th — early 21th century