This excellent set of pictures in a courtesy of
Chris Phillips and Oxana Kvasova.

INSIDE
THE MOSCOW KREMLIN

PART 1

Part 2 or Part 3

I've been inside the Kremlin twice so far. Both of these visits have been made under compultion. In the early 70's coercion was crude and physical. We were just taken there in a file formation. These liberal days I ended up within the same walls in response to the more civilized economic factors.

Yes, for a modest fee I can overcome my natural distaste for things touristy and accompany you to see these palaces that saw centuries of intrigue, cathedrals that heard thousands of broken oathes, and squares that would be knee deep in human blood if not for its fortunate tendency to soak into the ground, evaporate, or otherwise happily get out of sight.

On entering the Kremlin you will be required to leave luggage in special lockers, and asked by felt-booted Kalashnikov-armed soldiers to walk through metal detectors.

Apparently, somebody managed to sneak in a sledgehammer. Then, to avoid embarrasment, the authorities made up this story that this bell cracked three hundred years ago.

This belfry was build in early 1600s, after the end of "The Time of Troubles" as a make-work project initiated by Boris Godunov to stimulate the economy.

Someone please provide me with the details of the story. I find it amusing that in 1609 or so someone though up that govenrment spendings may kickstart the economy.

Same as Czar-Bell, it acts as a reminder of the common fate that befalls most mega-projects. The cannon was lucky, and the artillerymen serving it even more so, for it occured to someone to take a sober look at the cannon and that it would explode if fired.

There is a limit to how big things can get. Volume grows faster than surface area and at a certain point the skin just won't be able to hold the guts.

Info on places between Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are moving to www.staritsa.info