Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-08-02
The Wonders of.,theakremlin.
A MOST SACRED SPOT IN RussA.-THE THE
WoRLD-FAMous

Ilt place where Iflt CZdTS are CIV" ANN'
Custom, born in the bosom of antlqm-
ty and sanctioned by a superstition
which even a stronger and more ad-
vanced nation could hardly resist,
eompels each car to be crowned there,
and although nihilism has flourished
here as nowhere else in Russia, al
though grand dukes have here felt the
blow of an outraged people, although
here the czar may fear for his life, yet
usage demands his personal presence
when assuming the reins of govern
ment as ear of all the Russians. Weak
or strong. he has for three centuries
bowed in humble submission to the
traditions of the Roman off dynasty,
and on the occasion of his coronation
graced the halls of the Kremlin pal
ace with his royal parsonage.
Russian Psychologists are unable to
trace the name of "Kremin" to any
certain source. 1t is alleged by many
that it is the Tartar word for for
tress,' and it's appearance and envir-
onment are true to the title. Upon
one side it overlooks the Moscow riv-
er. from the shores of which rises
high wall. This is the most pictur-
t5pdt pdil vi tiic as lT0nl lHiS
height one gets a splendid view of half
the great city of Moscow with its
winding. irregular street, it's white. al
most oriental buildings, and immense
eathedrals rising everywhere above
their surroundings-theirg golden domes
glistening in the sunlight with match
less beauty On every side this same
wall appears and shuts the Kremlin
off from the rest of the city except
where entrances are made through the
| five gates. These gates are open to
the public. who are permitted to pass
the guards unmolested-in fact. the
kremlin grounds are a public thor
oughfare in going from one part of the
| city to the other. Each gate to the
kremlin has its own peculiar tradition
and history
The Nicholas gate at the northeast st :
ern entrance bears the miraculous ikon
IN mosaic of St Nicholas, "the dread
of perjurors and comforter of suffering
humanity" suspended over it. In an
cient times oaths We're administered to
htigants In front of this venerated
image. The troops of Sigismund III and
| OF Napoleon passed through this gate.
1t was partly destroyed by the great
French general, but neither the ikon
nor even the lamp above it was in
Jured. Alexander I had tablet
placed on the gate telling the Russians
| of its miraculous preservation.
The Trinity gate is at the western
extremity, and through this entrance
the main body of the French troops
passed. 1t also leads TO the slums of
a f1A 81.
used on account of the thieves who
lfrequented that section
The gate at the southwest has an
Interesting career and is known as the
secret or prison gate.
BY far the most important of these
entrances is the main gate opening or
the famous Red square, and is known
as the Gate of the Redeemer. No man
may pass its sacred portals without
| removing his hat. Fifty years ago the
failure to uncover the head while pass
ing was punished with 80 complete
Ipfostrations. At present the guard
Will refuse entrance and even the czar
would not dare disobey, for religious
customs in the land of the bear take
precedence over even the will of the
| ezar. 1t is said that the only attempt
to enter the gate with covered head
was made by Napoleon during his stay
there, and ne was-so the story goes
frustrated by Providence as puff of
wind blew off his hat just as he was
about to enter its sacred portals The
gateway was built in 1491 and in 1647
the Car Alexis had a picture of the
Redeemer, which he had brought from
Smolensk, placed over the gate, and
from this much venerated ikon the
Ientrance takes it's name. The frame
or the ikon is solid gold and Russian
tradition says that the French tried
to steal the frame, but every ladder
planted against the gateway snapped
in the middle. The great stone execu.
| tion block in the Red square is almost
directly in front of the gate, and the
criminals who paid the penalty OF
their sins on the block made their last
prayers TO the ikon from Smolensk
The kremlin is triangular in shape
| and has an area of two square miles
| Here are clustered together the cathe-
oral OF the Assumption, where the
czars are crowned, together with the
cathedral of ST. Michaels and the An
nunc1ation and other chapels and
ehuit tllcS all CeieDfateQ Tor their mar
velous medieval beauty and strange
architecture. The official buildings are
also here as We'll as the palace of the
governor general of Moscow 1t will
| be remembered that the Grand Duke
Sergius. who held this position, resided
there until a few years ago when he
met his death at the hands of an
| assa ssin just as he was entering the
Nicholas gate A beautiful memorial
iii the shape of a huge cross has re-
Gently been erected to his memory and
stands on the spot where he was
killed.
The treasury of the Kremlin is in It.
| self a historic evolution of the Gus
! toms of the nobility as manifested i'm
costume. arms and means of transpor-
tation, and one Versed in Russian
court tradition can spend days revel
ing in these rare relics of Russian an
tiquity. The repository is replete with
all phases of life of the nobility, from
the boots made by Peter the Great
and magnificent life like reproduc-
fion OF the perfect horse ridden by
Empress Catherine, to the bludeeon