Kremlin Senate

The Kremlin Senate (The Senate Palace,

The triangular structure has an inner courtyard, and is divided by hallways into a central pentahedral portion and two side trihedral portions. In the middle of the main façade is an arched passage fashioned like a triumphal arch leading to the inner yard. Inside is Rotunda Hall (diameter 24.6 m or 80 ft 9 in and internal height 27 m or 89 ft), once called The Pantheon of Russia. Its green dome, carrying the state flag as seen from the Red Square, would later become a Soviet propaganda icon. However, originally it carried a statue of St. George, then a statue of Justice (destroyed by French troops in 1812).^[1] The exterior styling of the building is an unusual mix of Doric and Ionic order columns.

Inside the building, the large “Catherine Hall” is designed as a parade room, where especially important ceremonies are held. This is a circular hall, with a 24.7-meter diameter under extensive bas-relief ornamentation depicting Catherine as the Greek goddess Minerva.

Interiors

The Presidential Residence consists of two parts: the business part and the representative part. The business part includes the working and representative rooms, the Presidential Council Hall, the Library and the Security Council premises. The representative part consists of a grand enfilade of rooms where international meetings and protocol events are held. All the rooms are located along the outer facades and are connected through corridors running along the perimeter of the inner courtyards.^[2]

The president's executive office, decorated in white and green colours, is located in the Oval Room. Meetings and negotiations are held there and state awards are presented. The room is decorated with a malachite fireplace, a mirror with a bronze clock and candelabrums on the mantelpiece, and four tall sculptures: Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas I and Alexander II. The hall's crystal chandeliers are based on drawings by Kazakov.

In the recess of the courtyard is the main compositional centre of the building – the Catherine Hall. It is one of the largest circular halls in Moscow: it is 25 metres in diameter and 27 metres high. Formerly it had been intended for assemblies of the nobility for elections to the local government. Its decoration consists of 24 columns of Corinthian white marble and bas-reliefs in antique style. The partitions between the windows in the domed section are filled with plaster medallions with bas-relief images of Russian dukes and tsars. In the piers between the columns are eighteen high relief panels on allegorical subjects composed by Gavrila Derzhavin and Nikolay Lvov. They reflect the state activities of Catherine II and glorify legality, justice and enlightenment. The vault of the dome is decorated with caissons, giving it depth.

The president's office is in classicist style, with a circular rotunda adorned with a bronze chandelier. Next to it is the Blue Drawing Room with white and gold furniture. The Audience Hall, in light colours with gilding, is decorated with portraits of Russian emperors, marble and a classical fireplace. The Banqueting Room in light yellow and blue tones completes the enfilade of representation rooms. The furniture in it was created according to the surviving drawings of the 18th century.^[3]

The Fireside Hall and Drawing Room are used for meetings and the signing of state documents. The Dining Room is used for informal breakfasts and lunches and working meetings of the Russian president with the leaders of various states. On the third floor of the northeast part of the building is the Presidential Library. The bookcases contain encyclopaedias, reference books and legislation. This room contains an authentic copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, on which the presidents take the oath of office.^[2]

History

The Governing Senate was an institution created by Tsar

Kazakov's building cost 759,000 roubles. According to Ivan Kondratiev, Catherine was so impressed by the building that she gave Kazakov her gloves, saying "I'll pay your bills later, for now – this is a token for your wife". She indeed repaid Kazakov with diamonds, promotion and a pension.[6] The building later served as a model for several other official buildings in other Russian cities in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Later, in line with legal reforms of Catherine's successors, the building lost its national functions and became the seat of Moscow Regional Court (Здание Московских судебных установлений) and several other state offices.

Post-1900

In 1905,

After the

On the night of May 2-3, 2023, the building was hit by an alleged drone attack, which detonated on top of its roof.^[12]

References

Further reading

• Klein, Mina. The Kremlin: Citadel of History. MacMillan Publishing Company (1973).
  ISBN 0-02-750830-7
• Tropkin, Alexander. The Moscow Kremlin: history of Russia's unique monument. Publishing House "Russkaya Zhizn" (1980). ASIN: B0010XM7BQ

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• Official webpage