Cremlino. Dalle origini all'ascesa di Putin: il cuore politico della Russia

by Catherine Merridale

Nel 2010, dopo decenni di oblio, le icone del Salvatore e di san Nicola sono tornate alla luce: dipinte su due porte d’accesso al Cremlino, avevano osservato dall’alto per quattro secoli i mutamenti del paese, scomparendo poi nel nulla nel 1937. Si pensava fossero state distrutte dalla furia iconoclasta dello stalinismo, e invece erano state salvate da ignoti operai, nascoste per settant’anni sotto uno strato gentile di intonaco. In epoca di rinascita nazionale, la scoperta è stata sapientemente sfruttata dal governo di Vladimir Putin: era una storia di uomini devoti che rischiavano la vita, in un periodo di terrore, per salvare le immagini miracolose di Mosca. Una storia del Cremlino finiva così per riassumere l’intera storia del popolo russo.
Questa è, con le dovute differenze, anche la tesi di Catherine Merridale: le mura e i numerosi edifici della “fortezza rossa” sono i testimoni migliori di una lunga sequenza di grandi imprese, atti eroici e cerimonie solenni, di tradimenti e complotti, rovesciamenti, assassinii e vendette. Un’epopea tragica che ha visto succedersi gli eredi di Gengis Khan e i boiari, Ivan il Terribile e Pietro il Grande, Nicola I e i Romanov, Lenin e Stalin, Gorbacev e Elc’in, fino al presente di Putin. Caso più unico che raro, è da molti secoli la roccaforte da cui lo stato russo esercita, e ostenta, il suo potere.
Più volte distrutto, ricostruito, ripensato e riprogettato, il Cremlino è il frutto peculiare dell’unione tra cultura delle steppe e cultura europea, ben evidente nelle sue piazze, nelle torri e nei palazzi, un tripudio architettonico che coniuga stile russo e Rinascimento italiano, eclettismo e autarchia.
Catherine Merridale ci accompagna nel complicato dedalo della topografia e della storia del Cremlino, che come ci dimostra finiscono presto per sovrapporsi: se gli edifici sono l’incarnazione visibile del passato, il potere ha imparato fin da subito ad approfittarne; a ogni cambio di regime, nuovi edifici venivano costruiti e altri venivano distrutti, nella continua riscrittura di una storia mai pacificata. Nella tetra penombra delle chiese sepolte, sotto la polvere degli archivi segreti, nella miriade di mappe antiche e documenti riservati, batte ancora oggi il cuore politico della Russia.

«È impossibile staccarsi dalla lettura di questa grande storia, che va dai primi zar fino a Putin, passando per Lenin e Stalin; chiunque voglia comprendere la Russia di oggi imparerà moltissimo, godendosi ogni singola pagina.»
— Simon Sebag Montefiore, “The Telegraph”

«Splendido. Una storia del Cremlino pungente e affilata come un rasoio.»
— Ian Thomson, “The Spectator”, Books of the Year

«Il libro restituisce vividamente l’atmosfera soffocante di quei corridoi, dove ogni stanza era sorvegliata da cimici, dove la sola vicinanza al potere equivaleva spesso a una sentenza di morte…»
— Tony Brenton, “The Times”

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Russian History, Politics, Architecture, European History

792 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Catherine Anne Merridale, FBA (born 12 October 1959) is a British writer and historian with a special interest in Russian history. Merridale was Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary, University of London from 2004 to 2014. She has been a senior research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, since her retirement from full-time academia in 2014. Having retired from her academic career, Merridale became a freelance writer in 2014. She has also contributed to BBC Radio.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Russian Story

Red Fortress is an architectural journey through the changing acropolis which has become a national symbol of Russia: The Kremlin. When news reporters, academics and political commentators talk about Russia, the Russian Government and Vladimir Putin the two words of ‘The Kremlin’ are used synonymously. They are considered one and the same. The Kremlin has become the heart of Russia, where some of the most important events have happened. Occupation maybe began much earlier, but a wood web rampart was built is the medieval period, possibly as early as 1147. This housed settlers, animals and indicates farming and crafts. It has grown into the seat of Modern Russian presidential power.

I was impressed by Catherine Merridale’s research and dedication. It was obviously a painstaking task to show the story of one site through the ages and at the same time tie this into the long history of the largest country in the world. She has done this well, although at times I had to push myself to come back to Red Fortress, rather than being excited to read it. What has struck me the most, although I now feel I shouldn’t be surprised at all, is the amount of change that has taken place. More importantly however, how much history has been lost. Not just the post revolutionary and Stalinist eras where an unimaginable amount of heritage, priceless artefacts and culturally irreplaceable buildings have been lost. However, in all of the periods before, there has been devastation, change, loss and then rebuilding. The early history and up until 1812 when Moscow was set ablaze amongst the pillaging Napoleonic troops. But the hatred of the new regime knew no bounds and showed no mercy. For a system that pretended to be for the people, but never gave them power, never allowed them to own the means of production, that created its own Boyar elite; they also destroyed their cultural heritage.

Only with the collapse of the USSR has the Kremlin’s fortunes turned around again. Now open to tourists, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a system that looks favourably on Russias past, albeit through a 19th century nationalistic lens, lost monuments have been rebuilt, prized buildings have been re-established and forgotten memories reinvigorated. With uncertainty in modern Russia coming again, maybe the same is true of the Red Fortress. A citadel which felt the sorry and joy and has been broken and rebuilt along with its people, the story of Russia can (mostly) be told through it. Red Fortress is great scholarly work, whether a master piece, I’m not so sure. Worth a read if you’re interested in Russian history as it is recommended by most academics.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rate fascinating history of the Kremlin - not just a conventional history of Russia with a vague nod to the building - I remember years ago reading a book called 'Kremlin: Nerve Centre of Russian History' by a not bad writer Victor Alexandrov but it was really a conventional history of Russia via its Rurikids and Romanov rulers. Merridale's book is nothing like that - it is a history of the building within Russia's pre and post revolutionary history. Indeed the story of the Kremlin buildings in the Communist era (the ongoing tale of how the post Soviet rulers of the Kremlin have used the 'restoration' - more honestly recreation - of vanished elements of the Kremlin's fabric in their campaigns to curry support from the Russian Orthodox Church and other right leaning groups are to recent for this book) is a fascinating one that is little known in outside Russia and even inside Russia the very people remember number the extent of the destruction of ancient Churches, monasteries, palaces and monuments.

It is a unique and revealing history via a truly 'canonical' building. I can only compare it to looking at French history via Versailles.

Still being written

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the Red Fortress is like reading a mini-history of the various rulers of Russia. I was hoping for interesting architectural details and a full disclosure of all the tricks they use to keep Lenin looking fresh but no such luck.

Merridale does start from the beginning with invading hordes and eventually moving on to strong leaders consolidating power. She also spends time on Russia's religious past and the churches that have been built and torn down inside the Kremlin.

She details how the Russian came to honor an individual as the czar and the political machinations of this heredity title. The rise of Communism and the terror of Stalin changed the face of the Kremlin. I think it would be interesting to read more about this period.

She brings readers right up to the rise of Vladmir Putin and the desire for tourism. I don't really believe that I got to the secret heart of the Kremlin though.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes we gaze out over the red brick walls at pivotal moments taking shape across the vast Russian landscape; sometimes we look down upon the Moskva but most of the time we're on the inside, watching buildings rise and crumble as Byzantine robes give way to red banners.

Neither fish nor fowl, it's easier to say what this book is not. It's not a history of Russia nor a history of Moscow. It's not completely a history of the Kremlin, either. That would entail an in-depth look at the architecture of the complex from medieval times to the post-Soviet restaurations. The buildings mostly come into focus at the stage of construction and demolition, their fragile splendor interpreted as symbols of tsarist power. All this talk of marble and gold would've warranted a substantial illustration section that leaves Putin out of the picture. It's easy to see why he's featured tough: the Kremlin can only be a lightweight subject unless intermingled with the lineage of Russia's rulers over the past thousand years. It doesn't hurt to have some prior knowledge*.

Merridale's own stories as a researcher make clear that the Kremlin is a place where history is an illusion, a reconstructed story of the past, to the Nth degree. While the modern complex may seem an organic whole on display, it is populated by the ghosts of palaces long demolished. Visitors glimpse only a small part of what is left standing, the staff holding the ornate keys to entire churches that silently turn to dust behind hidden gates. Even in the 21st century, the state reserves the right to control the narrative in the interest of its legimitation. In this respect, little has changed since before Alexander Nevsky defeated the Teutonic Knights on the ice (he did not ).
To the Byzantine splendor that defined the timeless otherness of the Russian lands to the Western eye was added the Enlighted veneer of the great Peter and Catherine, as their realm was enlarged across Siberia to the Pacific coast and inched forward at the point of a bayonet on its western borders to redefine Russia as a European Great Power. The Red stars planted upon the domes radiated the legitimacy of Soviet overlordship as the internationalist principle of pre-revolutionary communism gave way to a centralized empire of socialist states under Russia. The rallying cry of Za Rodina was briefly resurrected with Army Group Centre at the gates of Moscow and preserved in the postwar nomenclature of the Great Patriotic War.

And now? The Soviet Union fell a generation ago, the initial euphoria has waned and the geostrategic giant on feet of clay ponders its place in the world. Again, the mass of the Kremlin whispers “It is your destiny to be great”.

* Have your pick at https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
* by Simon Sebag Montefiore

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a book that I'm glad I read but really felt like a slog. So much detail that it was overwhelming. I'm impressed at the research that went into this, but for a general audience book it felt too academic for me. Also, it could really use some timelines and maybe a brief cast of characters. I think that would've increased my understanding and ability to keep track of who was who and when significantly.

[Enrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought of the Kremlin as an elegant and stately government building in the French Imperial style with Byzantine and Russian motifs surrounded by an imposing red wall in front of the enormous Red Square forever flanked by St. Basil’s Cathedral which, in my humble opinion, is like an Arabian fairy tale nightmare induced by really bad “shrooms.”

In political terms, I believed said building simply housed the office and staff of Russian potentates, a sort of White House in steroids, since Russian leaders seem to enjoy enormous unchecked powers vis-à-vis their American counterparts.

As it happens, I was wrong. I was only thinking of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Kremlin is not a building but a citadel. Indeed, the very definition of Kremlin is “the citadel of Moscow.”

In her book, the author describes in chronological order the origins and development of this “citadel of Moscow.” The book provides a detailed account on each structure that ever populated the citadel: who commissioned it, what was its function, where within the compound was it located, who was the architect, its style, a description of the structure, who built it, when and why was it destroyed or renovated, etc. By placing each structure within its historical context, the author ends up giving a condensed history of Russia. Moscow has been Russia’s capital city for seven (7) out of its nine (9) centuries of history. For most of that time, the Kremlin has been its seat of power. Since its origin, it has witnessed many of the major events which shaped present day Russia. As a result, the Kremlin is not only the very foundation of Russia but it also lies at its very heart. Even when the capital was St. Peterburg or when the real business of government was carried out elsewhere, although neglected, it was never forgotten. To this day it remains the most recognizable icon of Russian government. In this regard, the book is downright fascinating.

My only complaint is that not all buildings are accompanied by an illustration. In addition, all pictures and illustrations therein, which are by far incomplete, are bundled together in the beginning, the middle and the end of the book, without any reference to them in the text itself. Thus, many of the buildings described in the book get lost in my imagination.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Kremlin is one of the most famous landmarks in the world”. With this sentence Catherine Merridale opens her fascinating and in-depth study of this symbolic and instantly recognisable complex of ancient and modern buildings, which in so many ways is the very incarnation of the Russian state. There is no reliable record of the Kremlin’s beginnings, although there is a mention of a prince's residence in 1147, and traces of a 12th century wall. The word Kremlin first appears in the 1300s, and since then it has encapsulated Russia – in all its many transformations and permutations. Part fortress, part citadel, part holy shrine and part secular palace, it has been at Russia's heart for centuries. It has been home to Russia’s rulers, the site of coronations and burials, the parade ground for Russia’s power, and both a secular and sacred symbol of nationhood.
But the book is not just a study of the Kremlin, but also a history of Russia from its beginnings right up to the present day, a detailed history drawn from a wide variety of sources, many unseen and unexplored until now, and is both comprehensive and even-handed in its analysis. Merridale is an expert historian who knows how to make her knowledge and research accessible to the lay reader as well as thorough enough to appeal to fellow historians, and the book is a treasure trove of stories about Russia’s always tumultuous past.
I found the book intensely interesting and informative. It’s essential reading for anyone with an interest in Russia and for anyone who wants to understand this most enigmatic of countries.
My thanks to Netgalley for sending me the ARC.

[Antenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

For enthusiasm and research, Catherine Merridale deserves five stars, but despite having visited Moscow both before and after the collapse of Communism, and been inside the Kremlin, I found this history hard going.

The opening chapters seem padded out, since there is little to say about the rural backwater of Moscow and the wooden fortification of the initial Kremlin when Kiev was the centre of activity for the region. In the later Middle Ages, the political rulers on one hand and religious patriarchs on the other are hard to distinguish, with the exception of Ivan the Terrible who tried without success to interest Elizabeth 1 of England in marriage.

For me, the book begins to come alive from the time of Peter the Great in the C17, through Napoleon’s destruction of Moscow to the impact of Communism and Putin setting out to harness the aura of the “red fortress” to cement his authority. Perhaps this is because it is easier to engage with people and ideas rather than often arbitrarily selected facts about buildings. I accept that this book may be invaluable for students, but for the general reader it is somewhat longwinded with a good deal of dry detail outside the entertaining anecdotes, which makes for a somewhat indigestible potted history.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction to the broad sweep of Russian history, through the lens of the pretty ill-treated Kremlin complex. Ms Merridale's depth of research is accompanied by a great turn of phrase and the ability to keep the reader interested through a sometimes dizzying whirl of dynastic change. I particularly enjoyed the coverage of the grim days of the Stalin purges, and the role of the Kremlin in attempts to legitimise the post-communist 'democratic' settlement. Ms Merridale's attempts to demonstrate the historical flexibility of Russia and its people as a counter to perceptions of an ingrained authoritarian streak in the Russian national character is not particularly convincing however, and her readable and competent overview of their history (particularly the 16/17th century Time of Troubles period, the Civil War and the early 1990s) is more likely to cement the view that Russians want strong government precisely because they feel they have so much to fear from its opposite. But none of this takes away from a great read that wonderfully illustrates the frenetic, chaotic, destructive and romantic history of this tiny area. Would definitely recommend.

[Rui · Rating 4 out of 5]

A História do Kremlin e a História da Rússia.
É um livro excelente para conhecer a história do Kremlin e as suas alterações ao longo dos 900 anos da Rússia e de Moscovo. Os incêncios, as purgas, os rituais e principalmente uma caracterização de um povo e dos seus lideres que voluntária ou involuntária nos provoca questões relacionadas com a personalidade dos povos. Será que alguns povos se desenvolvem melhor sob um regime autoritário e outros apenas sob formas de democracia?

O livro é enérgico, interessante e lê-se com prazer.

The history of the Kremlin and the history of Russia.

This book is excellent to understand the history of the Kremlin during the 900 years of Russian and Moscow history. The fires, the purges, the rituals and most of all the character of the people and its leaders that leaves us thinking if some countries development is best achieved under autocratic regimes and others under some forms of democracy.

This book is energetic, deeply researched and enjoyable to read.

[Julian Douglass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed history of the Kremlin, spanning basically a millennium of Russian History. Ms. Merridale really did her homework while writing this book as it was full of information. However, being so full of information can be a blessing and a curse. With each chapter being on average 30+ pages, the chapters can really drag out especially when she rambles on about art and the way a building looks. I also think she spent too much time in the beginning and not as much time with Modern Russian history, but that can also be because I am biased towards modern history. Very detailed book, just too detailed for what I was expecting.

[Marius · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Red Fortress" by Catherine Merridale is much better book about Russian history, than "Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia" by Orlando Figes. An author knows history and consistently developing story from the early medieval ages till 2000s. She only doesn't mention that Algirdas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, besieged Moscow three times during the Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372) and that Sophia of Lithuania, the wife of Vasily I, the Grand Duke of Moscow, was the longest serving consort of Russia and powerful regent, who sarcophagus was moved in 1929 to the Cathedral of the Archangel by Soviet authorities. Moreover, she uses old, Polish narrative (very popular in Western Europe) that, during Polish-Lithuanian-Russian war (1609-1618), in 1612 the Kremlin was occupied only by the Polish garrison. But in reality, it was Polish and Lithuanian garrisons.

The book is very informative and easy reading. Highly recommend.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book where you want to start re-reading it the minute you've finished. This biography of the Kremlin provides a history of how Russia has re-invented itself over and over again across the centuries. The individuals in charge, who inflicted such suffering on the Russian people, are brought vividly to life and the firebird nature of the site itself is described in fascinating detail, sometimes ironic, sometimes tragic. The changing regimes have used the Kremlin as a symbol of power in their attempts to consolidate their sometimes shaky claim to the throne of the time. Much of what tourists are allowed to see today is relatively new and sanitised, but having read this book, I hope that I would be able to see the shadows and ghosts of the demolished buildings, the buildings which never got built, the generations who struggled with the building, the re-building and the re-building again.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Russia through the history of the Kremlin. And I mean that literally: the buildings. This talks about who built them, what happened to them, how their use has changed; Merridal knows a whole lot about architecture and art, and uses this to then explain how those things fit into historical patterns... including right up to the present day, which is a frankly very gutsy move.

This is an approach that really works for me. I love being shown the evidence first and then the explanation: I work well going from Exhibit A to how that ties into Theory B. This book also includes a lot of lovely pictures to help guide you. Thoroughly recommended if you are even slightly interested in Russian history.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this 4-and-a-half if it were possible.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. Merridale does a terrific job bringing the "Muscovite" era to life. Her coverage of the Time of Troubles is masterfully done.

Even after the capital moved to St. Petersburg, her coverage of the cultural meaning of Moscow and the Kremlin proved fascinating.

The last two chapters, basically from Stalin's death to the present, seemed a little out of focus to me, more about the USSR/Russia as a whole than the Kremlin, but overall, this was a superb book, one of the best on Russia I have read in recent years.

[Arup Guha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to get you started on Russian history. The scope is sweeping and you will have to work through centuries of details compressed in around 350 pages. But it will intrigue you. Two things stand out for me. First, how in Russia, every time any regime tries to introduce reforms, it comes to a violent end. This discouraged any future regime from introducing changes. Second, the mystique of kremlin. How the mysterious silent fortress has managed to remain the guardian of Russian power for 800 years. Few rambling sentences shouldn’t discourage you. If required read this book in two or more instalments, one for each regime

[Zhi Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating narrative throughout; interweaving the history of the Kremlin with Russian history. With that being said, this book is not entirely focused on the physical Kremlin but on its inhabitants and their affairs as well.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting book, couldn't put it down!

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4. 0 / 5.0

Surprised that after reading I still have only a fuzzy picture and understanding of "The Kremlin". That said the book is a informative romp through Russian / Moscow History. Shallow but broad with links to Moscow / Kremlin that are not stretched. Format follows Historical timeline and Pre Peter the Great Sections are particularly informative. Intriguing and point may really be that the idea of The Kremlin is elusive.

[Brad Rousse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of the Kremlin is the history of Moscow; and the history of Moscow is the history of Russia. This is essentially the argument of Catherine Merridale's engaging and intriguing history of one of the most foreboding and aloof buildings in the world. Starting with Moscow's far off origins in the Rus, Merridale takes her readers on a step by step, intimate view of the citadel as goes from earthen fort to the heart of a superpower. Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Lenin, Stalin, Putin; all of the mighty people of Russian people have made their impact here, changing the history to its "true" origins to support their views of the Russian past and future. Merridale also serves as architectural critic, describing the individual buildings and how they shaped both their builders and their inhabitants, as well as future refurbishers and residents. Merridale ends with a look at the Putin Kremlin through the eyes of a tourist, bringing it back full circle to show how Russians view the Kremlin as both a mirror and a symbol of their place in the world.

We both shape and are shaped by our buildings; Merridale's great book shows how profound and true that statement is.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one as research for the current novel in progress, and found its coverage of the subject both broad and deep. The timeline stretches from the earliest foundations of Moscow through recent events. With every generation, there's so much lost in terms of historical buildings and artifacts that it's rather heartbreaking to consider. Perhaps more than any other building on Earth, the Kremlin has come to symbolize the power of its associated government, and Merridale's account makes clear the ways in which the ideal of the Kremlin has been as important, if not more so, than the actuality. Probably my favorite bit involves Ivan the Terrible' lost library--eight hundred irreplaceable volumes buried somewhere underneath Moscow. Intriguing!

[Harmke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het Kremlin: het hart van de Russische politiek. Geheimzinnig, grotesk en machtig. En gebouwd op eeuwen Russische geschiedenis.

Het idee van dit boek is om aan de hand van de geschiedenis van het Kremlin de politieke en culturele geschiedenis van de Russische machthebbers te vertellen. Een originele insteek. Helaas vond ik de uitvoering minder geslaagd. De Russische geschiedenis is turbulent en vol verhalen. De schrijfster wil zo veel mogelijk vertellen, switcht daardoor soms chaotisch door de tijd heen en overvoert je vaak met zo veel details dat je niet meer weet waar het nu eigenlijk over ging. Het boek puilt werkelijk uit van de details. Voor mij te veel waardoor ik het een lastig leesbaar boek vond.

[Alice-Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a very detailed book about the Kreml. I think too detailed, so I stopped at 2/3 of the book. Just too much information.
But for those, who are really interested, it's quite astonishing.
You learn a lot, not just about Moskow but about Russia and its history.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dragged for me and I can't put my finger on the reason. It wasn't quite about the Kremlin. But it wasn't quite about Moscow or Russia either.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

History-writing at its most brilliant and inspiring..

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a biography of a building - actually a set of buildings - the Kremlin. The story goes back eight centuries and is related with the unfolding of Russia as a powerful state, from the consolidation of the Muscovite state and the reigns of the Ivans (great and terrible) to the Romanov dynasty to the Russian revolutions of 1917 and the emergence of the USSR to the post-Soviet governments of Yeltsin and Putin. The core of the story is how the Kremlin was a tool of various regimes and came to be seen as a repository of Russian history and culture. The latest efforts to modernize the Kremlin after the fall of Communism led to corruption charges that played a part in the rise of Putin to succeed Boris Yeltsin. In the wrong hands, this story could have been really boring or else a rehash of Russian history. It is neither and is instead a fine book.

For me, the standard for a "history of key buildings" has to be the Henry Adams book on Mt. St.Michel and Chartres. When I first visited France a long time ago, I read that book and used it as a guidebook of sorts at both places. It was informative and I still refer to the book from time to time - especially if you get past the touristy parts of Mt. St. Michel. Catherine Merridale is a wonderful scholar and a fine writer and if I every visit the Kremlin (not immediately on my schedule) I will make use of this book. Times are easier now, however, and those parts of the Kremlin that remain and are viewable at all are well documented in travel videos on YouTube. There is no need to imagine anything at all - and there is considerable commentary available for free.

For me, the most interesting parts of this book concerned the transitional phases. How did life in the Kremlin change from the end of Ivan IV's reign through the Time of Troubles and into the Romanov dynasty? How did the Bolsheviks adjust to life in the Kremlin, with Stalin's quarters located close by to various churches? How did the Kremlin become open to tourists after the fall of the Soviet Union?

The downside of a book like this is that Russian history is long and there are many stories to tell. If you are not comfortable with your Russian history background, this book will be a bit of a slog. Even if you are comfortable, there is a lot of material here and lots of odd sounding names to remember.

Merridale writes well, however, and the book is copiously cited. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Maura Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Wow. That was a lot of Russian history.

In Red Fortress, author Catherine Merridale uses the Kremlin as the focal point for writing a history of Russia that spans hundreds of years, from the construction of the fortress’s first ramparts in the 12th century through to the early 2010s. Merridale tells this story in vivid, intense detail; she knows when to inject a good anecdote or witty aside, but there’s no getting around the fact that Red Fortress can feel as dense as the Kremlin’s walls. I found myself glazing over at points, unable to keep track of all the rulers and their retinues.

Still, the central message of Merridale’s work breaks through: that the Kremlin, as the book’s original subtitle proclaims, is both history and illusion. Although a compound has indeed stood at the heart of Moscow for centuries, there has never been one stable and eternal “Kremlin.” Successive Russian rulers constructed and destroyed, remodeled and neglected various buildings, attempting to put their personal stamp on the site. The Kremlin is a useful symbol for Russian nationalists seeking to claim an unbroken line from past to present, but the history of the fortress is in fact as messy and chaotic—and dense—as Russian history itself.

[Bernard English · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who reads this account will have to conclude Putin is one of Russia's more enlightened and reasonable leaders. Another lesson is there is a "Russianness" which will galvanize Russians in defense of their homeland against outsiders, no matter what the odds. Merridale recounts the resistance against the onslaught of the Crimean khan, Devlet-Girey which is particularly noteworthy because Ivan the Terrible wouldn't seem to be a leader Russians would fight for. She also tells the dramatic story of how Russians would not let Moscow or any of its valuables fall into the hands of Napolean's Grande Armée. One warning though: I misread the title as referring to the secret (political) heart of Russia. The text is much more about the physical buildings and artwork though the political backdrop is given.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It was very well written, informative, and insightful. The only reasoning I did not rate it 5 stars is that the writing was not compelling. For me, 5 star books are books that linger in my mind after I read them, books that are outstanding above all else. This book was good, but it will not haunt me. If you aren't interested in the subject, you probably would not care to finish it. I, however, was fascinated by a historical insight into the most beautiful political fortress ever conceived. It also provided insight into Russia's leaders, from Brezhnev's apparent addiction to sleeping pills, to Stalin's love of wooden paneling. Overall, an excellent read. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in Russian history!

[Andreas Tyrberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this book om the library at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now, two years later, I have finished it.

I have read many dry historic books. But this is a really boring one - even if facts of course seems well presented in non engaging way. But something in the book always screams "put me away and stop reading me".

Why did I finish it?

It was so rough in the start that I lost the book a so many times and missed leaving it at the library. So in the end it was cheaper to buy the boom from the library instead of paying late fees.


I hope better books about Russia, Kreml and Moscow exist. For this one do I not recommend.