Which Kremlin tower is crowned with a huge ruby ​​star. How ruby ​​stars appeared on the Kremlin towers

In August 1935, a resolution was adopted by the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to replace the old symbols with new ones. Until this historical moment, the spiers of the Kremlin towers were decorated with heraldic double-headed eagles. In October 1935, instead of the double-headed royal eagles, five-pointed stars appeared over the Kremlin...

The first double-headed eagle was erected on top of the tent of the Spasskaya Tower in the 50s of the 17th century. Later, Russian coats of arms were installed on the highest passage towers of the Kremlin - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya. In October 1935, instead of the double-headed royal eagles, five-pointed stars appeared above the Kremlin.
It was proposed to replace the armorial eagles with flags, as on other towers, and with emblems with a hammer and sickle, and with the coats of arms of the USSR, but stars were chosen.
The stars of the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers were the same in size. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4.5 meters. The stars of the Trinity and Borovitskaya towers were smaller. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4 and 3.5 meters, respectively. Weight of a steel supporting frame covered with metal sheets and decorated Ural stones, reached a ton.
The design of the stars was designed to withstand the load of hurricane winds. Special bearings manufactured at the First Bearing Plant were installed at the base of each star. Thanks to this, the stars, despite their significant weight, could easily rotate and become their frontal side against the wind.


Before installing the stars on the Kremlin towers, engineers had doubts: would the towers withstand their weight and storm wind loads? After all, each star weighed on average one thousand kilograms and had a sail surface of 6.3 square meters. A thorough examination revealed that the upper ceilings of the tower vaults and their tents had fallen into disrepair. It was necessary to strengthen the brickwork of the upper floors of all the towers on which the stars were to be installed. In addition, metal connections were additionally introduced into the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. And the tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

Placing thousand-kilogram stars on the Kremlin towers was no easy task. The catch was that there was simply no suitable equipment in 1935. The height of the lowest tower, Borovitskaya, is 52 meters, the highest, Troitskaya, is 72. There were no tower cranes of this height in the country, but for Russian engineers there is no word “no”, there is the word “must”.
Stalprommekhanizatsiya specialists designed and built a special crane for each tower, which could be installed on its upper tier. At the base of the tent, a metal base - a console - was mounted through the tower window. A crane was assembled on it. So, in several stages, the double-headed eagles were first dismantled, and then the stars were erected.

The next day, a five-pointed star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower. On October 26 and 27, the stars shone over the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The installers had perfected the lifting technique so well that it took them no more than an hour and a half to install each star. The exception was the star of the Trinity Tower, the rise of which, due to strong winds, lasted about two hours. A little more than two months have passed since the newspapers published the decree on the installation of stars. Or rather, only 65 days. Newspapers wrote about the labor feat of Soviet workers who, for such short term created real works of art.

However, the new symbols were destined for a short life. Already the first two winters showed that due to the aggressive influence of Moscow rains and snow, both the Ural gems and the gold leaf that covered the metal parts became tarnished. In addition, the stars turned out to be disproportionately large, which was not identified at the design stage. After their installation, it immediately became clear: visually the symbols are absolutely not in harmony with the slender tents of the Kremlin towers. The stars were literally overwhelming architectural ensemble Moscow Kremlin. And already in 1936, the Kremlin decided to design new stars.


In May 1937, the Kremlin decided to replace the metal stars with ruby ​​ones with powerful internal illumination. Moreover, Stalin decided to install such a star on the fifth Kremlin tower - Vodovzvodnaya: from the new Bolshoi Stone Bridge There was a stunning view of this slender and very architecturally harmonious tower. And it became another very advantageous element of the “monumental propaganda” of the era.


Ruby glass was welded at glass factory in Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of the Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to cook 500 square meters ruby glass, for which a new technology was invented - “selenium ruby”. Before this to achieve desired color gold was added to glass; Selenium is cheaper and the color is deeper.

 Special bearings were installed at the base of each star so that, despite their weight, they could rotate like a weather vane. They are not afraid of rust and hurricanes, since the “frame” of the stars is made of special stainless steel. Fundamental difference


: weather vanes indicate where the wind is blowing, and Kremlin stars indicate where the wind is blowing. Have you understood the essence and significance of the fact? Thanks to the star's diamond-shaped cross-section, it always stubbornly faces the wind. And any - up to a hurricane. Even if everything around is completely demolished, the stars and tents will remain intact. That's how it was designed and built. But suddenly the following was discovered: sunlight


ruby stars appear... black. The answer was found - the five-pointed beauties had to be made in two layers, and the bottom, inner layer of glass had to be milky white, scattering light well. By the way, this provided both a more even glow and hiding the filaments of the lamps from human eyes. By the way, a dilemma arose here too - how to make the glow even? After all, if the lamp is installed in the center of the star, the rays will obviously be less bright. The combination of different thicknesses and color saturations of the glass helped. In addition, the lamps are enclosed in refractors consisting of prismatic glass tiles.


In the entire history of the stars, they went out only 2 times. The first time was during World War II. It was then that the stars were extinguished for the first time - after all, they were not only a symbol, but also an excellent guiding light. Covered in burlap, they patiently waited out the bombing, and when it was all over, it turned out that the glass was damaged in many places and required replacement. Moreover, the unexpected pests turned out to be their own - the artillerymen who defended the capital from fascist air raids. The second time was when Nikita Mikhalkov filmed his “The Barber of Siberia” in 1997.
The central control panel for star ventilation is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. The most modern equipment is installed there. Every day, twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and the fans for blowing them are switched.
Once every five years, the glasses of the stars are washed by industrial climbers.


Since the 1990s, there have been public discussions about the appropriateness of Soviet symbols in the Kremlin. In particular, the Russian Orthodox Church and a number of patriotic organizations take a categorical position, declaring “that it would be fair to return to the Kremlin towers the double-headed eagles that have decorated them for centuries.”


As for the first stars, one of them, which was on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in 1935-1937, was later installed on the spire of the Northern River Station

Five-pointed stars were installed, which replaced the double-headed royal eagles. Once every 100 years they were updated, since the image of the state emblem also changed.

All the eagles on the Kremlin towers turned out to be of different times. For example, the eagle was the oldest - 1870.

Lenin said many times that the eagles need to be removed from the Kremlin towers. But they couldn’t find the technology to do this without damaging the towers. For example, in 1924 they wanted to hook eagles to balloons and lower them to the ground. But it turned out that the balloons were not able to withstand such a load. The question of replacing the eagles was raised again in 1935.

The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decided by November 7, 1935 to remove 4 eagles located on the Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Trinity towers of the Kremlin wall and 2 eagles from the building Historical Museum. By the same date, it was decided to install a five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle on the indicated 4 Kremlin towers.

It was proposed to replace the armorial eagles with flags, emblems with a hammer and sickle, and the coats of arms of the USSR, but stars were chosen. The preparation of sketches was entrusted to Evgeniy Lansere. In the first draft, Stalin did not like the circle in the center. Lansere quickly fixed everything and gave it back new sketch For approval. Stalin again did not like the project because of the holding stick. After this, the development of the star sketch was transferred to F.F. Fedorovsky.

It took two weeks to dismantle the eagles. The gold covering was removed from them and transferred to the State Bank.

On October 23, 1935, the Kremlin stars sparkling with gold and gems were installed for public viewing in the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure. Eagles with peeled coverings were placed nearby. And the very next day they were sent for smelting.

The new five-pointed stars weighed about a ton, so the tower tents had to be strengthened to install them. And the tent turned out to be so old that it needed to be rebuilt.

On October 24, Muscovites gathered to watch the installation of the star on. On October 25, the star was installed on, and on October 26 and 27 - on Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya.

The first Kremlin stars were cast from red copper and stainless steel. Special galvanic workshops were built for their gilding. In the center of each star, the symbol of the USSR - the hammer and sickle - was laid out with Ural gems. In total, about 7 thousand stones ranging in size from 20 to 200 carats were required (one carat is equal to 0.2 grams).

Each star had its own design. For example, the star was decorated with rays from the center to the tops, the star of the Trinity Tower was decorated with ears of corn. The pattern of the star followed its outline. The star of the Nikolskaya Tower was without a design.

But the first stars quickly lost their shine: soot, dust and dirt, mixing with sediment, caused the gems and gold to fade.

In May 1937, they decided to install new Kremlin stars made of ruby ​​glass. They were lit over November 2, 1937.

Vodovzvodnaya was added to the four towers. So there were symbolically five five-pointed stars. And the gem star from the Spasskaya Tower was moved to the Northern River Station.

Ruby stars have only 3 types of patterns (Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya are the same), and their frame is based on a multifaceted pyramid. The stars vary in size: on Vodovzvodnaya the beam span is 3 meters, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 meters, on Troitskaya - 3.5 meters, on Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - 3.75 meters. Each star has bearings at its base so that it can rotate like a weather vane, despite its weight.

Each star had double glazing: the inner one was made of milk glass, and the outer one was made of ruby ​​glass. This allowed the Kremlin stars to remain red rather than black, even in bright sunlight.

It is known that during the Great Patriotic War, the stars on the towers were extinguished and covered with tarpaulin so that they would not become a reference point for enemy aircraft. At the same time, windows were painted on the walls of the Kremlin. After this, a complete restoration of the Kremlin stars was required. They returned to the towers in March 1946.

This time the stars were glazed in three layers. First, a flask was blown from molten ruby ​​glass, then it was covered with crystal and milk glass. Sheets were melted from this “layered” cylinder. This made the new stars even brighter.

The stars on the Kremlin towers were extinguished for the second time in 1999 to film the Moscow night scene of the film “The Barber of Siberia” at the request of director Nikita Mikhalkov.

The central control panel for monitoring and controlling the ventilation of the Kremlin stars is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. Twice a day, check the operation of the lamps and switch the fans. Each lamp has two filaments connected in parallel, which allows the lamp to shine even if one of them burns out.

The stars are washed every 5 years, and preventative maintenance is carried out monthly.

On September 10, 2010, members of the Return Foundation appealed to the President with a request to return the eagle to the Spasskaya Tower, but received no response. It is worth noting that the eagles on the towers of the building returned back in 1997.

Do you have anything to tell about the history of the Kremlin stars?

Installation of stars on the Kremlin towers

Dismantling the eagles

Double-headed eagles, being the state symbols of Russia, have been on the tops of the tents of the Kremlin towers since the 17th century. About once a century, the gilded copper eagles were changed, as was the image of the state emblem. At the time the eagles were removed they were all different years production: the oldest eagle of the Trinity Tower is 1870, the newest eagle of the Spasskaya Tower is 1912.

Red Square, 1925

After the Bolsheviks came to power, V. I. Lenin repeatedly spoke about the need to dismantle the double-headed eagles from the Kremlin towers. However, at that time, according to various reasons, this was not done. In newsreels from the early 1930s, the towers of the Moscow Kremlin are still crowned with double-headed eagles.

In 1930, the operational department of the NKVD ordered specialists from the Central Art and Restoration Workshops, under the leadership of the famous Russian artist and restorer I. E. Grabar, to conduct an examination of the Kremlin double-headed eagles. Academician Grabar, in his report to Gorbunov, the manager of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, wrote that “... none of the currently existing Kremlin towers Orlov does not represent an ancient monument and cannot be protected as such.”

A week later, on June 20, 1930, Gorbunov writes to the secretary of the presidium of the USSR Central Executive Committee A. S. Enukidze:

V.I. Lenin several times demanded the removal of these eagles and was angry that this work was not done - I personally confirm this. I think it would be nice to remove these eagles and replace them with flags. Why do we need to preserve these symbols of tsarism?

With communist greetings,
Gorbunov.

In an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the secretariat of the USSR Central Executive Committee dated December 13, 1931, there is a mention of a proposal to include 95 thousand rubles in the estimate for 1932 for the cost of removing eagles from the Kremlin towers and replacing them with the emblems of the USSR.

While the stars were being made, the builders and installers were solving the main problem - how to actually remove the double-headed eagles from the towers and fix the stars. At that time there were no large high-rise cranes to help with this operation. Specialists from the all-Union office “Stalprommekhanizatsiya” developed special cranes that were installed directly on the upper tiers of the towers. Through the tower windows at the base of the tents, strong console platforms were built, on which the cranes were assembled. The work of installing the cranes and dismantling the eagles took two weeks.

Finally, on October 18, 1935, all 4 double-headed eagles were removed from the Kremlin towers. Due to the old design of the eagle from the Trinity Tower, it had to be dismantled right at the top of the tower. The work of removing the eagles and raising the stars was carried out by experienced climbers under the guidance and control of the NKVD operational department and the Kremlin commandant Tkalun. The report of the head of the Operations Department of the OGPU Pauker to I.V. Stalin and V.M. Molotov dated November 4, 1935 states: “...I was instructed to remove the eagles from the Kremlin towers and from the Historical Museum by November 7, replacing them with stars. I inform you that this task of the Politburo has been completed..."

Having made sure that the eagles were of no value, the First Deputy People's Commissar of the NKVD addressed a letter to L. M. Kaganovich: “I ask for your order: Give the NKVD of the USSR 67.9 kilograms of gold for gilding the Kremlin stars. The gold covering of the eagles will be removed and handed over to the State Bank.”

Gem stars

The new gem stars weighed about a ton. The tents of the Kremlin towers were not designed for such a load. The tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers had to be reinforced from the inside with metal supports and pins, on which it was planned to plant the stars. A metal pyramid with a support pin for the star was installed inside the Borovitskaya Tower tent. A strong metal glass was installed at the top of the Trinity Tower. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.

October 24 a large number of Muscovites gathered on Red Square to watch the installation of a five-pointed star on the Spasskaya Tower. On October 25, a five-pointed star was installed on the spire of the Trinity Tower, and on October 26 and 27 on the Nikolskaya and Borovitskaya towers.

The first stars were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. Electroplating workshops were specially built to gild 130 m² of copper sheets. In the center of the star, the symbol of Soviet Russia - the hammer and sickle - was laid out with Ural gems. The hammer and sickle were covered with gold 20 microns thick; the pattern was not repeated on any of the stars. The star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays diverging from the center to the tops. The rays of the star installed on the Trinity Tower were made in the form of ears of corn. On the Borovitskaya Tower, the pattern followed the contour of the five-pointed star itself. The star of the Nikolskaya Tower was smooth, without a pattern. However, very soon the stars lost their original beauty. The soot, dust and dirt of the Moscow air, mixing with precipitation, caused the gems to fade, and the gold lost its shine, despite the spotlights illuminating them. In addition, they did not fully fit into the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin due to their size. The stars turned out to be too large and visually hung heavily over the towers.

The star, which was on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in 1935-1937, was later installed on the spire of the Northern River Station.

Ruby stars

Unlike semi-precious stars, ruby ​​stars only have 3 different patterns(Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya are identical in design), and the frame of each star is a multifaceted pyramid. Each beam of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers has 8, and the Nikolskaya tower has 12 faces.

Design Features

Special bearings are installed at the base of each star so that, despite their weight (more than 1 ton), they can rotate like a weather vane. The “frame” of the stars is made of special stainless steel produced by the Elektrostal plant near Moscow.

Each of the five stars has double glazing: the inner one is made of milk glass, which diffuses light well, and the outer one is made of ruby ​​glass, 6-7 mm thick. Made with next goal: In bright sunlight, the red color of the stars would appear black. Therefore, a layer of milky-white glass was placed inside the star, which allowed the star to look bright and, in addition, made the filaments of the lamps invisible. Stars have different sizes. On Vodovzvodnaya the beam span is 3 m, on Borovitskaya - 3.2 m, on Troitskaya - 3.5 m, on Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - 3.75 m.

Ruby glass was welded at the glass factory in Konstantinovka according to the recipe of the Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to weld 500 m² of ruby ​​glass, for which a new technology was invented - “selenium ruby”. Previously, gold was added to glass to achieve the desired color; Selenium is cheaper and the color is deeper.

Lamps for Kremlin stars were developed by special order at the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant, their development was carried out by specialists from the lighting laboratory of the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. Each lamp contains two filaments connected in parallel, so even if one of them burns out, the lamp will not stop shining. The lamps were manufactured at the Peterhof Precision Stones Plant. The power of electric lamps in the stars on the Spasskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya towers is 5 kW, on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya - 3.7 kW.

When solving the problem of uniform illumination of the star, they immediately abandoned the idea of ​​​​installing many light bulbs inside the star, therefore, to ensure uniform distribution The luminous flux of the lamp is enclosed in many glass prisms. For the same purpose, the glass at the ends of the rays of stars has a lower density than in the center. During the day, the stars are illuminated more strongly than at night.

The central control panel for star ventilation is located in the Trinity Tower of the Kremlin. Every day, twice a day, the operation of the lamps is visually checked, and the blower fans are also switched. To protect the stars from overheating, a ventilation system was developed, consisting of an air purification filter and two fans, one of which is a backup. Power outages are not a problem for ruby ​​stars, since they are self-powered.

Stars are usually washed every 5 years. To maintain reliable operation of auxiliary equipment, scheduled preventative maintenance is carried out monthly; more serious work is carried out every 8 years.

For the second time in its history, the stars were extinguished in 1996 during the filming of a scene of Moscow at night for the film “The Barber of Siberia” at the personal request of director Nikita Mikhalkov.

Red stars abroad USSR

Notes

see also

Kremlin stars on a 1940 poster

Literature

• Topolin M. A. Kremlin stars. - 2nd ed. - M.: Moscow. worker, 1980. - 64 p.
• Domozhirov G. The first stars of the Kremlin // Chimes. Historical and local history almanac. Vol. 2. - M.: Mosk. worker, 1987. - 384 p. - pp. 54-58.
• Goncharenko V. S. Moscow Kremlin. Walls and towers. Guide. - M.: GIKMZ “Moscow Kremlin”, “Art-Courier”, 2001. - 96 p.
• Aldonina R. P. Moscow Kremlin. - M.: “White City”, 2007. - 48 p. - ISBN 978-5-7793-1231-8.

Links

• Kremlin stars- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
• Exactly 70 years ago the ruby ​​stars of the Kremlin were lit. RIA Novosti (November 2, 2007). Archived from the original on March 2, 2012.
• Ruby stars // « Soviet Russia", 10.23.2007.
• A star to the touch // " Russian newspaper", 05.05.2006.
• Kremlin stars: “royal” predecessors and Soviet heirs // RIA Novosti, 10.24.2010

In the fall of 1935, the last symbol of the Russian monarchy - the double-headed eagles on the Kremlin towers - was ordered to live long. Instead, five-pointed stars were installed.

Symbolism

Why symbol Soviet power It was precisely the five-pointed star that became unknown for certain, but what is known is that Leon Trotsky lobbied for this symbol. Seriously interested in esotericism, he knew that the star, the pentagram, has a very powerful energy potential and is one of the most powerful symbols. The symbol of the new state could well be the swastika, the cult of which was very strong in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The swastika was depicted on the “Kerenki”, swastikas were painted on the wall of the Ipatiev House by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna before the execution, but by almost the sole decision of Trotsky, the Bolsheviks settled on a five-pointed star. The history of the 20th century will show that the “star” is stronger than the “swastika”... The stars also shone over the Kremlin, replacing the double-headed eagles.

Technique

Placing thousand-kilogram stars on the Kremlin towers was no easy task. The catch was that there was simply no suitable equipment in 1935. The height of the lowest tower, Borovitskaya, is 52 meters, the highest, Troitskaya - 72. There were no tower cranes of this height in the country, but for Russian engineers there is no word “no”, there is the word “must”. Stalprommekhanizatsiya specialists designed and built a special crane for each tower, which could be installed on its upper tier. At the base of the tent, a metal base - a console - was mounted through the tower window. A crane was assembled on it. So, in several stages, the double-headed eagles were first dismantled, and then the stars were erected.

Reconstruction of the towers

The weight of each of the Kremlin stars reached up to a ton. Considering the height at which they were supposed to be located and the sail surface of each star (6.3 sq.m.), there was a danger that the stars would simply be torn out along with the tops of the towers. It was decided to test the towers for durability. Not in vain: the upper ceilings of the tower vaults and their tents have fallen into disrepair. The builders strengthened the brickwork of the upper floors of all towers, and additionally introduced metal connections into the tents of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The tent of the Nikolskaya Tower turned out to be so dilapidated that it had to be rebuilt.

So different and spinning

They didn't make identical stars. The four stars differed from each other in their artistic design. On the edges of the star of the Spasskaya Tower there were rays emanating from the center. On the star of the Trinity Tower, the rays were made in the form of ears of corn. The star of the Borovitskaya Tower consisted of two contours inscribed one into the other, and the rays of the star of the Nikolskaya Tower had no pattern. The stars of the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers were the same in size. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4.5 meters. The stars of the Trinity and Borovitskaya towers were smaller. The distance between the ends of their beams was 4 and 3.5 meters, respectively. Stars are good, but spinning stars are doubly good. Moscow is big, there are a lot of people, everyone needs to see the Kremlin stars. Special bearings manufactured at the First Bearing Plant were installed at the base of each star. Thanks to this, despite their significant weight, the stars could easily rotate, turning to face the wind. By the location of the stars, therefore, one can judge where the wind is blowing from.

Gorky Park

The installation of the Kremlin stars became a real holiday for Moscow. The stars were not taken under cover of darkness to Red Square. The day before they were installed on the Kremlin towers, the stars were put on display in the Park named after. Gorky. Together with mere mortals, the secretaries of the city and district CPSU(b) came to look at the stars; in the light of the spotlights, Ural gems sparkled and the rays of the stars sparkled. The eagles removed from the towers were installed here, clearly demonstrating the dilapidation of the “old” and the beauty of the “new” world.

Ruby

Kremlin stars were not always ruby. The first stars, installed in October 1935, were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each star, on both sides, sparkled lined with precious stones hammer and sickle emblems. The precious stones faded after a year, and the stars were too big and did not fit well into the architectural ensemble. In May 1937, it was decided to install new stars - luminous, ruby ​​ones. At the same time, another one was added to the four towers with stars - Vodovzvodnaya. Ruby glass was welded at a glass factory in Konstantinovka, according to the recipe of Moscow glassmaker N.I. Kurochkin. It was necessary to weld 500 square meters of ruby ​​glass, for which a new technology was invented - “selenium ruby”. Previously, gold was added to glass to achieve the desired color; Selenium is cheaper and the color is deeper.

Lamps

The Kremlin stars not only rotate, but also glow. To avoid overheating and damage, about 600 cubic meters of air per hour are passed through the stars. The stars are not in danger of a power outage because their energy supply is self-sufficient. Lamps for the Kremlin stars were developed at the Moscow Electric Tube Plant. The power of three - on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Troitskaya towers - is 5000 watts, and 3700 watts - on Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya. Each contains two filaments connected in parallel. If one lamp burns out, the lamp continues to light, and a fault signal is sent to the control panel. To change lamps you do not need to go up to the star; the lamp goes down on a special rod directly through the bearing. The entire procedure takes 30-35 minutes. Throughout history, the stars have gone out twice. Once - during the war, the second - during the filming of "The Barber of Siberia".

Kremlin Stars is a brand known all over the world. Their ruby ​​color is remembered in dozens of songs and poems, and their image is unmistakably associated with Russian capital. Moscow and the Kremlin stars are firmly connected with each other in the minds of every Russian. However, few people wonder how difficult it is to produce a product worthy of decorating the heart of Russia. Now the technology and capabilities for manufacturing the Kremlin star are owned by almost the only enterprise in the country. Zvezda talked with the deputy director of the Research and Production Company Steklo of the Romashin ORPE Tekhnologiya, Vyacheslav Samsonov. It is this research and production complex that holds the secrets of producing Kremlin stars. How the stars did before the war Kremlin stars were not always made of ruby ​​glass; initially the creators thought of making them from precious and semi-precious materials. In the 1930s, prototypes of such products were made, but later the idea had to be abandoned, since from a height the stars made of precious stones looked completely inconspicuous, Samsonov said.

“In 1937 they made it from ruby ​​glass, but the attempt was unsuccessful, since the lighting element is an incandescent lamp that stands and illuminates these stars. She was visible through the glass. That is, there was no such effect that the star was burning, the lamp itself was visible from the inside,” noted the deputy director of NPK Steklo.

“In Vyshny Volochyok they made another option, a working one. This is overhead glass. What is overlay glass? Ruby red is collected, a cylinder of red glass is blown, and then crystal glass, colorless, is poured onto it from the second furnace nearby. And on top there is a third layer, this is opal, or milk glass. Here's a three-layer sandwich. Stars were made from it, these stars have proven themselves well,” shared Vyacheslav Samsonov.

“It’s difficult to get them (ruby glasses - editor’s note). They contain about ten elements in composition, quartz sand, soda, zinc white and boric acid... metallic selenium and cadmium carbonate are used as dyes, which in certain proportions give such color saturation. Selenium glass is very difficult to cook; it is a very volatile material; if the temperature conditions are gone, it can darken, become light, or even evaporate,” Samsonov said.