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Tsar Cannon
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The Tsar Cannon, cast by Andrey Chokhov, is one of the largest antique weapons in the world.
The rapid development of iron casting, one of the oldest trades in Russia that was practiced from the 10th century onwards, was crowned with a truly unique piece of work created in 1586 in Moscow, in the cannon yard. The length of this weapon is 5.34 metres, with a calibre of 890 millimetres. The cannon is decorated with inscriptions, and “2400 poods” is carved on the barrel – the weight of the Tsar Cannon, which is equivalent to 39,312 kilograms. On the sides of the cannon are eight cleats for attaching ropes. There are four cast-iron cannonballs next to the cannon, each weighing a ton.
The name of the Tsar Cannon comes from the portrait of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich above the front right cleat, and also indicates the unsurpassed magnitude of the weapon. In the olden days, the Tsar Cannon also had another name: the “Russian Shotgun”, as it was designed to shoot pellets.
The Tsar Cannon was not used in battle, although it was not cast as a decorative weapon, but actually designed as a weapon of war to defend the Moscow Kremlin. Initially, the cannon protected the main gates from the Kitay-Gorod side, and then was moved several times: it was put in the courtyard of the Arsenal building, opposite the entrance to it, and finally, in 1960, due to the construction of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (now the State Kremlin Palace), it was moved to Ivanovskaya Square.
Bird’s Eye View of the Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum Sanctuary