The Amusement Palace (russian: Потешный дворец, translit=Poteshny Dvorets) is located at the Kremlin’s western wall. It is situated between the Commandant and Trinity Towers. It was built in 1652 for

Ilya Miloslavsky Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky (russian: Илья Данилович Милославский) (1594–1668) was a Russian boyar and diplomat. Biography Ilya Miloslavsky was brought forward by the head of the Posolsky Prikaz Ivan Gramotin, who had ...

, who was the father-in-law of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Alexei Mikhailovich Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...

. After the death of Miloslavsky, the palace went to the state. It was then used as a theatre. In the theatre, performances were staged to amuse the family of the tsar and his court. Hence, it got the name the Amusement Palace. During the administration of Tsar Peter the Great, the Police Department was placed in the palace. In the 19th century the Commandant of Moscow took up his residence there. It was later the home of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, where his second wife

Nadezhda Alliluyeva Nadezhda Sergeyevna Alliluyeva (russian: link=no, Надежда Сергеевна Аллилуева; – 9 November 1932) was the second wife of Joseph Stalin. She was born in Baku to a friend of Stalin, a fellow revolutionary, and was ra ...

committed suicide. The palace was restored in 2002–2004, including the original décor of its façade and the Church of our Lady's Glorification.

References

* {{Kremlin Palaces in Moscow Moscow Kremlin Houses completed in 1652 1652 establishments in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow