The Sukharev Tower (Сухарева башня) was a

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

landmark until its destruction by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities in 1934. Tsar

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

had the tower built in the Moscow baroque style at the intersection of the Garden Ring with Sretenka Street in 1692–1695.

History

Peter ordered the construction of the tower to commemorate his triumph over his half-sister

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in 1689, after the Streltsy uprising had been crushed. The tower received its name in honor of Lavrentii Pankrat'evich Sukharev, whose regiment of

streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...

had supported Peter.Craft, William Brumfield (1993). ''A History of Russian Architecture''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 195.

Tower construction

The brick tower was built from 1692 through 1701 under the direction of the architect . It was not a fortress but rather a ceremonial gateway into the city. The first floor formed an arched entrance to the city. The second floor contained guardrooms. Originally these served as barracks for Sukharev's regiment of streltsy, but the streltsy were disbanded at the end of the 17th century. The third floor housed the Moscow School of Mathematics and Navigation. The school was part of Peter's grand plan to introduce western education to Russia. Choglokov did some remodeling in 1701. Count Yakov Bruce made the upper story his astronomical

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, the first in Russia. The fourth floor had a clock and a state coat-of-arms. "An attractive typically Muscovite, wide exterior staircase led to a gallery on the first floor and surrounding the building."

Tower, an integral part of city infrastructure

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

(reigned 1762-1796) allowed Moscow merchants to use the tower premises for storehouses and shops. Catherine ordered the construction of a water-supply system from the village of Mytishchi to Moscow. The Mytishchi Water Conduit, built between 1779 and 1804, ended near the Sukharev tower to dispense water.Moscow WaterCanal data
in Russian Between 1826 and 1835 engineer major-general Nikolai Ivanovich Yanish () repaired and expanded the Mytishchi Water Supply. At this time two steam-engine powered pumps and a cast-iron tank holding 5000 (buckets) gallons of water were built on the second floor of the tower to improve the water pressure. A journal article on Russian: "Энергия промышленного роста."
/ref> Pipes from the tower led to fountains. One of these fountains, called Sheremetev, was located in the Sukharev square near the tower.History of Mytishchi
in Russian A large market, the Sukharevka, bustled around the tower in the 19th century. In 1921 the Soviet government turned the tower into the Moscow Municipal Museum, which later became the Moscow City Museum.History Moscow City Museum
in Russian The Soviet government closed down the famous flea market in 1925. It is said that

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

felt that the market was a "breeding ground for speculation". Semler, Helen (2001). ''Moscow Rediscovered''. New York: Liberty Publishing House. p. 302.

Tower destruction

"The bride of the Ivan Velikiy" (as Muscovites used to call the tower) was demolished in 1934 by order of

Lazar Kaganovich Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich (; – 25 July 1991) was a Soviet politician and one of Joseph Stalin's closest associates. Born to a Jewish family in Ukraine, Kaganovich worked as a shoemaker and joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party ...

, Secretary of the Moscow City Committee. It took place during reconstruction of the city ordered by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, that gave birth to Stalinist architecture. It was said that the tower blocked traffic.

Proposed tower replica

Over the years Moscow authorities several times considered building a

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

of the tower, but no decision has been made.Revival from ruins: Can Sukharev Tower reappear in the capital
/ref>

References