Museum collection

Museum collections

Collection of The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site comprises over one hundred sixty thousand historical, cultural and art pieces. There are only nine thousand objects on display in the permanent exhibition of the museum.

The overall chronological frame is rather wide – from the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. to the present. The main part of the museum’s collections belongs to the period of the Russian medieval and modern history.

The peculiarity of the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ collection lies in the history of its origin. The collection is based on treasures preserved for centuries in the Treasury of Moscow Grand Princes and Tsars in the Kremlin. Dynastic regalia were used at festive court ceremonies, such as coronations, receptions of foreign ambassadors and ceremonial processions of the rulers.

The works of the Kremlin masters, gifts from foreign rulers and ambassadors, presents from Russian nobles and acquisitions at home and abroad were the sources for filling the royal treasury.

At the beginning of the 18th century, when the capital moved to Saint Petersburg, the work of the palace institutions and workshops ceased. They were integrated into the unified storage of ancient artefacts, which led to the museum’s establishment in the Kremlin in 1806 by decree of Emperor Alexander I.

Between 1806 and 1917, the museum’s collection was supplemented by items from the palace’s possessions, imperial gifts, archaeological finds and purchases. The artillery collection of the Moscow Kremlin, one of the largest in the world, was registered at that time.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the collection was replenished with the Russian Orthodox Church’s valuables from the closed and destroyed churches, cathedrals and monasteries. These were mainly valuables from the Patriarch’s sacristy, the sacristies of the Kremlin’s cathedrals and monasteries founded on its territory. Their transfer to the museum saved many of them from being destroyed and sold abroad.

During the Soviet period, the museum collection was enriched by planned acquisitions, transfers from state and private institutions, gifts from individuals, and archaeological research in the territory of the Moscow Kremlin.

The Moscow Kremlin Museums’ collection is still growing. The historic collection of masterpieces, many of which have become the symbols of the Russian State and culture, make the museum a treasure house.

Here you can explore the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums online

Russian state regalia

This collection of Russian state regalia comprises 39 items dating from the late 12th and the first third of the 13th century. Although not large, it is considered to be almost the most valuable and is unique in other Russian museums.

Arms and armour

The Moscow Kremlin Museums' collection of arms and armour comprises around 8000 items dating from the 11th to the 20th century. It is based on two historically formed complexes — the Great Royal Armoury, viz the Arsenal of the Russian tsars of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the Imperial Rustkammer, viz the collection of arms of the 18th and early 19th century.

Russian gold and silver art pieces

Russian gold and silver art pieces comprise one of the Moscow Kremlin Museums' primary collections. It includes about 13200 jewellery pieces dating from the 12th to the 20th century, made mainly of precious metals and stones.

European and Orient gold and silver art pieces

The collection of foreign gold- and silverware includes more than 9000 pieces made by the finest Western and Oriental silversmiths and jewellers of the 13th-20th centuries. The core of the collection was formed in the treasuries of the Royal and Patriarch’s estates in the Kremlin; it is one of the oldest collections in the museum, which was founded in the early 19th century.

Ceremonial horse harness

The Stable Treasury is a very interesting part of the ancient Russian Tsar's Treasury and a unique museum collection of historical horse harness. It numbers over 1500 pieces, including those made of silver and gold and encrusted with precious stones.

Royal carriages

One of the core collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums is the collection of the rarest old carriages of the Russian rulers. It comprises 24 pieces and covers a wide chronological range from the 16th to the 18th century.

Icons

The Moscow Kremlin Museums houses a collection of three thousand icons. The historically formed complex covers the period from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 20th century. The core of the collection is made up of works painted for the decoration of cathedrals, Tsar’s and Patriarch’s chambers and private chapels of the Moscow Kremlin.

Wooden sculpture

The collection of the Russian wooden church sculpture is not large – the Moscow Kremlin Museums possess only about 80 exhibits. But the majority of the creations are eminent examples of plastic art of Medieval Russia.

Ceramics and glass

The Armoury Chamber’s collection of ceramics and glass comprises around 2,500 items made from a wide range of different types of materials, such as terracotta and majolica, soft, fine and hard porcelain, glass (not only transparent colourless, but and coloured), mirrors, pieces decorated with Roman mosaic, églomisé jewellery, and cut glass (including those in silver and metal mounting).

Textiles

The collection of artistic textiles comprises about four thousand exhibits. It includes one-piece secular and religious objects made from a variety of patterned fabric, as well as tapestry, banners and various accessories of secular dress accessories. The chronological span of the collection is from the 14th to the 20th centuries.

Orders and medals

The collection of orders and medals covers the period from the 17th century to the present day and comprises more than 4,600 pieces. Its main components are the collections of phaleristics (Russian and foreign orders and decorations), commemorative medals (Russian, foreign and modern original medals), sphragistics (seals), and statutes of Russian orders.

Numismatics and notaphily

The creation of the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ numismatic collection is closely linked to the history of the Armoury Chamber. From the beginning of the 18th century, various ancient coins began to arrive here. In the 19th century, the collection became more comprehensive and interesting. In 1883, ancient coins and medals were placed in nine special showcases in the Armoury Chamber.

Oil paintings

The Moscow Kremlin Museums’ collection of paintings, connected with the life of the Kremlin for more than three centuries, is of great historical and cultural value. The collections spans the period from the later Middle Ages to the Soviet period.

Graphics

The collection of graphics of the State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site "The Moscow Kremlin" is closely related to the history of the Moscow Kremlin, its monuments, architectural buildings and exhibits, preserved inside the Kremlin’s walls. The graphics fund is rather young. In 1961, it became a part of the research archive, which, in addition to documents, also included architectural drawings and graphic materials on paper base.

Manuscript and early printed books

At present, the Moscow Kremlin Museums conserves over five hundred manuscript books and early printed books. The earliest one in the collection is a handwritten Greece Gospel, dating back to the 13th century. The latest specimens are printed books from the early 20th century.

Manuscripts

The collection of manuscripts kept in the Moscow Kremlin Museums numbers just over one hundred sixty exhibits and includes documentary materials from the late 15th to the early 20th century. The basic part of the collection comprises charters and manuscripts from the Solovetsky Monastery.

Archaeology

The archaeology fund comprises about 3000 exhibits. The objects found on the Kremlin territory belong to various historical epochs - from the late third millennium B.C. to the early 19th century. There are many beauty accessories, including those made of silver and fragments of pottery, as well as smithery, various instruments, household utensils, religious objects, clay toys, military items, and troves.

Architectural fragments

The collection of architectural fragments comprises almost four thousand pieces dating from the early 14th century to the mid-20th century. They include white-stone and ceramic architectural details, memorial monuments and glazed stove tiles.

Timepieces

The collection of timepieces in the Moscow Kremlin Museums contains about 200 exhibits dating from the 16th to the 20th century. There are rare and in some cases unique early examples of pocket watches in precious cases and table clocks in ornate gilded copper cases.

Photographs

The fund of photo documents, contaoning 8000 images and 30000 negatives, is one of the youngest among the collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums. The main part of the collection includes views of the Moscow Kremlin, views of interiors of its churches and palaces, relics and pieces of art kept in the Kremlin.

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