The disappearance of the Kremlin: how the main goal of the enemy aviation was hidden during the Second World War

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Air raids are causing devastation on a colossal scale and enormous loss of life. The Great Patriotic War was no exception. However, there was one peculiarity in the work of the German aviation - they sought not only to level strategic objects and cities to the ground, but also often planned some symbolic conquests as an additional goal, for psychological pressure on the enemy. In the case of the Eastern Front, the Moscow Kremlin became such a target.

However, the aces of the Luftwaffe could not inflict an air strike on it - after all, the center of the political life of the USSR was reliably disguised.

The fact that the Kremlin was provided with protection in the form of camouflage from an air attack has long been known: at least this is the only way to explain why even the most experienced German pilots were unable to damage the huge fortress. In addition, some information from eyewitnesses and contemporaries has been preserved. But official information on how the Kremlin was hidden from the Luftwaffe could not be found. Until recently: only a few years ago, the Federal Security Service declassified data on this issue, and also published sketches of several camouflage projects that were developed during that period.

The FSO press service reported that although a special resolution of the State Defense Committee on the creation of a camouflage service at the Moscow Soviet was adopted on July 9, 1941, the first plans to protect the Kremlin were proposed at the initiative of the commandant of the facility, Nikolai Spiridonov, back in 1939. Then he sent a letter to the country's leadership. However, in fact, these plans were implemented only after the invasion of the troops of the Third Reich in the USSR.

There were several options for camouflaging the main object of the capital of the Soviet Union. The main purpose of this large-scale operation was to hide the location of the structure from German air reconnaissance and bombers. A group of engineers and architects headed by the eminent Soviet academician Boris Iofan was involved in the development of projects. And the task before them was not an easy one.

The fact is that, in addition to the impressive area of 28 hectares, the structures of the Moscow Kremlin formed a triangle. In addition, the buildings had roofs painted green - no more such roofing colors were observed throughout the capital. Among other things, the domes of the temples on the territory, as well as the famous red stars on the towers, also attracted attention. All this led to the fact that the complex was perfectly visible from the air.

Therefore, the first thing the Moscow Kremlin was supposed to do was “strip” these distinctive details. So, the roofs of the buildings were repainted in brown, typical for the capital buildings of that time. The domes of objects of religious significance - in particular, the bell tower of Ivan the Great - also changed color, and special covers were put on the stars.

Employees of the Kremlin commandant's office and servicemen of the special-purpose regiment were engaged in this stage of camouflage; professional climbers were involved in working with the domes. In addition, the walls of the complex have undergone changes. The conspicuous teeth in the upper part were closed under the plywood. The wall itself, in turn, turned into the facade of a typical Moscow residential building - windows and doors were painted on it.

There was one more level of the Kremlin's camouflage - the so-called “volumetric imitation”. It implies building up the space of the complex and surrounding areas with ghost buildings. For example, Lenin's Mausoleum, which by that time had lost its direct purpose - the body of Vladimir Ilyich had been evacuated earlier - acquired two additional floors of wood. In addition, the Alexandrovsky and Taynitsky gardens were redeveloped, and fake city quarters grew on the free territory of the complex.

The camouflage measures for the Moscow Kremlin have contributed to the fact that, for the most part, it was not injured during the bombing. According to official information, the complex was subjected to airstrikes eight times - five times in 1941 and three times in 1942. Arsenal received the greatest damage during a series of bombing raids on the capital in August 1941 - then an aerial bomb exploded near the building, partially destroying it; Several nearby structures, among which was the Small Garage, also fell under the distribution. During all eight raids, 60 people died on the territory of the complex.

The dismantling of the Kremlin's disguise took place over the course of several years, taking into account the circumstances and the situation around. For example, the Lenin Mausoleum was temporarily returned to its original appearance for the parade on November 7, 1941, and then disguised again. Interesting fact:Joseph Stalin, recalling the 1941 parade, said that the unmasking of the Mausoleum did not lead to fears of the enemy finding a strategic object. The fact is that that day was not flying for aviation: the leader of the peoples jokingly believed that at that moment even the weather decided to help the Soviet people.

The first dismantling of camouflage structures was carried out in the second half of 1942 due to a decrease in the intensity of enemy aerial bombardments of the capital. Then they were only partial. Finally, the Moscow Kremlin and surrounding territories were returned to their original appearance only in June 1945, on the eve of the Victory Day parade. At the same time, there was a complete dismantling of the Mausoleum's disguise: a few months earlier, the mummy of Vladimir Ilyich was returned to the structure from evacuation in Tyumen.

However, not everything went so smoothly in the unmasking of the Kremlin complex. Problems arose when the turn came to religious buildings. The fact is that the golden domes of the cathedrals were painted over with gray paint, which turned out to be too corrosive. As a result, in order for the structures to shine with their heads again, the cleaning teams and restorers had to arm themselves with special chemicals to remove the enamel. But the overall result of the dismantling was satisfactory, and the Moscow Kremlin to this day pleases Muscovites and guests of the capital with its centuries-old vaults - it seems that the facades of non-existent houses were not painted on its walls.