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BEKLEMISHEV TOWER
1487 Architect Marco Fryazin
Beklemishev Tower
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46.2 metres high. It seems very slender beside the SS Constantine and Helen Tower. Jutting out almost completely and protecting the most vulnerable south-east corner of the fortress, it looks quite unassailable. Beside the tower there was a crossing over the River Moskva by a "live" bridge, i.e., a raft of logs tied together.
The tower's numerous loopholes are at different levels. Together with the machicolations they made it possible to fight at various ranges.
The Kremlin south wall, which begins at the Beklemishev Tower, is considerably lower than the others. This is because it was well protected by the River Moskva. Moreover, in the sixteenth century a second wall was built along the bank linking the corner towers with the Secret Tower's barbican that stood not far from the river (for more about this see below).
At the end of the seventeenth century the Beklemishev Tower was topped by a high multi-faceted tent roof which somewhat relieved its austere defensive appearance.
The tower's name is linked with a dramatic episode in the grand princes' struggle to establish their power. Nearby was the house of the ambitious and power-seeking boyar Ivan Beklemishev who in 1525 openly challenged Grand Prince Basil III of Moscow and was executed by him. The boyar's house and later the tower itself were turned into a prison.
The tower is also called Mosk-voretsky after the bridge of the same name nearby.
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