Execution Ground on Red Square: photo, history. The question “Who was executed at the Execution Ground of Red Square?” place of execution name

In Moscow, on Red Square, there is an interesting tribune surrounded by a stone fence - this is a unique monument of ancient Russian architecture, known as the Execution Ground

Today, there is no single concept of where such a strange name came from: some say that foreheads were simply chopped off at this place, others believe that the Execution Ground is a Slavic translation from the Greek - Kranievo place or from the Hebrew - Golgotha. Although, most likely, the name Execution Ground is dictated only by its location, because Vasilevsky Spusk, at the beginning of which Execution Place is located, was called forehead in the Middle Ages, like other steep descents to rivers

By the way, the widespread opinion that public executions were carried out here from the 14th to the 19th centuries is erroneous, because the Execution Ground, on the contrary, was considered holy. In fact, royal decrees were announced here and various celebrations were held. Although on July 11, 1682, the head of the schismatic Nikita Pustosvyat was still cut off here, and by the royal decree of February 5, 1685, it was ordered to continue to carry out executions at the Execution Ground, but it became a witness of executions only in 1698, during the suppression of the streltsy rebellion. In the photo - Lobnoye Mesto against the backdrop of the Pokrovsky Cathedral

According to legend, Lobnoye Mesto was erected in honor of the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatars in 1521. The first mention of this place dates back to 1549, when the twenty-year-old Tsar Ivan the Terrible called on the warring boyars to reconcile here.

Initially, the Execution Ground was a brick platform with a wooden lattice and a canopy, but in 1786, after a slight shift to the east, it was rebuilt from hewn stone and surrounded by stone railings. In the west, they made an entrance with an iron grate and a door, from which 11 steps lead to the upper platform. Since ancient times and up to the revolution, all religious processions stopped near the Execution Ground. Many more events are connected with this place: wars and peace agreements were declared here, in 1606 the disfigured body of False Dmitry I lay in front of the Execution Ground, etc.

Place of execution

In the 30s of the 16th century, a platform was built on Red Square opposite the Spasskaya Tower, which was called the Execution Ground. In the annals, this place was first mentioned in 1549. It symbolizes Mount Golgotha, the literal translation is "Execution Ground". The platform served as a platform for the announcement of the most important government decrees and solemn ceremonies.

Here royal decrees were read, here the relics of saints and miraculous icons were exhibited for veneration, so that everyone could bow to them. In 1812, a prayer service was served here and the whole of Moscow was symbolically consecrated after the expulsion of Napoleon. Contrary to popular erroneous belief, no one has ever been executed at the Execution Ground. Near the Execution Ground, executions were sometimes carried out on log platforms.

In this form, in which the Execution Ground is now located, it has existed since 1786, after its reconstruction according to the project of the architect M.F. Kazakov. It is a round white-stone elevation with a platform, a cast-iron fence and a staircase.

On the site of the cathedrals and walls of the Kremlin in ancient times there was a pine forest, which was called Borovitsky Hill. The first mention in the annals under the name Moscow refers to 1147.

This place and the belief associated with it about the fulfillment of desires is known to any Muscovite and most tourists who come to the capital.

Much later, the wooden pedestal was replaced with a stone one, and the Lobnoye Mesto acquired its current appearance at the end of the 18th century. From this place, state decrees were announced, wars or a truce were declared. Also, it was here that the heir to the throne, who was sixteen years old, was shown to the people, and on Palm Sunday it was here that the patriarch handed consecrated willow branches to the sovereign.

In ancient times, the Place of execution was called "Tsar's" and was considered sacred. Today it is famous for the fact that, according to the existing belief, it is enough to hit the center of the circle with a coin, and the cherished desire will come true. You can get an idea of the popularity of this place and the tradition associated with it by looking closely at the coins scattered there from various countries of the world.

There are three main versions of the origin of the place name. One tells that Lobnoye Mesto, translated into Slavic from Hebrew, means "Golgotha" - a small rock, a place of execution, where many skulls were piled back in ancient Jerusalem. The structure of the Execution Ground resembles the shape of a skull with its contours. Another version says that executions were often carried out here - “they cut their foreheads” or “folded their foreheads”. Although, in fact, only two executions took place at the Execution Ground: they publicly took the life of Nikita Pustosvyat and Stepan Razin. The most common version says that Lobnoe Mesto owes its name only to its location: Vasilevsky Spusk, on which the monument is located, was called “forehead” in the 15th-16th centuries.

Story

There are also some difficulties with determining the date of creation of the Execution Ground. According to legend, it was erected in 1521 in honor of the deliverance of Moscow from the Tatar invasion. According to some ancient documents, for some time it was believed that it originated in Moscow in the 1540s. More precisely, there is a manuscript with a speech by the still young Ivan the Terrible, which he allegedly delivered from the Execution Ground in 1549. Upon further study of the document, this version was called into question - it was compiled at the beginning of the 17th century and was not a historical fact, but a political pamphlet. The very first official mention of the Execution Ground dates back to 1599. It is described in the Piskarevsky chronicler.

For more than a century, the Execution Ground was the main tribune of Moscow, where state decrees were announced and public events were held. Twice a year, the king without fail presented his heir to the people. This event continued until the heir reached his majority. Here, the relics of revered saints were often presented to the public. Here the religious processions began and here the patriarchs blessed the kings with a branch of willow. After the transfer of the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the Execution Ground lost its significance in the life of the city and the state.

In 1751, by decree of the Senate, the Execution Ground was restored under the supervision of the chief architect of Moscow, D.V. Ukhtomsky. The second restoration, or rather rebuilding, took place in 1786, during which the Execution Ground was moved a little to the east from its original location, taking on its modern look. Previously, it was a platform made of bricks with a wooden lattice and a tent on poles.

Currently, Lobnoye Mesto is an element of Red Square, and tourists have a tradition of throwing coins at it in order to return here again.

Sources: www.liveinternet.ru, www.booking-airport-taxi.ru, kudago.com, www.kakprosto.ru, www.votpusk.ru

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frontal place- a monument of ancient Russian architecture, located in Moscow, on Red Square. It is an elevation surrounded by a stone fence. In addition to Moscow, there is a "frontal place" in the Kremlin in Astrakhan.

origin of name

There is also an erroneous opinion that the Execution Ground was a place of public execution in the XIV-XIX centuries. However, executions at the Execution Ground itself were carried out very rarely, for it was revered as a saint. It was a place for the announcement of royal decrees and other solemn public events. Contrary to the legends, the Place of execution was not an ordinary place of execution (they were usually executed in the Swamp). On July 11, 1682, the head of the schismatic Nikita Pustosvyat was cut off on it, by a decree of February 5, 1685, it was ordered to continue executions at the Execution Ground, but it became a witness to executions only in 1698 during the suppression of the streltsy revolt. For executions, a special wooden scaffold was erected next to the stone platform. Nevertheless, in a figurative sense, the phrase “frontal place” (with a small letter, since it does not mean a proper name) is still sometimes used as a synonym for the place of execution, without geographic reference to any city.

Story

Tradition links the arrangement of the Execution Ground with the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatars in 1521. In the annals, it was first mentioned in 1549, when the twenty-year-old Tsar Ivan the Terrible made a speech to the people from the Execution Ground, calling for reconciliation of the warring boyars.

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Notes

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Libson V. Ya., Domshlak M. I., Arenkova Yu. I. et al. Kremlin. China town. Central squares // Architectural monuments of Moscow. - M .: Art, 1983. - S. 403. - 504 p. - 25,000 copies.

Coordinates : 55°45′12″ N sh. 37°37′21″ in. d. / 55.75333° N sh. 37.62250° E d./ 55.75333; 37.62250(G) (I)

An excerpt characterizing the Execution Ground

- Sonya? do you sleep? Mum? she whispered. No one answered. Natasha slowly and cautiously got up, crossed herself and carefully stepped with her narrow and flexible bare foot on the dirty cold floor. The floorboard creaked. She, quickly moving her feet, ran like a kitten a few steps and took hold of the cold bracket of the door.
It seemed to her that something heavy, evenly striking, was knocking on all the walls of the hut: it was beating her heart, which was dying from fear, from horror and love, bursting.
She opened the door, stepped over the threshold and stepped onto the damp, cold earth of the porch. The chill that gripped her refreshed her. She felt the sleeping man with her bare foot, stepped over him and opened the door to the hut where Prince Andrei lay. It was dark in this hut. In the back corner, by the bed, on which something was lying, on a bench stood a tallow candle burnt with a large mushroom.
In the morning, Natasha, when she was told about the wound and the presence of Prince Andrei, decided that she should see him. She didn't know what it was for, but she knew that the date would be painful, and she was even more convinced that it was necessary.
All day she lived only in the hope that at night she would see him. But now that the moment had come, she was terrified of what she would see. How was he mutilated? What was left of him? Was he like that, what was that unceasing groan of the adjutant? Yes, he was. He was in her imagination the personification of that terrible moan. When she saw an indistinct mass in the corner and took his knees raised under the covers by his shoulders, she imagined some kind of terrible body and stopped in horror. But an irresistible force pulled her forward. She cautiously took one step, then another, and found herself in the middle of a small cluttered hut. In the hut, under the images, another person was lying on benches (it was Timokhin), and two more people were lying on the floor (they were a doctor and a valet).
The valet got up and whispered something. Timokhin, suffering from pain in his wounded leg, did not sleep and looked with all his eyes at the strange appearance of a girl in a poor shirt, jacket and eternal cap. The sleepy and frightened words of the valet; "What do you want, why?" - they only made Natasha come up to the one that lay in the corner as soon as possible. As terrifying as this body was, it must have been visible to her. She passed the valet: the burning mushroom of the candle fell off, and she clearly saw Prince Andrei lying on the blanket with outstretched arms, just as she had always seen him.
He was the same as always; but the inflamed complexion of his face, the brilliant eyes fixed enthusiastically on her, and in particular the tender childish neck protruding from the laid back collar of his shirt, gave him a special, innocent, childish look, which, however, she had never seen in Prince Andrei. She walked over to him and, with a quick, lithe, youthful movement, knelt down.
He smiled and extended his hand to her.

For Prince Andrei, seven days have passed since he woke up at the dressing station in the Borodino field. All this time he was almost in constant unconsciousness. The fever and inflammation of the intestines, which were damaged, in the opinion of the doctor who was traveling with the wounded, must have carried him away. But on the seventh day he ate with pleasure a piece of bread with tea, and the doctor noticed that the general fever had decreased. Prince Andrei regained consciousness in the morning. The first night after leaving Moscow was quite warm, and Prince Andrei was left to sleep in a carriage; but in Mytishchi the wounded man himself demanded to be carried out and to be given tea. The pain inflicted on him by being carried to the hut made Prince Andrei moan loudly and lose consciousness again. When they laid him down on the camp bed, he lay with his eyes closed for a long time without moving. Then he opened them and whispered softly: “What about tea?” This memory for the small details of life struck the doctor. He felt his pulse and, to his surprise and displeasure, noticed that the pulse was better. To his displeasure, the doctor noticed this because, from his experience, he was convinced that Prince Andrei could not live, and that if he did not die now, he would only die with great suffering some time later. With Prince Andrei they carried the major of his regiment Timokhin, who had joined them in Moscow, with a red nose, wounded in the leg in the same Battle of Borodino. They were accompanied by a doctor, the prince's valet, his coachman and two batmen.
Prince Andrei was given tea. He drank greedily, looking ahead at the door with feverish eyes, as if trying to understand and remember something.
- I don't want any more. Timokhin here? - he asked. Timokhin crawled up to him along the bench.
“I'm here, Your Excellency.
- How is the wound?
– My then with? Nothing. Here you are? - Prince Andrei again thought, as if remembering something.
- Could you get a book? - he said.
- Which book?
– Gospel! I do not have.
The doctor promised to get it and began to question the prince about how he felt. Prince Andrei reluctantly but reasonably answered all the doctor's questions and then said that he should have put a roller on him, otherwise it would be awkward and very painful. The doctor and the valet raised the overcoat with which he was covered, and, wincing at the heavy smell of rotten meat spreading from the wound, began to examine this terrible place. The doctor was very dissatisfied with something, altered something differently, turned the wounded man over so that he again groaned and, from pain during the turning, again lost consciousness and began to rave. He kept talking about getting this book as soon as possible and putting it there.
- And what does it cost you! he said. “I don’t have it, please take it out, put it in for a minute,” he said in a pitiful voice.
The doctor went out into the hallway to wash his hands.
“Ah, shameless, really,” said the doctor to the valet, who was pouring water on his hands. I just didn't watch it for a minute. After all, you put it right on the wound. It's such a pain that I wonder how he endures.
“We seem to have planted, Lord Jesus Christ,” said the valet.
For the first time, Prince Andrei realized where he was and what had happened to him, and remembered that he had been wounded and that at the moment when the carriage stopped in Mytishchi, he asked to go to the hut. Confused again from pain, he came to his senses another time in the hut, when he was drinking tea, and here again, repeating in his recollection everything that had happened to him, he most vividly imagined that moment at the dressing station when, at the sight of the suffering of a man he did not love , these new thoughts that promised him happiness came to him. And these thoughts, although vague and indefinite, now again took possession of his soul. He remembered that he now had a new happiness and that this happiness had something in common with the Gospel. That's why he asked for the gospel. But the bad position that had been given to his wound, the new turning over again confused his thoughts, and for the third time he woke up to life in the perfect stillness of the night. Everyone was sleeping around him. The cricket was shouting across the entryway, someone was shouting and singing in the street, cockroaches rustled on the table and icons, in autumn a thick fly beat on his headboard and near a tallow candle that was burning with a large mushroom and stood beside him.

Execution Ground is a monument of ancient Russian architecture, located in the historical center of Moscow, near the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, on Red Square, opposite the gates of the Spasskaya Tower. It is a round stone elevation - a platform with a diameter of about 13 m. with a staircase, on top fenced with a parapet with carved cast-iron gates.
The etymology of the name of the Execution Ground is not exactly clear. According to one version, the place got its name because executions took place here (they cut their foreheads, folded their foreheads). There is an assumption that this is a Slavic translation from the Greek "Kraniev place", or "Golgotha" - from the Hebrew, because it resembled a human skull. But the most common and generally accepted point of view is that the Lobnoye Mesto is the beginning of Vasilyevsky Descent to the banks of the Moscow River. In the old days, “foreheads” in Russia were called such steep descents to the river.
Tradition links the arrangement of the Execution Ground with the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatars in 1521. Initially, it was a platform made of bricks with a wooden lattice and a tent on poles. In 1597-98. Under Boris Godunov, the Execution Ground was rebuilt in stone by unknown architects.
After the capital was moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Execution Ground lost its role in the life of both the city and the state, and trading shops settled around. In 1753, the dilapidated Execution Ground was restored under the leadership of the chief architect of Moscow, D.V. Ukhtomsky. The next restoration, or rather, the rebuilding of the Execution Ground, was carried out in 1786 by the architect M.F. Kazakov according to the old plan of white hewn stone. The round platform in its new form had a stone railing, and an iron grate with a door was installed on the western side. For the ascent, a staircase with 11 steps was built. At the same time, the Execution Ground was moved a little to the east of the original location. In 1786, the Execution Ground was rebuilt according to the design of the architect M.F. Kazakov.
The very first reliable mention of the Execution Ground on Red Square is contained in the Piskarevsky Chronicler (1599). Later it is mentioned in the "Peter's drawing", which appeared at the beginning of the reign of Boris Godunov. There is also a place of execution on Sigismund's city plan (1610). Therefore, the end of the 16th century is considered to be the time when the Execution Ground was founded.
For several centuries, the Execution Ground was the main tribune of Moscow. State decrees were announced from it, from here kings addressed the people, and here it was announced to the people about the election of the patriarch, the war, and the conclusion of peace. In 1612, Prince D.M. Pozharsky proclaimed here the liberation of Moscow from the Polish invaders. Often, the relics of revered Orthodox saints were exhibited for public viewing at the Execution Ground. Under Vasily Shuisky, miraculous healings took place here from the miraculous relics of Tsarevich Dmitry. And in 1652, one could see the relics of Metropolitan Philip, brought from the Solovetsky Monastery for reburial in Moscow. From the notes of the Polish ambassadors (1671) one can learn that the tsar rose to this place twice a year and showed his heir to the people until they reached the age of 16. Before the October Revolution of 1917, processions of the Cross always stopped near the Execution Ground, and from its elevation, the bishop overshadowed those gathered with the sign of the cross. On the feast of the Entry into Jerusalem, the patriarch with the clergy went up to the podium, distributed consecrated willow branches to the king and other persons of high rank, and left from there on a donkey.
In the entire history of Russia, only a few executions were carried out directly at the Execution Ground - they executed Nikita Pustosvyat, a Suzdal priest, an opponent of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon and (according to one version) Stepan Razin. The first executions took place here during the Streltsy rebellion, and even then the scaffold was set up nearby. Near the Execution Ground in 1606, the enraged people threw away the corpse of False Dmitry I. In 1768, the “murderer, bloodsucker and murderer” Saltychikha (landowner D.N. Saltykov) tied to the pillory stood at the Execution Ground, who tortured 139 of her serfs to death. Well, the last execution took place here under Catherine II, when the executioner broke his sword over the head of the nobleman Istomin and hit the master on the cheek.
On May 1, 1919, a monument “Stepan Razin with a gang” was erected at the Execution Ground, carved from wood and painted in the spirit of a folk toy by sculptor S. T. Konenkov. At the end of the same month, the sculptural group was transferred to the Proletarian Museum (later - to the Museum of the Revolution).
On November 6, 1942, near the Execution Ground, Corporal Savely Dmitriev fired a rifle at the car of Anastas Mikoyan, mistaking it for the car of Joseph Stalin.
On August 25, 1968, a sit-down demonstration took place near the Execution Ground against the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia.
Today, Lobnoye Mesto is part of the Red Square complex, and there is a tradition among tourists to throw coins at it in order to return here again.
Previously, the zero kilometer was located at Lobnoye Mesto.

There is a mysterious attraction - the Execution Ground or Tsarevo Mesto.

This is an elevation with a stone fence. According to one version, the name of the Execution Ground arose due to the fact that there "chopped foreheads" or "folded their foreheads." According to another, “The Execution Ground” is a Slavic translation of the Hebrew “Golgotha” (this name was given to the Golgotha hill due to the fact that its upper part was a bare rock, vaguely resembling a human skull). In fact, the word “frontal” means only the location: at the beginning of which the attraction is located, in the Middle Ages they called it “forehead”.

The legend connects the arrangement of the Execution Ground with the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatars in 1521. And in the annals, the Execution Ground was first mentioned in 1549, when the twenty-year-old Tsar Ivan IV from there called on the warring boyars to reconcile.

Initially, it was a platform made of bricks with a wooden lattice and a tent on poles. And in 1786, the Execution Ground was moved to the east and rebuilt from wild white stone according to the project of Matvey Kazakov.

Contrary to popular belief, no one was executed at the Execution Ground, since it was considered a saint.

Here royal decrees were announced and solemn public events were held. In 1671, Polish ambassadors reported that at Lobnoye Mesto the sovereign once a year appeared before the people and, upon reaching the age of 16, showed him to the people. Here they announced the election of the patriarch, the war, the conclusion of peace.

For all the time at the Execution Ground, only the Old Believer Nikita Pustosvyat was executed. Well, the last "execution" took place here under Catherine II, when the executioner broke his sword over the head of the nobleman Istomin and hit the master on the cheek. Also in 1768, a “murderer, bloodsucker and murderer” (landowner Daria Saltykova) tied to a pillory stood at the Execution Ground, who tortured 139 serfs to death.

And they were usually executed in Moscow on the Swamp (modern Bolotnaya Square). But still, the phrase "frontal place" is sometimes used as a synonym for the place of execution: some myths are extremely tenacious.

There is another version that Stepan Razin was executed at the Execution Ground. After the suppression of the uprising, he and his brother Frol were brought to Moscow. The cart, surrounded by archers, proceeded along the road to, and then along to the Zemsky Dvor on Red Square. Here the troublemakers were interrogated with torture.
Stepan Razin, without a single groan, withstood about 100 blows on the rack and even reproached his brother for not holding back his cry. After that, Razin was subjected to one of the most painful tortures with water: cold water was poured drop by drop onto the shaved top of his head. Razin also endured these torments.

After a three-day interrogation on June 6, the rebels were taken from the Zemsky yard to Red Square to the Execution Ground. Rising to the platform, Stepan Razin looked around the square, crossed himself on the cathedral and lay down on the chopping block. The executioner cut off his right hand, then his left leg. At this time, Frol shouted in horror to delay his execution: I know the sovereign's word! Stepan, who had not uttered a single sound before, shouted: Be quiet, dog! and the executioner cut off his head.

On May 1, 1919, following the plan of monumental propaganda, a wooden monument to Stepan Razin "with a band" and his closest associates was erected at the Lobnoye Mesto. Author - Sergey Konenkov. True, the monument stood for only a few days.

Both Stepan Timofeevich and his closest associates were cut out of pine ridges, and the princess was cast from cement ... What came out was what was supposed to come out - a sculptural composition designed for a circular view in the museum hall ... But for the first time, Muscovites saw Razin " with a band” on the Execution Ground of Red Square on a clear warm day on May 1, 1919... Two weeks later, this sculptural composition of seven figures was transferred to the First Proletarian Museum, which was located at house No. 24 on Bolshaya Dmitrovka.

Sculpture did not stay long in the Proletarian Museum either: the monument wandered from museum to museum until it completely disappeared. And now only old photographs remind of the sculpture at the Execution Ground.

Execution Ground is one of the few monuments of the Middle Ages that have survived in the capital to this day. The execution place is located in the heart of Moscow, on Red Square. It is located at the most famous cathedral in Russia, Pokrovsky, opposite the Spasskaya Tower.

The phrase "Execution Place" first appeared in Russian in translations of the Gospel of John. Then this term was called the place of the crucifixion of Christ.

The oldest object of the square is a round stone platform with a parapet, also made of stone. The diameter of the stone circle is 13 meters, the height above the paving stones of Red Square is 1 meter. Initially, this platform was made of bricks, but, during the time of Boris Godunov, it was rebuilt. The stone platform in those days was surrounded by a lattice.

In the photo of the Execution Ground you can see tourists throwing coins. According to legend, a wish made will certainly come true, but only if the coin hits the central patch. Many condemn this tradition, as they believe that it defiles those who were executed at the Execution Ground. Urban legends say that under the Execution Ground there is a chute, through which the blood of executed rebels flowed into a bottomless cave.

Execution Ground on Red Square in Moscow: a monument on Yandex-panorama

History of the Execution Ground

The execution place in Moscow appeared, according to historians, in the 16th century. According to the most common version, the idea of organizing the Execution Ground was proposed to the sovereign by Metropolitan Macarius. The place of execution, according to the plan, was to become part of the complex, symbolizing Heavenly Jerusalem: the center of the complex was the Intercession Cathedral, it also included the Spassky Gate.

The object was first mentioned in 1549. The chronicle says that from the Execution Ground, Tsar Ivan IV (who had not yet received his formidable nickname) turned to the Zemsky Assembly. During the following centuries, the place was used for religious purposes - during religious processions on the dates of Orthodox holidays. Also, decrees of the highest authorities were publicly read here. Foreign travelers were especially struck by the spectacle during the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. The rite was called "Procession on a donkey": the king walked and led a horse on which the metropolitan sat. This ceremony continued until 1648. The solemn ceremony was repeatedly portrayed by overseas guests. For example, the Dutch engravings "Procession on a donkey" have been preserved.

During the Time of Troubles, the religious purpose of the stone platform on Red Square was replaced by a political one. Various parties gathered their supporters here. From the same place, the appeal of False Dmitry I was read to the people. And a little later, the false heir himself spoke to the crowd and then went to the Kremlin. During the riot, the bodies of the followers of the false prince were dumped on the Execution Ground. Also in the Time of Troubles, Vasily Shuisky broadcast from the Execution Ground, and later two religious processions, led by the liberators of Russia Minin and Pozharsky, reunited at the Execution Ground. For the last time, in order to gain the approval of the Muscovite people, the stone plinth was used in the election of Mikhail Romanov as the new tsar.

Executions at the Execution Ground

Red Square and Lobnoye Mesto on it were subsequently associated with the Streltsy rebellion and the rebellion of the schismatics. A terrible massacre can be seen in the painting "Morning of the Archery Execution" by Vasily Surikov. There were rumors in the city that Stepan Razin was brutally killed here, although, in fact, this happened on Bolotnaya Square.

During the reign of Peter I, the Execution Ground on the Red Square of Moscow increasingly became a place where demonstrative killings of traitors to the state were carried out. In 1697, a wooden table with knitting needles was installed here, on which the heads of the executed conspirators were strung. After the rebellion of 1698, some of the several hundred condemned rebels were demonstratively killed on Red Square. According to historical documents, the scaffold was set up in the southern part of the square, but many eyewitnesses still called the place of execution the Execution Ground.

After Moscow lost the status of a capital city, the history of the Execution Ground on Red Square did not stop. The place ceased to be a site for a public execution, but until 1917 Orthodox celebrations were held here. The Lobnoye Mesto acquired its modern look during the restoration of 1786.

Since 1918, rallies and festive parades began to be held on the main square of the country. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin spoke from the Execution Ground. Until 1940, on the days of important state holidays, a sculptural composition called "International Solidarity" was mounted on the Lobnoye Mesto.

During the Victory Parade in the year of the end of the war on Red Square, a fountain with sculptures of a worker and a collective farmer was erected on the pedestal of the Execution Ground. Vases with flowers were placed around the fountain for decoration.

In August 1968, a rally against the military intervention of the Warsaw Pact Organization in the affairs of Czechoslovakia was held at Lobnoye Mesto. Peaceful protests have been held in our time, the last one was in 2013.

Frontal places in other cities

The place of execution as a pedestal for holding various religious rites and political speeches was known far beyond the borders of Russia. But inside the country it did not become widespread - there were practically no execution places in other cities. The exception is Astrakhan. There, the Execution Ground (also a religious site) adjoins the main cathedral of the city.

There is also a place of execution in St. Petersburg. In tsarist times, this name was given to the territory near the Sytny market (the oldest market in the northern capital). Death sentences were also enforced here.

Execution Place in Moscow: google-panorama of the monument from the inside

How to get to the Execution Ground on Red Square in Moscow

Lobnoye mesto near the Kremlin is a transport-accessible point. Arriving at Red Square, it is difficult to pass by this ancient stone pedestal. The most convenient way to get there is by metro - there are 3 metro stations in the vicinity of the square (a walk from them will not take more than 7-10 minutes):

"Revolution square"(Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line, 600 meters)
"Theatrical"(Zamoskvoretskaya line, 800 meters)
"Okhotny Ryad"(Sokolnicheskaya line, 600 meters)

The nearest ground transport stops are located from the side of the Kremlin embankment and the Zaryadye park:

Rest "Red Square": buses No. m5 and 158 (in front of Vasilyevsky Spusk Square)
Rest "Zaryadye": bus number 255.

From the side of Mokhovaya Street (at the intersection with Tverskaya) there is a stop "Metro Okhotny Ryad", the journey from which will take about 10-12 minutes. The stop can be reached by buses No. m1, m10, n1, 101, 904.

Taxi to Red Square and Execution Ground can be ordered through applications: Yandex. Taxi, Uber, Gett, Maxim, Taxi Lucky.

Execution place on video