Red Gates

Red Gate (Russian: Красные ворота, Krasnye vorota) were triumphal arches built in an exuberantly baroque design in Moscow. Gates and arches of this type were common back in 18th century Moscow. However, the Red Gate was the only one that survived until the 20th century. It was demolished in 1928 and the name still survives in an eponymous Moscow Metro station.

The Russian tradition of triumphal arches (or gates, as they were called during 18th-19th centuries) goes back to the time of Peter I. However, their specific Muscovite shape is a direct consequence of the Time of troubles of the early 17th century. Civil war, foreign raiders, and rampant crime of that period forced the landlords to fortify their town and country estates. In their simplest form, gates were cut through wooden palisade walls, and fortified with a small defensive platform perched above them. If money allowed, gates were fortified with a barbican tower, again with a raised wooden platform.

In the 18th century, this platform transformed into a raised structure above the main arch. Thus early Russian triumphal arches have a triangular, tripartite composition (two side pylons and a center piece, square or octagonal, raised above them). Contemporary 18th-century engravings present different variations of the type (notably, Alexey Zubov's 1711 engraving showing troops marching through seven different gates). It is believed that these gates influenced traditional Moscow architects in favor of Petrine Baroque, producing masterpieces like the Church of St. John the Warrior.

An extant example of private estate gates following the same layout belongs to the former Golitsyn estate on Volkhonka street (adjacent to Pushkin Museum).

The first true triumphal gates in Russia were installed by Peter I of Russia, intended for his generals' and his own triumphant rides. The earliest are dated 1697 (Capture of Azov) and 1703 (for the early victories of Boris Sheremetev, Anikita Repnin and Jacob Bruce in Great Northern War). Three sets of gates were set in

...
Wikipedia