The Grand Kremlin Palace was built between 1838 and 1849 by Konstantin Thon on the site of an old dilapidated palace originally designed by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli in the mid-eighteenth century. The interior decor was entrusted to Fyodor Solntsev. Tsar Nicholas I made a personal contribution to the architecture of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which was designed in the Russo-Byzantine style. The palace facades provided the inspiration for many Russian buildings in the second half of the nineteenth century. The three-storey palace was laid out in accordance with the enfilade principle. The ground floor contained the Personal Wing of Their Imperial Majesties, including their private apartments, the rooms of courtiers and servants and auxiliary premises. On the first floor, Thon constructed an enfilade of four rooms dedicated to four Russian orders – St Vladimir’s Hall, St George’s Hall, St Alexander Nevsky’s Hall and St Andrew’s Hall (also known as the Emperor’s Throne Room). They were joined to the Catherine Wing, which included two rooms – the Cavalry Guards Hall and St Catherine’s Hall (also known as the Empress’s Throne Room). The interiors were decorated in the historical or eclectic style, borrowing individual motifs from Rococo, Renaissance and Ancient art. The decor widely employed various hues of natural and artificial marble, semi-precious stones, paintwork, sculpture, moulding, gilding, mirrors and fabrics. Once used exclusively as the Moscow residence of the reigning Tsar, The Grand Palace is now considered the residence of the President of the Russian Federation as location for ceremonial events that include official meetings and conferences with foreign dignitaries, inauguration ceremonies, and presentation ceremonies for state awards. х
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