Inside Kremlin: The Years That Led To The Fall Of The Soviet Union | Heart Of The Kremlin | Timeline

Only specially chosen soldiers of the Kremlin garrison carry out this duty. The guards perform this ceremony hour by hour, day by day, year by year, in frost, rain and snow. Every time I watch this ritual on Red Square, I think about Lenin's dead body lying in the mausoleum, the dead body in the very heart of our country. The Moscow Kremlin is one of the world's greatest architectural ensembles. Within its triangular walls are buildings of government, a barracks, the old royal palaces, museums, cathedrals and churches. The word Kremlin means fortress. Since the 12th century, it has defended the people from their enemies, a symbol of security. For the last 70 years, it has protected the leaders from their people. This cloud is drawn from every corner of Moscow towards the Kremlin to express its love for the communist leaders. Today is the official demonstration on the anniversary of the revolution. For the first time, we have gained access to film from inside one of the columns. As I'm a journalist, I asked the print workers of Pravda newspaper if we could tag along. It's a three-hour walk from the Pravda printing house to Red Square, and halfway along, the local party officials try to keep up our enthusiasm. My companions are not bothered by the fact that we are surrounded by soldiers. For many years, we have been accustomed to walking in columns behind each other. Our fathers and grandfathers marched in columns. In columns, everyone is equal. When we march in columns, we love our leaders, and we know they love us too. Maybe marching in columns is the thing we're best at. Finally, the soldiers give way to plainclothes militia and KGB agents, which means we've arrived at Red Square. What a shame the KGB look so gloomy. But what can you do? For them, it's just another day's work. Where are our leaders? There they are. It's a pity they're such a long way off. I wonder if they notice how happy we are to see them. We've been so busy building communism, have we forgotten how beautiful the Kremlin is? The Cathedral of the Assumption is the oldest of the Kremlin's three cathedrals. It's now a museum, restored and maintained by experts in Russian sacred art. There's been no service here for 72 years. I have been a curator of this cathedral and other cathedrals for more than 15 years. I should say that all the masterpieces which are preserved in these cathedrals, they are too weak, too fragile to be used as relics, because the ritual of Russian services needs chandeliers, needs some smoke, needs some kissing icons, and I am afraid they wouldn't be preserved for the next generations of people, and to show which was the Russian ancient culture. I think that the churches, which are full of frescoes and icon paintings, should preserve the museum. These images were once thought of as the face of God and his saints, but they're now reduced to sideshows in the Kremlin fairground. Roll up, come and see the largest cannon in the world. It's never been fired. Its cannonballs are too big for it. Look, the largest bell in the world. It's never been rung. In the Kremlin, fantasy is everywhere. The New Year Children's Party. It's held in the Palace of Congresses, built for the party. The parents have to wait outside. Two hours of fantasy are over, and real life must start again. Everywhere there are invisible lines that visitors may not cross. Today, the soldiers of the KGB garrison are helping the children find the right path. Don't worry, your children can't get lost. It's not allowed. The Kremlin will keep a good eye on them. Children, don't worry. Your parents already know the right path. That's the path that leads to Lenin. We stand in queues for everything, but the queue at the Lenin Mausoleum is the main queue in the country. They say it was extremely cold when Lenin died. His wife begged for him to be buried, but the Bolsheviks couldn't bear to part with him. Having banished God, they preserved Lenin in a pagan temple. His spirit does not lie quiet. Night has fallen over the country, and in this darkness, strange fairy tales are told. The clock has stopped in Lenin's apartment. Only if you're an honored guest are you granted a tour. You won't be told about the terror Lenin unleashed. Instead, you'll hear how he loved to work, how he loved to hear his sister play Beethoven. You'll be told what a devoted husband he was. Although he had no children of his own, every child knows that Lenin loves them. The corpse that loves children. In the Senate building, the guardians of these legends still walk like shadows. They act like faithful retainers in a mansion where the master is absent. Valery Avcharenko works in the Prime Minister's press office, and he wants to show us the grandest room in the Senate building. It's called the Sverdlov Hall. This room is used for various ritual occasions. For example, various decorations could be done here, or some important dates could be marked also. And in the past, this room was used for the government activity. But nowadays, only for important meetings of formal nature. It's as if this hall was asleep under a spell. Who will awaken these empty rooms? Next door in the Presidium building, the Supreme Soviet is in session. The new men in the Kremlin don't have time for fairy tales. There's a game underway. The referee has kicked off. The world's press discuss the action. The conservatives are in good form, I mean uniform. The radicals attack on the left. Everyone's interested what team the Prime Minister will play for. But outside these walls, the people have lost interest in such games. It was the day the tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Moscow to call for an end to the communist monopoly of power. But even today, there was a limit. Police sealing off Red Square and the approach to the Kremlin. Was the march unofficial? If so, why did Radio Moscow publicize it? Little is clear in Soviet politics at the moment. Can you tell me why you are contemplating the possibility of your group separating from the Communist Party and forming a new party? Why are you doing that? For political commentators like Jonathan Dimbleby of the BBC, it's now easier to cover politics here and to report opposing points of view, like those of Yuri Afanasyev, one of the leaders of the radicals. But it's still the party that's in control. I want to talk to the one man who might be able to change all that, Boris Yeltsin. What does he think about the present image of the Kremlin? Are these Yeltsin's people? No, they're representatives from many different democratic groups, some more radical than him. You have to be pretty lazy these days not to criticize the government. But why don't they react? Are they deaf? The demonstrators want a dialogue with the Kremlin powers. There is a table in the Kremlin, but it's not a round one. Here, Lenin ran the firm, and so did Mr. Big, Uncle Joe, and his boys, who inherited the business. They looked at each other with a smile, without knowing whose chair would be empty tomorrow, and who had helped in the rubbing out. But there was one pair of eyes into which they dared not look. When Stalin went from here, it was a time of horror. And those black spots on the wall, it's people buried in different times. Sometimes they killed one another. Sometimes they were executioners, and those who were executed, they were buried there. And the main killers are buried in personal graves. It's Stalin, it's Zhdanov, it's the dirtiest sometimes, but it's our history. And in the same way you have Cromwell and Kings standing together near the Westminster, I think it's necessary to have it here. But we're still looking at this, trying to understand what it was with us, what it was in Kremlin and outside. It's difficult to believe that these calm and beautiful buildings once the Palace of Amusements contained the apartment of one of the world's most terrible men. Stalin was the last leader to actually live in the Kremlin, completely sealed off from the outside world. It really was like this when Stalin died. People came from all over Moscow to take part in his funeral. Dozens were killed in the crush. That day is being recreated for the screen by the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. No one could believe that the great leader was not immortal. I was here and I remember very well everything what happens March 5, 1953. All my childhood was under the Stalin's dictatorship. So that's, do I want or not, that's part of my life. So that's why I think Stalin, unfortunately, is still alive. So that's what we are trying with our film to bury him forever. Stalin's shadow still demands blood. In the basement of the Supreme Soviet, deputies seek the causes of nationalist violence. But the empire is just falling apart. And why, despite the enormous quantity of criticism, does nothing change, except that the air gets hotter? Behind the scenes, the KGB go about their daily business, carrying the tools of their trade. Not many visitors to the Kremlin know what actually goes on in the Trinity Tower. The Kremlin regiment have set up their own orchestra. Lenin loved music, so the KGB too love the classics. Will the KGB stay true to their traditions? The Grand Kremlin Palace stands tall and proud. The parade staircase has been threatened both by Tsars and by Soviet political leaders. It was here that Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, was greeted on his way to receive an award in the magnificent St. George's Hall. Gagarin received from Leonid Brezhnev the highest Soviet honor, Hero of the Soviet Union. In the past, the Order of St. George was awarded to Russia's military heroes. The St. George's Hall and the neighboring St. Vladimir Hall have witnessed few ceremonies in this last year. Few mortals get to see their glories. The great rooms of the Kremlin Palace are frequented only by their curators. The Grand Kremlin Palace is the reception hall of the great emperors. It was built in the 15th century for the Tsar Ivan III. Since then, it has always been the reception hall of the great emperors. It was here that Ronald Reagan, the then head of state Mikhail Gorbachev, received an award. These halls are slumbering. Nowadays, there's nothing much to celebrate. This is the accepted image of the May Day parade. Orderly ranks of the party faithful filing through Red Square under the benevolent gaze of their leader. But for Mikhail Gorbachev today, things went horribly wrong. Waiting their turn to enter the square, radicals marching under the banner of a red flag with the hammer and sickle torn out. But Mr. Gorbachev held his ground, drumming his fingers in frustration as they screamed past him to shout their disapproval. There were cries of shame, shame, and Politburo, get out. The Kremlin leaders eventually turned their backs, departing to catcalls and shouts of resign. The tomb of the unknown soldier is beneath the Kremlin wall. We must try and understand this generation. Their cherished decorations, their victories, the deaths of their comrades in arms. They have to believe that these were not in vain. Today's cadets have no such past, yet they behave like their forefathers, coming to the Kremlin for their graduation day, to the Kremlin as the symbol of military power and authority. The Kremlin has another face, mystic and magical. It symbolized Russia to me. Any ideas that I had about Russia automatically were centralized in the Kremlin. And when you travel, you see things as they really are in photos and movies or anything. Never do justice to what you can see with your own eyes. This is incredible. But only a small part of the Kremlin is seen by tourists. The most beautiful rooms are hidden from public view. One forbidden corner is the exquisite Tserim Palace. Built in the 17th century, it was the private quarters of the tsars. According to the official line, Lenin ordered the conservation of the Kremlin's historic buildings. A special government commission initiated a truly scientific approach to the restoration of monuments. Among the buildings destroyed were the Monastery of the Holy Miracle, the Church of St. Catherine, and the 14th century Church of the Savior in the Wood. For the first time since the revolution, church bells ring again over Cathedral Square. The Kremlin authorities have allowed a service to take place. The servants of God banished by the Bolsheviks have been allowed to return and the new Patriarch Alexei celebrates the liturgy. For centuries, the Kremlin was the center of the Russian Orthodox Church. In earlier times, the Patriarch himself resided here, but his palace is now a museum. Yet the Cathedral of the Assumption has not been returned to the church. It's been loaned for the occasion. The procession leaves through the Trinity Gate. Blink and you could be back in pre-revolutionary days. the portrait of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, assassinated with his family by the Bolsheviks. The great-great-niece of Nicholas II arrives at the Kremlin. The Princess Royal is the first member of the British royal family to make a state visit here. In the Armory Museum, Princess Anne is shown the royal treasury of her distant relatives. The throne of Catherine the Great and the sable-edged crowns of the Tsars. In 1913, Nicholas and Alexandra came to the Kremlin to celebrate the 300th jubilee of the Romanov dynasty. The Russian imperial family was once closely linked to the royal houses of Europe. Can we ever restore these close links? European craftsmen like Fabergé became famous for their work at the Russian court. The museum has a fine collection of English silver, soon to be exhibited in London. This was made in 1600 or 1601 and this one was made in 1604 and belonged to James I. How important would you say they are in terms of English history? Immensely important and as far as English silver is concerned they're two of the grandest pieces from the period. There are no other things like this in the world. So they really will be sensational when they come to London? Oh yes, they're wonderful things. I mean not only from the point of view of design but the workmanship, everything you can think about. The weight is quite incredible. How much does it weigh? Each one weighs 900 ounces. In the past the tables of the Kremlin buckled under the weight of sumptuous banquets. Now they're no longer under that threat. It is said and correctly that there has been no such visit to our country since the time of the Romanovs. Once again we are delighted that you are with us your royal highness and may I propose a toast to Her Majesty the Queen. Where has all the food in the country gone? It wasn't the Tsars that ate it all. Russia used to provide half the world with grain. Now it can't even feed its own politicians properly. Though for the delegates lunch in the buffet of the Supreme Soviet is better than trying to eat outside. In the lobby there's been a special delivery much sought after books. An English dictionary, the memoirs of Boris Yeltsin and this one grow your own food. Nearly every day another head of state makes a visit to meet the Soviet leaders and the press is ushered in for yet another photo opportunity. Today it's the turn of the Bulgarian Prime Minister to be greeted by Nikolai Ryzhkov. For years Bulgaria has supplied the Soviet Union with tomatoes. Will there be any tomatoes tomorrow? Boris Yeltsin is now president of the Russian parliament. He has a simple solution to the government's problems. This is the hall where in earlier years government votes were always unanimous. Today will there be a landslide for the general secretary at the party congress? The press at least can't wait to find out. Will he be re-elected? Will his policies be adopted? Will the communist party give away any of its power? Will the radicals split the party? Could this be the party's last waltz? Poor party bureaucrats. It'll be a hard day for them. They'll have to make up their own minds. His own speech lasted nearly two and a half hours. The message if reforms were blocked the country would face dark times and he attacked those who blamed his perestroika program for current ills. The response to his speech was decidedly tepid. The delegates have an insoluble problem. They don't want to vote for and they don't know how to vote against. Protected by the KGB and guarded by the army the masters of the Kremlin seem unaware that to many of their people they and their fortress are no longer frightening. Even the savior tower can be cut down to size. Meanwhile the queue to the mausoleum is getting shorter. What does Lenin mean to you? The most precious thing in the world. Thank you. It's the most precious thing for us. We would never trade him for anyone. We didn't follow Lenin's example. He's not guilty at all. How do you feel about the offer to bury him? I don't know why it's necessary. If he were alive it would be a different story. He's not even alive. He's a saint to me. He's our leader, our teacher. Although these words sound to others, but to me they sound from the bottom of my heart. I believe in him. Of course I feel sorry for him. I feel pity for him. I don't know why. Do you think he should continue to be buried? There are different opinions. But I think he should be buried. Do you think so? It's just a Christian custom. It's a must. It will only get better after the funeral. Why is this queue longer than the queue at the mausoleum? The thing is, it's time for people to lose all respect for the past. They value their stomach more than the memory of the past. Something must have been done wrong. That's why the queue there is shorter than the queue here. I think Lenin should be taken out. Just like that. Yes. It's true. I killed a son of an NGO officer. There was a murder. They killed my son. They took everything away. What was pasted here was only a half. The people have found a hero. Yeltsin has left the party and today he has left the Kremlin. The people follow him. But where will he lead them? And do those who walk the corridors of power really care? The Oval Hall in the Senate building is where the Council of Ministers meet under the watchful gaze of Lenin. All bureaucrats like things to be neat and tidy and to stay the way they are. I would like this portrait to always hang. Because now in the process of re-evaluation of our historical past many forces of society fall into extremes. They either take extreme left or extreme right positions. And I often attribute to Lenin what he did not have with in his life or in his practice. To whom then should the Kremlin belong? President Gorbachev and his entourage? To the military? To the church? To the museums? To the tsars? Or maybe to the people, perhaps? Thank you very much. What does the Kremlin mean to you personally? The Kremlin is our history. It is the most important thing for each of us. It is our destiny. It is a holy place. Is it a good political center for the new political system? It is a good center. It should be here. I think it should not be moved anywhere. Thank you. Kremlin To whom do you think you belong? We Russians have a saying Above Russia is the Kremlin Above the Kremlin are the heavens Will Russia ever see the heavens?