Artillery Tower of Astrakhan Kremlin

The Artillery Tower is to the right from the Prechistenskaya bell tower. As for centuries people was tortured there, it was unofficially called the Torture Tower.

During the peasant uprisings of Bolotnikov (1606-1607) and Stepan Razin (1670-1671) Astrakhan took the side of the rebels and resisted to tsar voivodes longer that the other cities. For example, Stepan Razin was executed in June 1671 and the resistance of Astrakhan was broken down only in November of that year. After that the supporters of Razin were tortured and executed in the Torture Tower for a long period of time.

There was also a big uprising, the so-called «wedding revolt», in 1705-06. There was a rumour that, according to a soon to be issued tsar decree, people could not marry for 7 years and all girls would be married only to the German. The citizens of Astrakhan arranged over 100 weddings for a single day and then, under the influence of alcohol, killed several officers at the Kremlin and then took power in the city. After the revolt was suppressed 400 rebels were sent to Moscow where they were executed, and over 100 other participants of the revolt were tortured at the Torture Tower. Consequently, all of them were also executed.

Today the Torture Tower houses the exposition «Artillery Yard». Since the construction of the Kremlin the Powder Magazine was near the Torture Tower. Today it houses the exposition «Powder Magazine».