One of the twenty towers of the Kremlin is the tower of St. Nicholas and is one of the entrances to the Kremlin built in 1492. From the 16th century the icon of St. Nicholas Mozhaisk adorned the tower. Under the gaze of the saint, parades took place and tzars were crowned for 500 years.
In 1812, Napolean set fire to the Kremlin. The Tower of St. Nicholas was blown over and the top part destroyed. The icon, however, miraculously survived.
In 1916 the tower was repaired with some additions. During the October Revolution, the Gate and Tower of St. Nicholas Mozhaisk was attacked with explosives, machine guns, and grenades. An icon of an angel was destroyed. The icon of the saint, however, despite the holes from the bullets, survived yet a second time. The Bolsheviks covered the icon with a red cloth away from the site of the faithful. The cloth, however, was torn and the Muscovites were able once more to see the icon.
On May 9, 1918 (the feast of the translation of the relics of St. Nicholas) Patriarch Tikhon called for the procession to run through Red Square where prayers were offered beneath the icon. The Red Army broke up the gathering with gunfire.
In 1934, the icon disappeared. Everyone thought it was destroyed by command of Stalin. The restoration work of 2010 dispelled this rumor. The icon was found!
The workers who had gone up to destroy the icon, putting their lives in danger, did not destroy it, but covered it with a metallic plate and metallic cord. The distance from the plaster was ten centimeters, to make it “breathable” The metallic plate was painted over with paint.
The icon was restored and unveiled on August 15 and 28, 2010 by Patriarch Kirill and President Medvedev.