Why doesn't Russia have any impressive European-style castles?

by cornunreality
Dicranurus

Russia has a number of prominent castles and fortifications, both defensive and aesthetic, so it's a little difficult to say, depending on what you mean by 'European-style castles'. Ornate castles owned by individual nobility are rare due to the centralization of Rus', but enemies both to the east and west necessitated similar defenses. The 15th-century Ivangorod Fortress, for example, has many markers of a 'castle': turrets, drum towers, battlements. The Solovetsky Monastery, initially constructed in the 15th century and fortified against Sweden, famously withstood British bombardment in the Crimean War.

Kremlins, similarly, are fortresses that architecturally mirror much European architecture (in part because several, including the Moscow Kremlin, were designed by European architects). Preserved examples that show some of the variation include Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Veliky Novgorod, Tula, Suzdal, and Tobolsk.

Later constructions, similar to the imaginative neo-Gothic palaces of Europe, include the Petrovsky Palace, Ramon Palace, and Sheremetov Castle. Yet earlier fortifications include the 11th-century Golden Gate of Kiev, which was very poorly reconstructed by the Soviet Union.

Compared to Europe Russia has fewer regional castles for a number of reasons. Prior to the 14th century, most fortifications would have been constructed of wood, and are no longer preserved, while the development of European states differed considerably from Russia. Russian principalities were vassal states of the Golden Horde until its disintegration beginning in the mid-14th century. Muscovy defeated the Khanate in 1480 in Ivan III, leading to the centralization of Rus'.

In place of castles proper, well-fortified kremlins serve as the core of cities, while agrarian landowners either lacked the necessity (as they were loyal to Muscovy) or means to construct stone fortresses. So while Russia has fewer castles, it does have fortifications that served similar roles.

ImNoAlbertFeinstein

thanks for excellent infos