Fyodor Kon

Who is Fyodor Kon?

Fyodor Savelyevich Kon was a 16th century Russian military engineer and architect, the builder of Smolensk Kremlin and the Bely Gorod fortification ring of Moscow.

Exact year and circumstances of his birth and early years remain unknown. Kon, as a mature man, and his relatives living in Moscow appear to be affiliated with the Boldino Monastery near Dorogobuzh, as evidenced by records of their donations to the monastery. Thus it is assumed that Kon's ancestors came to Moscow from Dorogobuzh area.

The architect used nickname Kon as early as in 1584, as evidenced by his written plea to Ivan the Terrible. According to this account, Kon ran away to "foreign land", learned construction crafts there, specifically emphasizing his skills in fortifications like city walls, dams, ponds, moats and "secrets". Kon received a public beating for his defection but was soon assigned to lead the construction of Bely Gorod - a 10-kilometer outer ring of Moscow fortress that stood on the path of present-day Boulevard Ring. His best known project, the Kremlin of Smolensk, was launched by Boris Godunov in 1597.