Fyodor Kon

Fyodor Savelyevich Kon (fl. 1585-1600) was a sixteenth century Russian military engineer and architect, the builder of Smolensk Kremlin (1597—1602) and the Bely Gorod fortification ring of Moscow (1585—1593).

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" (Russian for stallion) as early as 1584, as evidenced by his written plea to Ivan Grozny. 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" (underground tunnels). 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.

Fyodor Kon has been the subject of an eponymous poem by Dmitry Kedrin (1940).

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=X9euSbo6q3MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Fyodor+Kon%22#PRA2-PA282,M1 Richardson, Dan. "The Rough Guide to Moscow: The Rough Guide." Page 282. Rough Guides. 2001. ISBN 1858287006, 9781858287003 Online. Google Books. September 7, 2008]