Did you know that the stars of the Moscow Kremlin… rotate?

The ruby stars of the Moscow Kremlin aren’t just monuments. On a windy day, you can actually see these symbols of the capital spinning – despite their impressive weight.

The stars have adorned the Kremlin towers for nearly a century. They replaced the imperial double-headed eagles and became symbols of Soviet Russia.

The original version of the stars appeared on the Kremlin towers in 1935. At that time, they were finials made of steel and copper, embellished with precious gemstones. However, due to weather conditions, they began to deteriorate rapidly and, in 1937, they were replaced by stars made of ruby glass.

Each of the five stars weighs more than a ton and measures between 3 and 3.75 meters in length. Inside, special bearings are hidden, allowing them to rotate. But why was such a design necessary?

Because the stars rotate like weather vanes, they’re able to withstand hurricane-force winds. After all, at such heights, the wind load is tremendous. So, thanks to the ingenious solution devised by Soviet engineers, each star automatically finds the position where wind resistance is minimal.