Inside the Kremlin

A BBC programme has been given rare access to places and people inside the Kremlin's walls.

Viktor, a chef, misses his old leaders. "Khrushchev's favourite dish was stinging nettle soup," he says. "Brezhnev loved duck kebabs. Under Putin, you could never cook like that."

Dmitri, 20, is a member of the Kremlin Guard. His Slavic looks and height aided him in gaining his role. But although he feels privileged to be at the Kremlin, he still misses his mother.

Every morning Dmitri proudly marches to the tomb of the unknown soldier. "It really is a great feeling when you fix the bayonet, shoulder the rifle and march off," he says.

The Tsar Bell is the world's largest of its kind. After the Russian revolution, Lenin had the bells of the Kremlin silenced.

"The bells were silent for 70 years," bell ringer Nikolai says. He recalls the Easter 10 years ago when the Kremlin bells came back to life. "I can barely put what I felt then into words."

Inside the Kremlin walls, magnificent cathedrals sit alongside the palaces. During the Communist era religious worship was forbidden and many priests were persecuted.

But under President Putin, the Orthodox Church's influence and prestige has been restored. (Treasures Inside the Kremlin is broadcast on BBC Two, 21:00 BST Saturday 16 Sept).

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