Motorin family
The Motorin family was a prominent Russian dynasty of bellfounders whose Moscow workshop produced major church, monastery, Kremlin, and civic bells from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The Motorins, also spelled Matorins, were a Russian family of bellfounders active principally in Moscow during the late seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth centuries. Their work connected traditional ecclesiastical bellmaking with the military-industrial demands of the Russian state under Peter the Great. The family’s best-known members were Feodor Dmitriyevich Motorin, his sons Dmitry and Ivan, and Ivan’s son Mikhail. Feodor Motorin began working at the Moscow Cannon Yard in 1651, alongside the bellmaker Alexander Grigoriev. By the 1670s he had become a leading caster there. He produced bells for Moscow churches, monasteries, and other religious institutions, including commissions dated to 1678, 1681, 1682, and 1684. In addition to his technical work, Feodor accumulated capital and acquired land and buildings for fellow bellmakers in Pushkarskaya Sloboda. By 1686 he owned a bellmaking factory near the Sretenskiye Gates, an important early example of an organized Moscow bellmaking enterprise. The workshop served institutional patrons while also making smaller bells for the local market. Several surviving bells attributed to Feodor are noted for their clean casting, elaborate relief decoration, arabesque ornament, religious imagery, and integrated inscriptions. Among them are the Danilov Bell and the New Bell, both associated with the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, as well as large bells made for the Novodevichy Convent and the Volynsky Monastery. Many other bells made by Feodor and his successors were destroyed during Soviet-era campaigns against religious buildings in the 1930s. Feodor’s sons continued the family trade. Dmitry Feodorovich Motorin worked at the Moscow Cannon Yard between 1682 and 1696 and is remembered for a distinctive 64-kilogram bell made in 1687 for a church at Medvedkovo. Ivan Feodorovich Motorin became the most prominent later member of the family. His factory produced bells for Moscow churches and monasteries, including substantial commissions in the 1690s. After Russia suffered severe artillery losses at the Battle of Narva, Peter the Great ordered the factory to be adapted for cannon production. With assistance from cannon maker Martyan Osipov, Ivan’s workshop reportedly produced 113 copper cannons by February 1702. Ivan also resumed large-scale bellmaking. His commissions included the 54-ton Resurrection Bell ordered in 1702, the 13.3-ton Lent Bell made in 1704, the 1714 Alarm Bell later associated with the Moscow Kremlin, and the seven-ton Novgorod Bell cast in 1730. The workshop suffered a major fire in 1712 and was rebuilt two years later. In the following decades it continued to serve religious and state patrons, although many of its bells did not survive. The family’s enduring historical reputation rests chiefly on the Tsar Bell, the enormous bell in the Moscow Kremlin. In 1735 Ivan Motorin was ordered to recast a bell originally made by Alexander Grigoriev and damaged in a 1701 fire. Ivan died while the project was underway, leaving completion to his son Mikhail Ivanovich Motorin. The bell was finished in 1735–1736 but was never successfully raised or rung; it was damaged in a later fire and remains displayed on the ground in the Kremlin. Mikhail subsequently made additional bells, including commissions dated to 1736 and 1737. Information about his later life and the continuation of the family workshop is limited. The Motorin legacy therefore survives primarily through documented bells and museum or architectural monuments rather than through a continuing commercial brand.
History
The Motorin family emerged from the institutional craft environment of seventeenth-century Moscow, where bellmaking was closely associated with the Moscow Cannon Yard and with the religious foundations that commissioned bells for churches and monasteries. Feodor Dmitriyevich Motorin entered the Cannon Yard in 1651 and worked there with Alexander Grigoriev. By the 1670s he had become an important caster. His documented commissions included bells for the Church of Simeon Stolpnik, the Church of the Virgin Mary at Grebnevo, Danilov Monastery, and the Church of the Archangel Gabriel at Chisty Prud. These particular bells were later destroyed during Soviet campaigns in the 1930s. Feodor was also an entrepreneur. During the 1660s he acquired land and buildings for fellow bellmakers in Pushkarskaya Sloboda, helping establish a permanent workshop district. In 1686 he owned a bellmaking factory near the Sretenskiye Gates. The factory supplied churches and monasteries with commissioned bells and sold smaller examples in Moscow. Surviving work attributed to Feodor includes the Danilov Bell, the New Bell, an eight-ton bell for the Novodevichy Convent, and a bell made for the Volynsky Monastery. Their decoration combined rich relief work, stylized arabesques, cherub and seraph imagery, and inscriptions designed as part of the overall casting. Feodor’s sons extended the workshop’s activities. Dmitry Motorin worked at the Cannon Yard from 1682 to 1696 and produced a notably unusual 64-kilogram bell in 1687 for a church at Medvedkovo. Ivan Motorin became the family’s principal later master. His early work included a one-ton bell for the Church of John the Apostle in Bronniki and a three-ton bell for a Moscow church. The factory’s direction changed temporarily after the Russian defeat at Narva. In February 1701 Peter the Great required the bellmaking facility to produce artillery. Ivan learned or refined cannonmaking with the assistance of Martyan Osipov, and the workshop completed 113 copper cannons by February 1702. Bellmaking nevertheless remained central. Ivan received an order in 1702 for a 54-ton bell for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, later known as the Resurrection Bell. He cast the 13.3-ton Lent Bell in 1704 and, after the workshop burned in 1712, resumed production when the factory was rebuilt in 1714. That year he made the Alarm Bell, later placed on the Tsar’s Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. His later commissions included bells for Moscow churches and monasteries and the seven-ton Novgorod Bell of 1730. He was also asked in 1731 to recast damaged bells from the Church of the Archangel Gabriel as clock bells for the Kremlin’s Trinity Tower, although the eventual fate of that work is uncertain. Ivan’s greatest commission was the recasting of the Tsar Bell. The project began in 1735, after an earlier bell by Alexander Grigoriev had been damaged in a fire. Ivan died before the casting was complete, and his son Mikhail assumed responsibility. The Tsar Bell was completed in 1735–1736 but was never installed for use. A later fire caused a major fracture, and the bell was ultimately left on display. Mikhail is also associated with bells made for the Epiphany Monastery in 1736 and the Church of the Archangel Gabriel in 1737. Information about the family after Mikhail’s death in 1750 is sparse, and the Motorin workshop is not documented as a continuing modern enterprise. Its historical importance is preserved through surviving bells, museum collections, and Kremlin monuments.
- 1737
Mikhail Motorin’s later bell commissions
[1]Mikhail is recorded as having cast bells for the Epiphany Monastery and the Church of the Archangel Gabriel.
- 1735
Tsar Bell recasting begins
[1]Ivan Motorin was commissioned to recast a bell damaged in a 1701 fire. He died during the project, and Mikhail Motorin completed the work.
- 1730
The Novgorod Bell is cast
[1]Ivan Motorin cast the seven-ton Novgorod Bell, which remains associated with the lower tier of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
- 1714
The Alarm Bell is cast
[1]Ivan cast the two-ton Alarm Bell, later associated with the Tsar’s Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
- 1712
Workshop destroyed by fire
[1]The Motorin factory burned and was rebuilt approximately two years later.
- 1704
The Lent Bell is cast
[1]Ivan Motorin made the 13.3-ton bell later known as the Lent Bell.
- 1702
Cannon output and the Resurrection Bell order
[1]The workshop reportedly completed 113 copper cannons by February, and Ivan Motorin received an order for a 54-ton bell for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
- 1701
Factory redirected to cannon production
[1]Following artillery losses at Narva, Peter the Great ordered the Motorin factory to manufacture cannons.
- 1687
Dmitry Motorin casts the Medvedkovo bell
[1]Dmitry cast a 64-kilogram bell with an unusually sculptural upper section for a church at Medvedkovo.
- 1686
Feodor owns a bellmaking factory
[1]Feodor Motorin became owner of a bellmaking factory near the Sretenskiye Gates in Moscow.
Products and positioning
A historically prominent Moscow bellmaking dynasty serving churches, monasteries, and the Russian state, with a notable temporary role in cannon manufacture.
Ecclesiastical bells
Church and monastery bells
The family’s principal output consisted of commissioned bells for churches, monasteries, convents, and other Orthodox religious institutions. Surviving examples are noted for clear casting, decorative relief, inscriptions, and religious ornament. Many other commissions were destroyed during the Soviet period.
Monumental state bell · 1735
Tsar Bell
The Tsar Bell is the family’s most famous work. Ordered from Ivan Motorin in 1735 as a recasting of an earlier damaged bell, it was completed by Mikhail Motorin after Ivan’s death. The immense bell was never put into regular service and is displayed in the Moscow Kremlin.
Monumental bell · 1702
Resurrection Bell
This 54-ton bell was ordered from Ivan Motorin in 1702 for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It is one of the largest commissions associated with the family.
Monumental bell · 1704
Lent Bell
Ivan Motorin cast this bell in 1704. Its recorded weight was approximately 13.3 tons, making it one of the major large-scale bells produced by the workshop.
Alarm bell · 1714
Alarm Bell
Cast by Ivan Motorin in 1714, the two-ton Alarm Bell was later placed on the Tsar’s Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. It remained there until 1771 and was moved to the Armoury in 1821.
Monumental bell · 1730
Novgorod Bell
The seven-ton Novgorod Bell was cast by Ivan Motorin in 1730 and is identified with the lower tier of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
Artillery · 1701
Copper cannons
At the direction of Peter the Great, the Motorin factory temporarily applied its metal-casting capacity to cannon production after the Battle of Narva. With assistance from Martyan Osipov, it reportedly produced 113 copper cannons by February 1702.
Brand decisions
1735
Mikhail Motorin takes over the Tsar Bell projectGeneration changeBackground
Ivan Motorin died while recasting the enormous bell commissioned for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
Action taken
Responsibility for completing the casting was transferred to Ivan’s son, Mikhail Motorin.
Aftermath
The Tsar Bell was completed but was never successfully installed for use and later suffered damage in a fire.
1701
Temporary conversion to cannon productionStrategyBackground
Russia’s artillery losses at the Battle of Narva created an urgent military need for additional guns.
Action taken
Peter the Great ordered the Motorin bellmaking factory to produce cannons. Ivan Motorin worked with cannon maker Martyan Osipov to develop the required production capability.
Aftermath
The factory reportedly produced 113 copper cannons by February 1702 before returning to its better-known role as a bell foundry.
Sources1 sources
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