A fireguard tower in Sokolniki district is the oldest one in Moscow. It was build in 1863, reconstructed in 1900s and respored in 1999. If you take a closer view, you will notice helmet-shaped decorations on each conrner of the square base. Firequard towers were extremely important in the old days, they were built till late 1930s but lost their necessity as buildings grew higher and fire-proof. Several towers still can be found in Moscow even though they bear no function but historical and memorial one.
P.S. Another version on my extension site.
