Moscow Kremlin (Московский Кремль) Moscow, Russia

The Moscow Kremlin sometimes referred to as simply the Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River, Saint Basil Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden. It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.

The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The name Kremlin means /fortress/, and is often used as a metonym to refer to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars). The irregular triangle of the Kremlin wall encloses an area of 275000 square metres. Its overall length is 2235 metres, but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres, depending on the terrain. The thickness of the wall is between 3.5 and 6.5 metres. Originally there were eighteen Kremlin towers, but their number increased to twenty in the 17th century. All but three of the towers are square in plan. The highest tower is the Troizkaya, which was built up to its present height of 73,9 metres in 1495. Most towers were originally crowned with wooden tents; the extant brick tents with strips of colored tiles go back to the 1680s.

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