The Moscow Kremlin sits on the Borovitsky Hills, where a Slavic settlement was established at the turn of the 12th century. By the late 15th century, with the elevation of the Grand Duchy of Moscow among other Russian princedoms, the Kremlin had become the seat of Russia’s secular and religious authorities. In the 18th and 19th centuries, with the capital transferred to St. Petersburg, Moscow retained its preeminence as the nation’s religious and spiritual center. In 1918, it regained its status of the capital city and the government moved its headquarters back to the Kremlin. Today, it is the residence of the Russian president. 

The Moscow Kremlin has changed its appearance several times over the centuries. In the late 17th century, this was a town center with a carefully planned system of streets, squares, and gardens. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many of its medieval structures were replaced with monumental palaces and administrative buildings.

The Kremlin museums include the Armory Palace, the Assumption Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Archangel, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Patriarch’s Palace with the Church of the Twelve Apostles, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, and the collection of cannons and bells.

Adjacent to the Kremlin is the Red Square, which, in the Middle Ages, was the site of a large market for local and foreign traders. In the Soviet era, Red Square was the venue of military and athletic parades. Now it is sometimes used for holding huge open-air concerts and for festive gatherings of Muscovites on major holidays, such as the New Year.