Most every country has a central shrine, a place that without a shadow of a doubt serves as the face of that nation and is recognizable from any vantage point. For Russia, this symbol is the Moscow Kremlin.

The chiming of Spasskaya Tower’s clocks, the swallow-tail arrowslit walls, and the legendary Tsar-Cannon and Tsar-Bell need no introduction. One may state that the Kremlin is the quintessential feature of Moscow and all of Russia, and so you don’t miss a thing during your visit, you’ll be informed of everything else there is to see.

The Moscow KremlinThe word “kremlin” itself meant “citadel.” Traditionally, the defensive structures of Ancient Rus were built around one guiding principle: walls with towers located around their perimeter, some of which were for gaining entrance, i.e., had gates. The Moscow Kremlin has its own peculiarities. The fact is at one point it was surrounded by water on all sides. At present one can see only one water barrier, the Moscow River, but earlier there were three of them.

Where the Alexander Garden is at present, the Neglinka River once flowed, which has been redirected through an underground waterway. The Red Square used to be a moat. To gain entrance, drawbridges were used which were protected by bridgehead towers. At present, Troitskiy Bridge and bridgehead Kutafia Tower call one back to those distant times.