Kremlin  Kremlin is the Russian word for "citadel." A citadel is essentially any major fortified complex found in Russia. Yet the term Kremlin is used mainly for the Kremlin Palaces and Cathedrals overlooking Red Square in Moscow. The Kremlin has a long history that began as early as the 11th century when it was merely a fortified structure up on the hill. To this day the Great Kremlin Palace stands at the top of Borovitsky Hill where the Neglinnaya River meets the Moskva River.  This is a photograph of St Basil's Church. It is perhaps the most distinctive image of Moscow and is an icon of Russia. It stands just outside the Kremlin and borders Red Square.
The Palace as it now appears was commissioned by Emperor Nicholas I in 1837. But it is still in the same location as it began in the start of the 1300’s when Ivan Kalita married the Tatar Khan’s daughter and he took the title of Great Prince of Vladimir. At that time the royal palace, the Kremlin, was only a number of log houses with porches and interconnected stairways and passages. It wasn’t until the reign of Ivan the Terrible that the first stone palace at this site was constructed.
Ivan the Terrible had the first stone palace constructed, but it would later be rebuilt and restored due to numerous fires and enemy attacks. The enemy attacks managed to damage many of the buildings inside the Kremlin walls, causing much reconstruction to occur. Yet when Peter The Great decided to move the Russian capital to St. Petersburg, the renovation on the Kremlin ceased. It was not until the 1740’s when Empress Elizabeth Petrovna commissioned a famour Italian architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, that work restarted on the original Kremlin. This work led into the work that Nicholas I put into it in the 1830’s.  Nicholas I wanted to emphasize the greatness of the Russian autocracy so he commissioned his favorite architect, Konstantin Ton, to work on the Great Palace. The Palace now measures a huge 125 meters in length, 47 meters in height and has a total floor area around 25,000 square meters. The Great Kremlin Palace cost 11 million rubles to build and was designed to link the older Terem Palace and the Palace of Facets, complete with new reception halls and private Imperial Apartments. The Kremlin is best described by its specific halls, buildings and features. So please feel free to use the links below to learn about the Kremlin and its building greatness. It’s never too late to learn about the stunning Kremlin complex. Terem Palace The Palace Of Facets Cathedral Square Georgievsky Hall Vladimirsky Hall Red Square [Lenins Masoleum] The Arsenal The Armory Museum After exploring many aspects of the Kremlin, I must admit that I truly want to visit it at some point in my life time. Here are the links to my major sources of information: http://www.moscow-taxi.com/sightseeing/kremlin/great-kremlin-palace.html http://uts.c.utexas.edu/~powellm/kremlin.html | 