Encyclopedia

kremlin

kremlin (krem'lin) [key], Rus. kreml, citadel or walled center of several Russian cities; the most famous is in Moscow. During the Middle Ages, the kremlin served as an administrative and religious center and offered protection against military attacks. Thus a kremlin constituted a city in itself, containing palaces, government buildings, churches, marketplaces, and munitions stockpiles. Famous kremlins still preserved include those of Moscow, Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky), Kazan, Novgorod, and Pskov.

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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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