The diameter of the stars (designed by F. Fyodorovsky) ranges from 3 to 3.75 meters. They weigh from 1 to 1.5 tons. Each star is a steel five-angled frame covered with gold leaf. The planes between are made of three layers of glass with the fourth, external one, of artificial ruby. They are lit up by 5,000-watt bulbs. The stars are set on ball-bearings and turn with the wind.

You can enter the Kremlin through Troitsky, Borovitsky or Spassky Gate. We suggest the last one, for to reach it you will pass through the popular Alexandrovsky Garden along the Kremlin Wall. The Garden, designed by O.I. Bovet, was laid out over 150 years ago when the Neglinnaya River was encased in pipes and the area was covered over with earth.

The remains of an Unknown Soldier, one of the defenders of Moscow killed in action at the 41^st kilometer of Leningrad Highway (a defence line in the battle for Moscow which took pace during the grim autumn of 1941) were interred by the Kremlin Wall (near Alexandrovsky Garden) in December 1966.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was unveiled on May 8, 1967, on the eve of Victory Day. The eternal fire that burns here was brought from Field of Mars in Leningrad. A memorialof polished granite above the grave is inscribed: “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal”. A red granite stele to the left bears the following inscription: “1941– To those who had fallen for their country –1945”. To the right , along an alley, are blocks of red porphyry bearing the names of the Hero Cities: Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kiev, Volgograd, Minsk, Novorossiisk, Kerch, Tula and the Brest Fortress (Nikolai Tomsky, sculptor, Dmitry Burdin and Nikolai Klimov, architects).

Entering the Kremlin through the Borovitsky Gate you see the Armory (Oruzheinaya Palata) to the left, built in 1851 (Konstantin Ton, architect). It houses the oldest Russian museum, originally founded on the orders of Peter the Great in 1720 on the basis of medieval workshops where armour and weapons were made and stored.

Today the museum contains unique objects of art created by many generations of Russian and foreign craftsmen. On display is ancient Russian armour and richly ornamented weapons.

There is a large collection of unique Russian gold and silver articles. Also on display is the famous Cap Of Monomakh, used in the crowning of the Russian tsars before Peter the Great; the robes of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, adorned with precious stones and enamel; the 'diamond cap' of Peter the Great and other regalia.

There is also a collection of ambassadors' gifts from Turkey, Austria, Poland, Denmark, Holland and Sweden, among others, and a fine collection of 16^th and 17^th century English silver.

The Grand Kremlin Palace (built in 1838–49, Konstantin Ton, architect)is near the Armoury. Its main façade, 125 meters long, overlooks the Moskva River. Before the 1917 Revolution the Grand Kremlin Palace was the official residence of the royal family during its stays in Moscow.

Cathedral Square is the central square of the Kremlin, laid out in the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries.

The five-domed Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspensky Sobor) built in 1475–79 by Russian craftsmen under the supervision of Aristotile Fioravante after the pattern of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Vladimir (12 century), is the main church of the square.

In the late 15^th century many stone structures were built in the Kremlin. Tsar Ivan III sent for craftsmen from Pskov who were famed for their stone cutting skills. He also ordered the Russian ambassador in Venice to invite a number of Italian architects to Moscow. Soon Aristotile Fioravante, a native of Bologne, arrived to build the Cathedral of the Assumption. Pietro Solario and Marco Ruffo were two other Italian architects who took part in the construction work in the Kremlin during this period.

Moscow's Cathedral of the Assumption was Russia's main church. Solemn services and the coronation of tsars and emperors took place here. The most important state decrees were proclaimed in the church and Russia's metropolitans and patriarchs were buried here.

The central part of the Cathedral is separated from the apse by a five tier iconostasis containing icon of great historic and artistic value. Among these are the Saint George icon (12^th century); Our Lady of Vladimir (late 14^th – early 15^th century); Our Savior of the Fiery Eye (14^th century), a Veronika (14^th century) and a number of icons by the great painter Dyonysius (15^th–16^th century). The 16^th–17^th century frescos, the carved and guilded wooden throne of Ivan the Terrible and the tent-shaped shrine of metal openwork over the remains of a patriarch (17^th century) are all of special interest.

The small single-domed Church of the Deposition of the Robe the private chapel of the metropolitans and patriarchs, built in 1484–1486 by masons from Moscow and Pskov, is to the left of the Cathedral of the Assumption. The frescos of the recently restored chapel date from the 17^th century.

The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Blagoveschensky Sobor), the private chapel of Russia's princes and tsars, was erected on Cathedral Square in 1484–1489 by craftsmen from Pskov. The Cathedral houses the priceless 14^th–15^th century icons of Andrei Rublev, Theofanes the Greek and Prokhor of Gorodets (the 2nd and 3rd tiers of the iconastasis) and frescoes by Theodosius and his apprentices (early 16^th century).

Russian paintings of the 12^th–16^th centuries are on exibit beside the southern pilaster.

Unique artifacts discovered during excavations on Borovitsky Hill in the Kremlin are on display on the ground floor.

The solemn five-cupola Archangel Cathedral (Arkhangelsky Sobor), directly opposite the Cathedral of the Annunciation, was designed and built in 1505–08 under the supervision of the architect Alevisio Novi. The walls were covered with frescoes in the 17^th century by a group of Russian artists under Simon Ushakov. The Cathedral served as burial site of princes and tsars. Entombed here are Prince Ivan Kalita and prince Dmitri Donskoi, Ivan III, Ivan IV (The Terrible), Michael and Alexey Romanov and others. There are 46 tombs in all.

The Faceted Hall (Granovitaya Palata) faces Cathedral Square from the west. As its name implies, the façade is finished in faceted white stone. It is one of the oldest civil edifices in Moscow and was built in 1487–91 by Russian masons directed by the architects Pietro Solario and Marco Ruffo. In times past the tsar's throne stood here, while the benches of the boyars lined the walls. Foreign ambassadors were received in the hall and military victories were celebrated. The walls of the Faceted Hall are covered with frescoes and carved stone portal lead to the private chambers.

The Teremnoi Palace consisting of a large number of chambers, adjoins the Faceted Hall on the north.The various structures were built in the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th centuries. The rooms have vaulted ceilings, small windows and are richly decorated. The Refrectory, the Throne room (the tsar's study)and the tsanina's Golden Chamber are among those that have been preserved best.

The many-tiered bell-tower designed by Bon Friazin and built in 1505–08, crowns the Cathedral Square. It was later named the Belfry of Ivan the Great. The last, golden-domed tier was added in 1600. The belfry is 81 meters tall was for centuries the highest structure in Moscow, serving both as a church and watch-tower, with a fine view of the city's environs over a radius of some 30 kilometers. All the many church bells in Moscow wee rung at a signal from the belfry when an enemy was sighted advancing on the city.

The belfry and bell-tower which was added later have 21 bells – all cast by Russian craftsmen in the 16^th–17^th centuries. The Uspensky (Assumption) Bell, weighing 64 tons, is the largest.

The square to the east of the Belfry of Ivan the Great was once called Ivanovskaya Square. Government offices faced the square, and the tsar's edicts and orders were proclaimed from the steps.

The Tsar-Bell stands on a stone pedestal at the foot of the belfry. It was cast in bronze for the belfry in the Kremlin by Ivan Motorin and his son Michael in 1733–35. It was never raised or used, for it cracked during a fire in 1737 when still in the casting pit, where it lay abandoned until 1836, when it was set on a pedestal. As it was being raised a fragment weighing 11.5 tons split off. The bell weighs 200 tons, is 6 m highand 6.6 m in diameter. It is covered with fine relief-work and inscriptions recounting the history of its cating.

Nearby is the Tsar-Cannon, another unique example of Russian 16^th century foundry work. Cast in bronze by Andrei Chokhov at the Moscow cannon foundry in 1586, it weighs 40 tons, is 5.35 m long, has a caliber of 89 cm and its gun tube is 15 cm thick. The gun carriage and cannon balls were cast in pig iron in the 19^th century and serve a purely decorative purpose. The cannon was never fired.

The Patriarch's Palace to the north of the Cathedral of the Assumption is of special interest. Designed by Antip Konstantinov, Bazhen Ogurtsov and David Okhlebini, the Russian architects, it was built in the mid-17^th century and consists of a long row of chambers traditional for Russian dwellings of the period. The first floor was used for offices and the second for receiving the tsar and ambassadors and for sessions of the Sinod. The Chapel of the Twelve Apostles is also on the second floor.