Kremlin (Civ4)/Civilopedia

"Kremlin" is a Russian word which denotes a fortified complex of buildings in the center of a city. It is most often used to refer to the Kremlin in the city of Moscow, a remarkable set of buildings which hold much of the Russian government. The Kremlin sits on a hill overlooking the Moskva River. In one form or the other, fortified structures have been in that location for almost 1000 years. The site was named "Kremlin" in the 14th century. 
The Kremlin is within a triangular, walled area about 68 acres in extent. The walls are of red brick, with pencil-like towers at the corners and entrances. Many of the buildings are painted white with yellow trim and green roofs that look quite cheerful from a distance. The Cathedral of the Dormition, constructed in the 1470s, is the oldest building in the complex. Two other cathedrals lie within its walls, as do a surprising number of palaces, the Kremlin Palace being the largest.
The Kremlin has seen many great figures rise and fall within its walls. Ivan the Terrible built the Palace of Facets in the Kremlin. In the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Josef Stalin drove the German invaders from the gates of Moscow - perhaps the greatest service that any Russian ruler has ever performed for his country. (It was also here that Stalin planned the systematic extermination of millions of his own people.) It was here that Mikhail Gorbachev oversaw the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Today, the Kremlin holds the government of the Russian Federation.
To whatever use it might be put in the future, the Kremlin will always stand as a mighty monument to Russia's past - for it has seen the best and the worst of that great nation.