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• Kremlin
  Kremlin

  noun

  the Kremlin,
• kremlin
  kremlin

  noun

  the citadel of any Russian city

Kremlin

American  

[krem-lin] / ˈkrɛm lɪn /

noun

1. the Kremlin,

   1. the executive branch of the government of Russia or of the Soviet Union, especially in regard to its foreign affairs.

   2. the citadel of Moscow, including within its walls the chief offices of the Russian and, formerly, of the Soviet government.

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Kremlin ¹ British  

/ ˈkrɛmlɪn /

noun

1. the 12th-century citadel in Moscow, containing the former Imperial Palace, three Cathedrals, and the offices of the Russian government

2. (formerly) the central government of the Soviet Union

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kremlin ² British  

/ ˈkrɛmlɪn /

noun

1. the citadel of any Russian city

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Kremlin Cultural  

1. A fortress in central Moscow that contains the central offices of the government of Russia and, formerly, the offices of the Soviet Union.

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Discover More

The term Kremlin was also used figuratively to mean the former Soviet government.

Etymology

Origin of Kremlin

First recorded in 1655–65; earlier Kremelien, from German (now obsolete), from Old Russian kremlĭnŭ (unrecorded), derivative of kremlĭ “citadel” (modern Russian kremlʾ ), of disputed origin; perhaps akin to Old Russian Kromŭ, the citadel of Pskov, Ukrainian króma “partition,” Russian kromá, krómka “edge, border”; alternatively, perhaps of Turkic origin, akin to Turkish kermen “castle”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Kremlin kremlin

The Kremlin has not yet said whether Putin will attend.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation will be made up of Lantratova and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian businessman close to the Kremlin who has frequently taken part in US-brokered ceasefire talks.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine, according to a Kremlin official.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Asked if Melania could participate in trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US peace talks that the Kremlin says will resume in Abu Dhabi next month, Trump replied: "No, but it's not the worst idea I've ever heard."

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Closing the border between East and West Berlin was not the idea of the KGB, the Soviet army, or anyone in the Kremlin: It was the brainchild of Walter Ulbricht, East Germany's hard-line communist leader.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Its sprawling kremlin is, next to Moscow's own, the most spectacular in Russia.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ancient Pskov, with its dilapidated, mossy-walled kremlin, was still the Red Army's prime target.

From Time Magazine Archive

The town above with its kremlin, whose circumference measures two versts, and which resembles that of Moscow, was altogether abandoned.

From Michael Strogoff Or, The Courier of the Czar by Jules Verne

If now we cross over to the other side of the river, we are at once confronted by something which very few Russian towns possess—a kremlin, or citadel.

From Russia by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace

A Russian town consisted, first of the kremlin, a fortress of wood which, when required, was defended by "men of the service"; then came the suburbs, built around the kremlin, and inhabited by the people.

From The Story of Russia by R. Van Bergen

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