Moscow Kremlin Wall, Defensive wall in Tverskoy District, Moscow, Russia

The Moscow Kremlin Wall is a red brick defensive wall built between 1485 and 1516 by Italian masters, forming an irregular triangle around the Kremlin. Its top carries 1,044 swallowtail merlons, and its height varies from 5 to 19 metres. Twenty towers survive, the oldest being Tainitskaya (1485) and the newest Tsarskaya (1680).

Construction of the present wall began in the mid-15th century, replacing earlier white stone fortifications that proved less resilient. The new structure was built to better protect the citadel against external threats and established the distinctive red brick appearance seen today.

The swallowtail merlons follow a 15th-century Italian model; 1,044 crown the wall, each up to 2 m wide and 2–2.5 m high. The name Kremlin comes from the earlier Kremnik, as the fortification was called around 1300. Since the 1930s the four gate towers of Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Troitskaya and Nikolskaya have been topped with ruby stars.

Visitors normally enter the Kremlin through the gates under the Troitskaya tower; those heading to the Armoury Chamber or the Treasury use the Borovitskaya gates. The Spasskaya gates are generally closed to the public, and the Nikolskaya gates serve official duties. The southern wall faces the Moskva River, the eastern side faces Red Square, and the western stretch borders the Alexander Garden.

The wall's top carries 1,045 double-horned swallowtail merlons, each 2 to 2.5 metres high and 65 to 75 centimetres thick, following 15th-century Italian fashion. Inside the wall, corridors lead to unlit chambers called kamoras, where particularly dangerous criminals were once held.