Russia's first lady Svetlana Medvedev took Michelle Obama and her two daughters on a low-key tour of the Kremlin just hours after they arrived in Moscow on Monday.
They set out on their tour as President Barack Obama began talks with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev elsewhere in the Kremlin on arms control and other issues.
The fortified Kremlin is a leading tourist attraction in Moscow as well as where the presidential offices are situated.
Michelle Obama — wearing a peach Narciso Rodriguez dress — and daughters Malia and Sasha had tea in the Winter Garden. They went into the Cathedral of the Assumption, the largest cathedral in the Kremlin, where czars were once coronated.
They also toured the Armory museum, which boasts a large collection of imperial regalia, and the State Diamond Fund, home to the 190-carat Orlov diamond and the world's largest sapphire.
Neither of the girls was shown in official photographs of the visit. State television, which has devoted considerable airtime to the summit, has not broadcast footage of the Kremlin tour.
Michelle Obama, who has upstaged her husband during previous visits to Europe, is expected to keep a lower profile during the two-day trip.