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TheGarden Ring, also known as the"B" Ring (Russian:Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration:Sadovoye Koltso), is a circularring roadavenue around centralMoscow, its course corresponding to what used to be the city ramparts surroundingZemlyanoy Gorod in the 17th century.
The Ring consists of seventeen individually named streets[1] and fifteen squares. It has acircumference of 16 kilometers (9.9 mi).[2] At its narrowest point,Krymsky Bridge, the Ring has six lanes. After finishing reconstruction, all sections of the Ring will not have more than 10 lanes. In 2018, more than 50% of sections of the Garden Ring are reconstructed, including Zubovskaya square, which was the widest section, there were about 18 lanes before. The Ring emerged in the 1820s, replacing fortifications, in the form oframparts, that were no longer of military value.
The Garden Ring is a direct descendant of the Skorodom (Скородом, literallyQuick Building) and Earth Rampart (Земляной Вал,Zemlyanoy Val) fortifications, respectively. Said fortifications were erected in the reign ofFeodor I of Russia after a disastrous raid byĞazı II Giray (1591). AlthoughBoris Godunov, then thede factoregent of Russia, was able to preventCrimean Tatars from taking the city north ofMoskva River, he anticipated future raids and arranged construction of another ring of defenses.
When theTime of troubles ended, instead of rebuilding Skorodom, the government ofMikhail Romanov replaced it with a new, taller rampart known as Zemlyanoy Val (Земляной Вал, Earth Rampart), completed in 1630–1638. Its name survives in present-day Zemlyanoy Val Street (formerChkalov Street) in the south-eastern segment of Garden Ring.
Instead of towers, the Rampart had 34 gates for passage. As a defense measure,Streltsyslobodas were located next to these gates, especially in southernYakimanka andZamoskvorechye Districts. While effective against Tatar raiders, the Streltsy werepolitically destabilizing. After theStreltsy Uprising of 1698,Peter I arranged mass executions of Streltsy on the Earth Rampart, hanging 36 soldiers at each of Zamoskoverchye gates and 56 atTaganka gates;[3] the remainder of the Streltsy were disbanded by the end of Peter's reign. In 1683–1718, the Rampart served as Moscow customs border; traders, evading taxation, set numerous markets right outside of city gates;[4] the last of these, Zatsepa Market, was closed in the 1970s. Eventually, Peter I lifted this taxation in 1722, but it resumed in the 1730s at the new city border,Kamer-Kollezhsky Val.
The rampart lost its military value in the 18th century; in fact, many segments of the rampart were built out with private and state properties, including the triumphalRed Gates and a similar triumphal arch inTriumphalnaya Square (continuously rebuilt in 1721, 1731, 1742, 1762 and 1775).[5] In the same 1775, local authorities entertained the idea of restoring the rampart but were set back by the number ofstate institutions that had to be demolished.[6] TheFire of Moscow (1812) destroyed these properties, so nothing stood in the way of city development plans.
Rather than rebuild the now useless rampart, according to census records, the city leveled it sometime between 1818–1826.[7] The new free land was developed according to local social status: the upper-class western segment of the Ring acquired centralboulevards, flanked by side streets. Present-day streets in this segments are still calledBoulevards (Zubovsky Boulevard, etc.). Elsewhere, Garden Ring was set as a 10–20sazhen (22–43 meters) wide street; unused side territories were allocated to existing homeowners on condition that they plant and maintain gardens at their own expense.[8] These streets usually have a name beginning withSadovaya–, e.g. Sadovo–Triumphalnaya Street. By 1850, all buildings in this street were completely hidden from view by foliage; the street, indeed, was running through a garden.[7] In south-eastern segment (Tagansky District), the Ring was not as wide, thus Zemlyanoy Val name persisted. Largest square - actually, a combination of two market squares - was created atRed Gates in the north-eastern segment.
In the 1830s-1862,Novinsky Boulevard became a popular amusement park with cheap theaters and carousels. In 1841, local entrepreneurs set up a short railroad with a realMercurytank engine as a pleasure ride for the party crowds.
Rails forhorsecars (calledkonka (конка) in Russian) were installed in Moscow since 1872, however, the first lines were built on radial streets; rail construction on Garden Ring peaked in 1891.[9] Likewise, the first electricaltram was launched in 1899, but Garden Ring was electrified in 1907–1910.[9] The circular line traversing the Ring was known as the"B" route (or a "bug" (букашка) in popular language). Gradually, new rental housing of 4, 5, and 6-story buildings replaced the old two-story blocks; Moscow's tallest "skyscraper", an 8-storyArt Nouveau Afremov Building, was inaugurated in Sadovaya-Spasskaya Street in 1904.[10]
1935Joseph Stalin's master plan of Moscow provided for expansion of Garden Ring to at least 30–40 meter width, and demolition of buildings set at the ends of Garden Ring boulevards to create wide open squares.[11] GrandStalinist buildings, envisioned on all the ring, were initially planned only for major squares likeKursky Rail Terminal Square and Triumphalnaya Square.[12] However, one end-of-boulevard block survives, precisely on Triumphalnaya Square, atop the six-lane tunnel. The same plan required removal of tram tracks in line withMoscow Metro construction.[13] In fact, the removal of tram tracks proceeded well in advance of subway construction; by 1938, tram remained only in southern and south-eastern segments of the Ring (this segment was closed in 1961[14]).
Stalinist construction proceeded afterWorld War II, notably the three skyscrapers (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia,Kudrinskaya Square and Red Gates Square buildings of 1947–1954). However, no part of the Ring was completely rebuilt in Stalinist style (or any other style). Any street of the Ring is a mixture of different style and sizes, from single-story 1820s mansions to recently built shopping malls and the 162-meter Swissotel in Red Hills (2005).[15]
From the 1990s till 2010,the city government has proposed conversion of the Garden Ring to a one-way street, completely separated from radial street traffic. The public and professionals equally reject the idea of a one-way, 18-lane street.[citation needed]
Since 2010, with the arrival of the newcity government, these plans were canceled. In 2016 a new reconstruction began. Trolleybus traffic was eliminated and replaced by diesel buses. All the unnecessarily wide sections of the Ring were narrowed down to 10 lanes, the width of each lane was also reduced and the sidewalks were expanded. All the overhead cables were dismantled and moved underground.
The Ring consists of the following streets and squares, in the clockwise direction,
It crosses theMoskva (river) over two bridges,Bolshoy Krasnokholmsky Bridge (which connects the Taganka Square with Nizhnyaya Krasnokholmskaya Street) andKrymsky Bridge (which connects Krymsky Val Street and the Crimean Square).Maly Krasnokholmsky Bridge, connecting Nizhnyaya Krasnokholmskaya Street with Zatsepsky Val Street, is over theVodootvodny Canal.
55°46′25″N37°37′18″E / 55.77361°N 37.62167°E /55.77361; 37.62167