Tverskaya Street

In the 14th century there was a road that linked Moscow and Tver. Those days Tver was one of the most powerful Russian principalities, and by the 17th century Tverskaya became the main street of Moscow. One hundred years later it became the beginning of the road to the Russia's new capital, St. Petersburg. In Tverskaya Street there were magnificent palaces and mansions of Catherine the Great's high officials. During all these centuries the street appearance has changed: in the late 19th century Tverskaya Street was bright with the signboards of luxurious Moscow shops, confectioners, fashionable hotels, and the best barbers and tailors.

Everything that was new and best in Moscow started in Tverskaya. Up to 1820 troikas with coachmen were used to travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg, but from September 1, 1820 they were replaced by stage coaches. The coaches had several benches in a row, providing many seats. At first this innovation was not to the Muscovites' taste, for as distinct from travel on sledges, in a stage coach passengers could only sit, thus exposing their chest and back to the penetrating wind. In bad weather such journeys were dangerous to health, because it took two days to get to the northern capital. Witty Muscovites called the stage coaches (dilizhantsy) nelezhantsy (ones you can't lie in) because the passengers were obliged to sit all the way. They also called them 'lines' because of the position of the benches. When in 1851 the railway between Moscow and Petersburg was constructed, the coaches were used in the city streets.

Transport in Moscow continued its technical progress. In 1872 the first Moscow konka, a horse-drawn tram, started from the Strastnaya Square along Tverskaya. In the late 19th century the first electric tram in Moscow went along the Tverskaya Street. For a long time the chief of Moscow's police, Trepov, refused to allow the tram to operate. This vain policeman was afraid that the tram with ordinary people aboard would overtake his dashing troika. But the Ministry of Internal Affairs intervened on the city's behalf and in May 25, 1899 a tramcar decorated with flags travelled from the Strastnaya Square to the Petrovsky Park on Petersburg Shosse. It was a great day for Moscow - the tram could take 20 people and could reach a speed of 25 versts per hour (about 16 mph).

Electric lights appeared in Tverskaya earlier than in the other streets. In 1896 ninety nine fine lanterns were installed here. Many innovations were first launched in Tverskaya, but not all of them were beneficial for the old capital and its culture. In 1932 the street was renamed the Gorky Street as a gift from the Stalin's government to the proletarian writer before his death. And soon Tverskaya was tragically destined to become the first street reconstructed under the infamous General Plan for the Socialist Reconstruction of Moscow issued in 1935. Not only did it lose its original name, but also its typical Moscow appearance. Prechistenka, Ostozhenka and many other charming streets all had to be altered to fit in with the Stalin's grand design. They were straightened out, they were widened, and filled with massive structures of the same monotonous style. It should be noted that as a result on Tverskaya there is not a single church. The splendid Strastnoi Convent was also demolished on the site where the Pushkin monument is placed now. Many old houses were demolished or reconstructed beyond recognition, and some of them were shifted inside the court-yards. Such were the plans for the new Moscow, but the General Plan vanished into thin air. And now the Gorky Street has once again became Tverskaya.