Chistye Prudy

Chistye Prudy is a pond on the boulevard of the same name, one of the best-known spots along Moscow’s Boulevard Ring. Chistoprudny Boulevard is the largest of the ring’s boulevards by area and the second longest after Tverskoy, and the pond itself has long been a symbol of Moscow’s bohemian life, repeatedly featured in Soviet and Russian films, songs, and literature.

The present pond, covering about 1.2 hectares, was dug in the 1820s on the site of the former moat of the White City wall; under Catherine the Great’s plan, three separate ponds were originally intended for the site, which is why the name appears in the plural. The name “Chisty” (Clean) itself was transferred here from another, now vanished pond nearby, which until the early 18th century had been known as “Pogany” (Foul) because of the filth and waste from the neighboring meat shops on Myasnitskaya Street — it was cleaned up and renamed by Alexander Menshikov, a close associate of Peter the Great. The boulevard around the pond, like the rest of the Boulevard Ring, was laid out on the site of the demolished White City fortress wall in the last quarter of the 18th century.

The pond quickly became a favorite spot for Muscovites’ leisure: in summer people rowed boats here, and in winter it was flooded to create a skating rink where famous speed skaters, including Nikolai Strunnikov, once honed their skills. The boat station was closed in 1958 and reopened in 1999, while the pond’s banks were reinforced with stone in 1960 and with concrete in 1966. At the start of the boulevard, in 1959, on the centenary of the playwright’s tragic death, a monument to Alexander Griboyedov was unveiled, the work of sculptor Andrei Manuilov and architect Alexander Zavarzin — its pedestal depicts characters from the comedy “Woe from Wit.”

In 1990 the metro station on the boulevard was given back its historic name, “Chistye Prudy,” replacing the Soviet-era name “Kirovskaya.” Around the same time, the area near the pond and the Griboyedov monument became an informal gathering spot for young people — from rockers and punks to those simply fond of evening get-togethers — earning the short nickname “Chistye” or “ChP.” Several generations of filmmakers also sent their characters here: scenes for “I Walk Around Moscow,” “Pokrovsky Gates,” “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” and dozens of other films were shot here.

Today Chistye Prudy remains a multifunctional urban space: in summer it is an embankment with cafés and a boat station, in winter a popular open-air skating rink, and throughout the year a venue for street photo exhibitions, concerts, and public gatherings, including rallies and celebrations of sporting victories.

The combination of nearly two centuries of landscaping history, literary associations, and its status as an informal gathering spot makes Chistye Prudy one of the few places in central Moscow equally recognizable from the school literature curriculum and from contemporary urban culture. For many Muscovites, it is not simply a pond, but part of the personal biography of their city.