Chistye Prudy

Chistye Prudy (Clean Ponds) is a pond on Chistoprudny Boulevard in central Moscow, in the Basmanny District, part of the Boulevard Ring. Despite the plural name, there is only one pond here. It is one of Moscow's best-known spots, celebrated in songs and literature, and one of the city's most popular boulevards.

History

Before the early 18th century, a pond stood here by the walls of the White City (Bely Gorod) and was known as Pogany Pond, or Poganaya Luzha ("foul puddle") — a name believed to come from waste that drained in from nearby slaughterhouses and settlements. Around 1703, Prince Alexander Menshikov, a close associate of Peter the Great, had the pond cleaned, after which it became known as Chisty Prud, the "Clean Pond". According to one version, Catherine the Great's improvement plan called for three ponds here, which is why the plural form survives in the name.

After the fire of 1812, the area along the former moat of the White City wall was redeveloped, and in the 1820s Chistoprudny Boulevard was laid out, stretching from Myasnitskiye Vorota Square to Pokrovskiye Vorota Square. In Soviet times a boat station operated on the pond — it closed in 1958 — and in winter the ice was used as a skating rink where prominent speed skaters trained.

Legends

Several legends are tied to the pond's pre-Petrine name. According to one, Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, had the boyar Stepan Kuchka executed and his body thrown into the pond, which was thereafter called "foul". Another version holds that long before Moscow was founded, pagan Balts worshipped their gods on this spot.

What to see

The main architectural landmark nearby is the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, known as the Menshikov Tower. It was built in 1707 for Prince Alexander Menshikov by architect Ivan Zarudny with Italian craftsmen, in the Petrine Baroque style. In 1708 an English clock and about fifty bells were installed on the tower; the building survived the fire of 1812 and today holds the status of a federal cultural heritage site.

At Chistoprudny Boulevard 19, in the former Koliseum cinema building built in 1913-1914 by architect Roman Klein, the Sovremennik Theatre has operated since 1974; it was founded by a group of young Moscow Art Theatre actors led by Oleg Yefremov. Other notable buildings include the early 20th-century "House with Beasts" tenement decorated with animal reliefs, Perlov's tea house on Myasnitskaya Street, which operated as a tea shop and café from 1893 to 1917, the Saltykov-Chertkov estate with the library of historian and bibliophile Alexander Chertkov, and the unusual private "Egg House" on Mashkov Street. At Chistoprudny Boulevard 14, Moscow's first oceanarium operated from 2000 to 2023.

In summer, visitors can sit in the shade of the trees by the pond and watch ducks and swans; in winter the pond becomes an illuminated skating rink. Photo exhibitions are often held along the boulevard, and the square by the pond is a traditional gathering spot for public celebrations.

Getting there

Chistye Prudy is served by three metro stations of the Sokolnicheskaya Line interchange hub: Chistye Prudy (called Kirovskaya until 1990), Turgenevskaya, and Sretensky Bulvar. From Chistye Prudy station it is a few minutes' walk to the boulevard. Trams 3, 39, and the legendary "Annushka" — route A, running since 1911 — stop at Pokrovskiye Vorota Square, along with buses m3, m3k, and the night route n3.