Staraya Square (russian: Старая площадь ''Staraya Ploshchad’''), literally "Old Square", connects

Ilyinka Street Ilyinka (russian: Ильинка) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities Altai Krai As of 2012, two rural localities in Altai Krai bear this name: * Ilyinka, Shelabolikhinsky District, Altai Krai, a '' selo'' i ...

with

Varvarka Gates Square Slavyanskaya Square () is a square in central Moscow, also known in 1924-1991 as northern side of Nogina Square (Площадь Ногина); the southern side of former Nogina Square is now called Varvarka Gates Square (Площадь Вар� ...

in central

Kitai-gorod Kitay-gorod ( rus, Китай-город, p=kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants ...

area of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. It is not a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

in a true sense, but a street, normally closed to regular city traffic. The historical building located at 4 Staraya Square, was the headquarters of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...

, thus ''Staraya Square'' became a symbol for the Party apparatus. Now the building is the headquarters of

Presidential Administration of Russia The Presidential Executive Office of Russia or the Presidential Administration of Russia ( rus, Администрация Президента Российской Федерации, Administratsiya Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the ex ...

, retaining its symbolic value. It is one of the

Central Squares of Moscow The Central Squares of Moscow consists of a chain of squares around the historical Moscow Kremlin and Kitai-gorod areas of central Moscow, Russia, following the historical and now mostly razed down Kitai-gorod wall. These squares and avenues connec ...

forming an arc around

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

and Kitai-gorod.

History

Staraya Square emerged as the city street inside the Kitai-gorod fortress wall; a parallel street outside the wall is named Kitaisky Lane (as there are no buildings in this lane, the name has fallen out of usage). The wall was built in 1530s, and demolished in 1934. Throughout the 19th century, Staraya Square and northbound

Novaya Square Novy (masculine), Novaya (feminine), or Novoye (neuter) may refer to: ;People * Frederick George Novy (1864–1957), American pioneer bacteriologist * Jeremy Novy, American street artist * Lili Novy (1885–1958), Slovene poet * Tom Novy (born 1970 ...

frequently interchanged their names, confusing Muscovites and visitors; modern usage settled down in early 20th century. In 1899, the city closed down the flea markets around the fortress wall. Before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Moscow Merchant Society had rebuilt Staraya Square with a chain of grand office buildings such as an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

example, Boyarsky Dvor (by

Fyodor Schechtel Fyodor Osipovich Schechtel (russian: Фёдор О́сипович Ше́хтель; August 7, 1859 – July 7, 1926) was a Russian architect, graphic artist and stage designer, the most influential and prolific master of Russian Art Nouveau and ...

), and neoclassical 4, Staraya Square (by Vladimir Sherwood Jr.). Since 1918, they have been occupied by Soviet and presently Russian federal institutions. Wiki Staraya Square 4 by Vladimir Sherwood Jr.jpg, 4, Staraya Square,

(former

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

), built in 1912-1914. Wiki Staraya Square Boyarsky Dvor by Fyodor Schechtel.jpg, 8, Staraya Square (Boyarsky Dvor). The street in foreground in Kitaysky Lane; Staraya Square runs on the upper level.

wall ran roughly at the top of the stairs. Razval (Evgraf Sorokin).jpg, Market in the Staraya Square. By Е.Sorokin, 1852 Pozdneev Staraya Plocshad Tolkuciy Rynok.jpg, Staraya Square. Flea market. By V.Pozdneev, 1890

Public transportation access

* Moscow Metro:

References

* History prior to 1947: Russian: П.В.Сытин, "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948, pp. 35–41 * Present-day naming convention: City of Moscow decree N.958, 25.10.199
text in Russian
* Architectural landmarks on Central Squares: Bilingual: "Monuments of architecture of Moscow. Kremlin, Kitai-gorod and Central Squares", Moscow, Iskusstvo, 1977 {{coord, 55.7555555656, N, 37.6305555656, E, source:ruwiki_region:RU_scale:2500_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Squares in Moscow