Nikolay Lvov
GTTP Russia
In the Lanes of the Old City
 When you hear the words “secret trails,” you immediately imagine thick forests in Amazonia, vast snow fields in the North Pole, or a secret forgotten cave somewhere in the Middle East. But if you look around and look carefully enough at the things you are used to seeing every day, you might suddenly realize how little you know about them, how unique they are and how much you want others to also notice and appreciate them.
I’m a Muscovite so it's quite natural for me to write about Moscow - the Old Moscow to be more exact. Both Muscovites and people from other cities or countries would immediately name a dozen of places of interest in Moscow: the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, Christ the Savior Cathedral, and Sparrow Hills… These sites have become symbols of Moscow, but at the same time they are somewhat too well-known, too official and too touristic.
 I would like to invite you to the Moscow, which is hidden from the fuss and bureaucracy in the courtyards and lanes of the Old City, to the Moscow where you can feel History in every stone.
My English school is located near Chistiye Prudy (The Clean Ponds), right off Chistoprudny Boulevard, between Kharitonyevsky Lane and Makarenko Street. This area is closely connected with the history of my family. In mid-thirties my great grandmother lived in Stretenka, then she moved to Solyanka, and later, in the 50s, my grandmother and grandfather lived in Petroverigsky Lane right off Maroseyka Street. But this is not just my family history that makes me tell you about his wonderful part of Moscow. Nowhere else will you feel the spirit of the Old Moscow like in these curved side streets, green parks and quiet courtyards.
 Let's start our excursion from the Clean Ponds. It's a green and quiet place where you can enjoy walking or sitting on a bench near the water. Many years ago this land belonged to Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, a close friend and associate of tsar Peter the Great. It was Menshikov who ordered to clean the ponds, which were called Dirty before, as the butchers, living in the neighborhood in Myasnitskaya Street, threw there the remains of slaughtered cattle.
The way to my school leads by Myasnitskaya Street, Gusyatnikov Lane, and through the Lane “Ogorodnaya Sloboda.” Here, next to the beautiful building of the Swiss Embassy, there is a small park where you can see children playing and roller-skating. You can hear singing from a building, which – thanks to its turrets - reminds of a little castle.
 This “castle” has a very interesting history. Before the revolution this was a mansion of famous tea-dealers Wissotzky. The mansion was built by an outstanding Russian architect Roman Klein. This is enough to mention that among his other projects were the buildings of Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and today’s TSUM (Central Universal Store). Before the revolution the Wissotzky’s house was famous for its hospitality and generosity. Among its frequent guests was an artist Leonid Pasternak with his elder son Boris who later became a great poet. Portraits of Wissotzky family members painted in this house can be found today in the Tretyakov Gallery.
After the 1917 revolution the Wissotzky family had to leave Russia. In Soviet times the house was occupied by the Club of Telegraphers, then the Society of Old Bolsheviks, and in 1935-1962 by the Moscow City Palace of Pioneers. After it moved to the Lenin Hills, the Palace of Pioneers in Ogorodnaya Sloboda became a local Palace of Pioneers named after N.K.Krupskaya. Now this is the Palace for Children’s and Youth’s Creativity of the Central District of Moscow.
We say good-bye to the Wissotsky mansion and go out to Bolshoi Kharitonyevsky Lane where Pushkin spent his early childhood. Here you can see the 16-17 century Boyar Chambers, which belonged to the Yusupov princes. And finally here we are, in the street named after a well-known engineer Zhukovsky. My school is located here.
One could talk for hours about the history and charm of the Chistiye Prudy area. So just take my word on it: you’ll enjoy visiting this part of the Old Moscow.
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