Oleg Kusov, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
It could seem strange, but natives from the Caucasus were intensively involved in the historic construction of Moscow, as well as Tatars and Germans. Unlike natives from Germany and other European countries, which were considered by Muscovites as foreigners, who settled in the capital in the 17th century, people from the Caucasus were much closer to the Russians. Trade played a big role in this – joint businesses which access no division into nations and religions. A similar mentality was also important. A Russian person has similar character peculiarities: gratefulness, devotedness, hatred of meanness and greed. So a Russian and a Caucasus person have many more things in common than they have with a European or a Western person. And the history of Moscow confirms this.
The names of the streets, squares and lanes show the Caucasian layer of Moscow. They gave a certain characteristic to relations between the Russian capital and the southern region. The majority of such names appeared in Moscow in the second half of the 20th century in the south and southeast of the capital: Kavkazsky Avenue, Bakinskay, Kaspiskaya, Yerevanskaya, Sevanskaya, Krasnodarskaya, Kubanskaya, and Armavirskaya Streets. In Soviet times Moscow was growing rapidly, which concerned its population and territory. New names connected with the Caucasus appeared in the new districts. But the youngest Caucasian street in the Russian capital is Akhmad Kadyrov Street in the South Butovo District.
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It was easier to settle in South Butovo at the turn of the 21st century than in any other district of Moscow, except for Kapotnya, probably. Butovo was considered as a suburb of Moscow, “almost Podolsk.” There was no metro station; it took more than hour to reach the city center. People had to cross the Moscow Automobile Ring Road, and it always meant traffic jams. There were no big shopping centers or supermarkets; small local groceries were oriented toward builders and sold semi-finished products and milk products. But construction was intensive. Almost all the territory of the district was occupied by building grounds. It should be noted that labor migrants from Central Asia were not actively involved in construction at that period. But prices for flats were much more lower than today. It was a consequence of the default of 1998. A three-bedroom flat in South Butovo could be bought for $25 thousand before 2001. But still it was too expensive for the majority of Russian citizens.
However, South Butovo was constructed with taste in the early 2000s. Cute parks appeared near small rivers and ponds. Some streets resembled European towns, a light-rail metro was constructed. Many supermarkets were built. A vast territory around the Chernevsky Pond was dignified. However, a wasteland was situated between Admiral Lazareva Street and the beautiful field. Of course it couldn’t remain untouched. By spring 2001 the country’s economy began to be improved, and the demand for accommodation grew. In the late 1990s Yuzhnobutovskaya Street was full of 3-9-storey buildings, but in the early 2000s the government built only 10-12-storey houses on Admiral Lazarev Street. In the late 2000s 24-storey buildings were constructed there. Space between the buildings reduced significantly, and such a notion as “a courtyard” was forgotten, there were parking areas everywhere.
In 2004 a road between Admiral Lazarev Street and the Chernevsky Pond was built. It connected the “Buninskaya Alleya” metro station and separate skyscrapers in one of which I bought a flat for a cheap price. Only one side of the road was full of buildings, as construction near the pond was impossible. It saved the pond and the field. On another side of the pond three 17-storey buildings were built. It was a residential area for people who lived in the destroyed village of Butovo, its school, kindergarten, and administration. Later the Lazarevskoe Complex appeared – three 24-storey buildings. The road’s length was 900 meters. It was called Akhmad Kadyrov Street.
To be continued
