Tverskoy District (Russian: Тверской район, IPA: [tvʲɪrˈskoj] ) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: 75,378 (2010 census); 75,955 (2002 census).
The district extends from Kitai-gorod northwest to Belorussky and Savyolovsky Rail Terminals. Its southern boundary runs one or two city blocks south from Tverskaya Street; eastern boundary follows the track of the Neglinnaya River now flowing in a tunnel under Samotechnaya Street, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and Neglinnaya Street. Tverskoy District houses State Duma, Federation Council, the Mayor of Moscow, Moscow City Council, and Moscow Police Headquarters. It contains Theatre Square, the business district of Tverskaya Street with Pushkin Square, Petrovka Street, Dmitrovka Street, and the western part of Kuznetsky Most. It has the highest concentration of theatres, including Bolshoi Theatre and the historical Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions.
Historical areas of Patriarshy Ponds, Malaya Bronnaya Street, and most of Tverskoy Boulevard, while closely associated with Tverskaya Street actually belong to Presnensky District. Since 2002 Tverskoy District also includes Kitai-gorod, which was once a separate territory managed directly by Central Administrative Okrug.
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History
Old Muscovy to 19th century
Tverskaya Street emerged, as the road to Tver, in the 12th century. Dmitrovka Street, the road to Dmitrov, and Petrovka Street, leading to Vysokopetrovsky Monastery, date back to the 14th century.
Until the 1820s, the territory of what is now Tverskoy District was separated from the Moscow Kremlin by the Neglinnaya River. Because of that, the city grew primarily eastward in the Middle Ages—into the Red Square and Kitai-Gorod—while the development of western territories lagged behind. A stone bridge connecting Tverskaya with the Red Square was built in 1595. Urban development in the western part concentrated along Tverskaya Street. In the late 15th century, it was built out with country-like wooden homes to Pushkin Square, and by the end of the 16th century the city extended beyond the present-day Garden Ring. First stone Boyar houses appeared in downtown Tverskaya around that time. In 1654, Strastnoy Monastery was set up in present-day Pushkin Square, and three years later, Odoyevsky family set up a stone mansion on the site of present-day Museum of Modern History (formerly Museum of Revolution), beyond the Bely Gorod walls.
Dmitrovka Street also developed rapidly after the fire of 1648, as marked by the one-of-a-kind eight-tented church of Nativity in Putinki. Unusually for Moscow outskirts, it was financed by the State, as the church was located near the Embassy Inn (Посольский двор), home to foreign guests.
Peter the Great's move of the national capital to Saint Petersburg actually improved the leading role of Tverskaya Street, as it became the main road of royal journeys between two capitals. Tverskaya acquired Moscow's first triumphal arch (1703, giving name to Triumphalnaya Square), Gagarin family palace (1760s), and the Moscow City Hall Building (in different periods was known as Zakhar Chernyshyov mansion (1782); later the seat of Moscow Governor, Moscow City Council, and currently the seat of the Mayor of Moscow and the Government of Moscow (which was rebuilt in the 1940s). The Fire of 1812 wiped out wealthy mansions and peasant homes alike, sparing only the Pushkin Square; Tverskaya was rebuilt as an upper-class street.
Northeastern side of Tverskoy District (east of Petrovka Street) lagged behind Tverskaya Street and Moscow's east side due to frequent floods on the Neglinnaya River. First attempt to control the river, proposed in 1775 by Matvey Kazakov, materialized in 1792 Neglinnaya Canal, which was running parallel to the river. Once the canal was completed, the old river bed was filled with earth. In 1817–1819, the channel was covered with masonry vaults, locking the stream in a tunnel. This created Neglinnaya Street, the youngest street inside Boulevard Ring, but did not rule out future floods. The most recent flood, in 1973, led to complete rebuilding of the aging tunnel (1974–1989, see 1965 flood photos) Another legacy of the Neglinnaya river survives in Central Baths (1890) and Sandunovsky Baths (1896).
Government and infrastructure
The Ministry of Education and Science has its head office in the district. For their role in the Sergei Magnitsky case, several judges of the Tverskoy District Court are subject to the American Magnitsky Act sanctions, prohibiting their entrance to the United States and use of the US banking system.
Economy
Korean Air operates its CIS office in the district.
Notable buildings, cultural, and educational facilities
Butyrskaya tyurma
Public transportation access
Teatralnaya, Okhotny Ryad, Kuznetsky Most - city center
Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya - Pushkin Square
Mayakovskaya
Belorusskaya-Radialnaya, Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya - Belorussky Rail Terminal and Miusskaya Square
Tsvetnoy Boulevard
Mendeleyevskaya, Novoslobodskaya - Miusskaya Square
Savyolovskaya (Bolshaya Koltsevaya line), Savyolovskaya (Serpukhovsko–Timiryazevskaya line) - Savyolovsky Rail Terminal (northern extremity)