Kitaigorod

Kitay-gorod (Russian: Китай-город; IPA: [kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət]), also referred to as the Great Possad (Russian: Великий Посад) in the 16th-17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narrow streets and very densely built cityscape. It is separated from the Moscow Kremlin by Red Square. Kitay-gorod does not constitute a district (raion), as there are no resident voters, thus, municipal elections are not possible. Rather, the territory has been part of Tverskoy District, the Central Administrative Okrug authorities have managed the area directly since 2003.

The etymology of the name is unclear. Gorod is the Russian word for "city", derived from the ancient gord. Kita (pl. kity) is a somewhat obsolete word for "plait" or "an item made by braiding" – for example, a 17th-century Russian source informed readers that U shapok janychary imeli kity, meaning "The Janissaries had braids hanging from their caps." On the basis of this, Robert Wallace asserts in The Rise of Russia (New York: Time-Life, 1967) that the term relates to a rough-hewn defensive bulwark made from woven wicker baskets filled with earth or rock – and thus Kitay-gorod aims at something like "Basketville". On the other hand, some scholars tend to derive Kitay from an old word for the wooden stakes used in construction of the quarter's walls; if one liberally interprets "stakes" as "wythes" or "wickets," this agrees quite closely with Wallace's signification. Note that Kitay is the modern Russian word for China, see Cathay. In the article “Kitay-gorod as part of the Moscow”(«Китай-город часть Москвы») of the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary has wrote: “At first this part was called New Town and Another Town, and from the end of the 16th century onwards, - Middle Town or Kitay-gorod (the Tatar word " Kitay " means middle).” =http://www.vehi.net/brokgauz/

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