Kitay-gorod

Kitay-gorod (Russian: Китай-город), 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, Russia, defined by the markings 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 and is managed directly by Central Administrative Okrug authorities (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.

The walls were erected from 1536 to 1539 by an Italian architect known under the Russified name Petrok Maly and originally featured 13 towers and six gates. They were as thick as they were high, the average being six meters in both dimensions. The last of the towers were demolished in the 1930s, but small portions of the wall still stand. One of two remaining parts of the wall is located in Zaryadye and the other near the exit from the Okhotny Ryad station of Moscow Metro behind the Hotel Metropol.

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