Skorodom The Garden Ring is a direct descendant of the Skorodom () and Earth Rampart () fortifications, respectively. Said fortifications were erected during the reign of
Feodor I of Russia after a disastrous raid by
Ğazı II Giray (1591). Although
Boris Godunov, then the
de facto regent of Russia, was able to prevent
Crimean Tatars from taking the city north of
Moskva River, he anticipated future raids and arranged construction of another ring of defenses.
Zemlyanoy Val , built on the Rampart in the 1690s When the
Time of Troubles ended, instead of rebuilding the Skorodom, the government of
Mikhail Romanov replaced it with a new, taller rampart known as Zemlyanoy Val (), completed in 1630–1638. Its name survives in present-day Zemlyanoy Val Street (former
Chkalov Street) in the south-eastern segment of Garden Ring. Instead of towers, the Rampart had 34 gates for passage. As a defense measure,
slobodas of the
streltsy were located next to these gates, especially in southern
Yakimanka and
Zamoskvorechye Districts. While effective against Tatar raiders, the
streltsy were
politically destabilizing. After the
streltsy uprising of 1698,
Peter I arranged mass executions of the
streltsy on the Earth Rampart, hanging 36 soldiers at each of Zamoskoverchye gates and 56 at
Taganka gates; the remainder of the
streltsy were disbanded by the end of Peter's reign. From 1683 to 1718, the Rampart served as the Moscow customs border; traders, evading taxation, set numerous markets right outside of city gates; the last of these, Zatsepa Market, was closed in the 1970s. Eventually, Peter I lifted this taxation in 1722, but it resumed in the 1730s at the new city border,
Kamer-Kollezhsky Val. The rampart lost its military value in the 18th century; in fact, many segments of the rampart were built out with private and state properties, including the triumphal
Red Gates and a similar triumphal arch in
Triumfalnaya Square (continuously rebuilt in 1721, 1731, 1742, 1762 and 1775). In 1775, the local authorities entertained the idea of restoring the rampart but were set back by the number of state institutions that had to be demolished. The
1812 fire destroyed these properties, so nothing stood in the way of city development plans.
19th century Instead of rebuilding the now useless rampart, according to census records, the city leveled it sometime between 1818 and 1826. The new free land was developed according to local social status: the upper-class western segment of the Garden Ring acquired central
boulevards, flanked by side streets. Present-day streets in this segments are still called boulevards (such as Zubovsky Boulevard). Elsewhere, the Garden Ring was set as a 10–20
sazhen (22–43 meters) wide street; unused side territories were allocated to existing homeowners on condition that they plant and maintain gardens at their own expense. These streets usually have a name beginning with "Sadovaya", such as Sadovo–Triumphalnaya Street. By 1850, all buildings in this street were completely hidden from view by foliage; the street, indeed, was running through a garden. Likewise, the first electrical
tram was launched in 1899, but the Garden Ring was electrified in 1907–1910.
Modern history the Garden Ring has ten lanes of traffic In 1935,
Joseph Stalin's master plan of Moscow provided for the expansion of the Garden Ring to at least a 30–40 meter width and demolition of buildings set at the ends of the Garden Ring's boulevards to create wide open squares. Large
Stalinist buildings, envisioned on all the Garden Ring, were initially planned only for major squares like and Triumfalnaya Square. However, one end-of-boulevard block survives, precisely on Triumfalnaya Square, atop the six-lane tunnel. The same plan required removal of tram tracks in line with the construction of the
Moscow Metro. In fact, the removal of tram tracks proceeded well in advance of subway construction; by 1938, trams remained only in the southern and south-eastern segments of the Garden Ring (this segment was closed in 1961). Stalinist construction continued after
World War II, notably three skyscrapers: the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia headquarters, the
Kudrinskaya Square Building, and the
Red Gate Building. However, no part of the Garden Ring was completely rebuilt in the Stalinist style or any other style. Any street of the Garden Ring is a mixture of different styles and sizes, from single-storey mansions of the 1820s to recently built shopping malls and the 162-meter Swissotel in Red Hills. ==Composition==