Arbat

The Arbat located between Arbatskie Vorota Square and Smolenskaya Square is one of the most famous streets in Moscow. The Arbat is also one of the symbols of old Moscow, which was celebrated in poems, novels, songs and movies. Nowadays the Arbat is the name of the pedestrian street, but actually the Arbat is the whole district of Moscow that marked its 500th birthday in 1993.

The Arbat Street ranges among the oldest in the Russian capital. Its exotic name comes from an Arabian word "arbad" ("rabad") that means "suburb, estate". This word was probably brought to Moscow by Crimean Tatars or Arabian merchants in the 15th century. In the middle of the 17th century there were attempts to rename the street Smolenskaya, but this name did not find acceptance.

Originally, the Arbat was the place where merchants and craftspeople lived, but by the end of the 18th century they were replaced by the noblemen. In the middle of the 19th century the Arbat turned into the prestigious and fashionable place. The richest and the most powerful Russian families preferred to have their mansions here. The Arbat was a peaceful and quiet district where the relatively small mansions in the Empire style and wooden houses surrounded by gardens were put up. The Arbat did not feature large shops. The area was popular among the doctors, lawyers, writers and poets. In different times, the Arbat was the place of stay for Alexander Pushkin, Sergey Rakhmaninov, Alexander Skryabin, Nikolay Gogol, Lev Tolstoy, Mikhail Saltikov-Shchedrin, Anton Chekhov, and Alexander Block. Life of famous director Evgeniy Vakhtangov and his theater was closely connected to the Arbat.

By the end of the 19th century the Arbat started to approach its modern look. A lot of shops and many-storied tenement-houses were constructed.

At the time of the Soviet power the look of the Old Arbat underwent irreversible changes. At the beginning of the 1960s the side streets of the Arbat were turned into the part of Kalinina Prospect that was lately renamed the New Arbat. It resulted in destruction of many architectural monuments of the 18th-19th centuries. The Muscovites neatly called the new street "the dentures".

In 1974-1986 the Arbat became the pedestrian street with plenty of small shops, cafes and lively pedlary. It is the place where artists work, street singers perform, and Russian souvenirs are sold. The Old Arbat is a very popular place, especially among the tourists, since the Muscovites are pretty skeptical about such a transformation of the famous Moscow corner.

The Arbat feature memorial museums dedicated to Alexander Pushkin, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Mikhail Lermontov. The street also features a number of old mansions decorated with moldings, balconies, and caryatids. In the Arbat, 2 there is the famous Prague Restaurant that exists since 1872. One of the most famous theaters in Moscow, Vakhtangov Theater, is also located in the Arbat.