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Balchug

Balchug (Russian: Ба́лчуг, IPA: [ˈbɑlt͡ɕʊk]), also known as Boloto ("The Marsh", Russian: Боло́тный о́стров), is an island in the very centre of Moscow, Russia, squeezed between the Moskva River (just opposite the Kremlin) and its old river-bed which was turned into the Vodootvodny Canal in 1786. It is an integral part of historical Zamoskvorechye area; administratively, its territory belongs to Zamoskvorechye and Yakimanka municipal districts.

In a strict sense, the name Balchug refers only to the short Balchug street, crossing the center point of the island parallel to Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, and three city blocks around it. The island, like other islands on Moskva River, does not have an official name in Russian; rather, each neighborhood on the island is referred to with its own name. Unofficially it is known to Moscow residents as "Bolotny Ostrov" (Bog Island).

This section is based on P.V.Sytin's "History of Moscow Streets" (1948)

Balchug is one of the oldest Moscow streets outside of the Kremlin walls. It emerged towards the end of the fourteenth century, when the new Kremlin built by Dmitri Donskoi pushed the posad settlement into present-day Red Square and further east. The main trading road to the south and the river crossing also moved to the east, to present-day Balchug and Pyatnitskaya streets. The name Balchug comes from Tatar balčyk, meaning 'dirt' or 'mud'. Muddy conditions in the area were caused by migrations of the river bed, frequent floods, and inadequate drainage.