Island (or Zamoskvorechye) is an area in Moscow. It is made up of an artificial island and is located right across from the Kremlin between the Moskva River and its old riverbed, which was turned into the Vodootvodny Canal in 1786. It does not have any historical, official or established name. In the relevant sources it is referred to simply as the Island. The island a part of the historical Zamoskvorechye area. The island itself was split into four localities: Bersenevka (), Boloto (, swamp), Balchug (), Sadovniki (, after the gardens). Despite the lack of the name proper in some popular publications the island was either referred to by the name of one of the localities on it: Balchug, Bolotny, Sadovnicheskiy or due to its proximity to the Kremlin as Kremlevskiy or due to its land value as Zolotoy (after gold) or simply Bezymyanniy (nameless). History Balchug Street Balchug is one of the oldest Moscow streets outside of the Kremlin walls. It emerged towards the end of the 14th century, when the new Kremlin built by Dmitri Donskoi pushed the posad settlement into what is known today as the Red Square as well as areas 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. In the 15th century, Prince Vasili I set up royal gardens west of Balchug Street across from the Kremlin. The gardeners settled east of Balchug, giving its name to the Sadovniki neighborhood and present-day Sadovnicheskaya Street. They set up flood control moats connecting River Moskva with the old riverbed. Memories of those medieval moats—rovushki and endovy in Old Russian—survive in the names of Raushskaya Embankment and St. George Church "v Endove" (1653). One moat was just 50 meters east of Balchug Street and survived until the 1850s. Eventually, as the city grew south into Zamoskvorechye, Balchug became a market street, with butchers, bakers, inns, and public baths, according to tax records from 1669. In 1701, the Gardens and Balchug were swept by fire; another fire followed in 1730. The market reappeared each time, but in 1735 the government relocated the butchers beyond the city limits; by 1744 the market was selling