Ulitsa Kuznetskiy Most

Moscow is burning in September 1812 as Napoleon's army occupies the city, but on one short street near the river, French guardsmen stand watch all night refusing to let the fire pass. This guide to Kuznetsky Most follows the French tailors, milliners and confectioners who had taken over the street since Catherine the Great opened Moscow to foreign merchants, and a playwright who blamed them for ruining Russian taste. Look for the pre-revolutionary facades still standing on either side, among the few in Moscow the flames never touched.