'Today Moscow Jewry is flourishing every day; Moscow is a multinational city' - Chabad
History of Maryina Roshcha Synagogue
By Elizabeth Reinlib
July 4, 2023
Moscow is a multinational city. Approximately 200 representatives of various nationalities live in the capital. Along with others, Muscovites of Jewish origin make a huge contribution to the development of the city's culture.
The first mention of Jews in Moscow dates back to the 15th century. in 1472 - 86 Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. The worst times have passed, and today Moscow Jewry is flourishing every day.
Historically, members of the Jewish diaspora inhabited precisely those areas that were close to synagogues. Maryina Roshcha was one of these districts, where at a certain moment a whole characteristic infrastructure was formed: a synagogue, educational institutions, cultural centers, kosher shops, charitable 
organizations, restaurants.
For many Jews, Maryina Grove has long been home. They grew up here, their loved ones were buried here, and their children grow up here. Some parishioners and guests of the community center also perceive this area as their own, and someone even moves here to live closer to the community. We know what a busy life is now in full swing on the streets of Maryina Roshcha, but what was it like before?
The first written mention of the area dates back to the 16th century. It was located in a part of the Moscow district under the name of Boyarkino, Maryino, which in ancient times was called the camp of Manatin, Bykov and Korovin. Ostankino at that time was called the village of Ostashkov.
There are several options for where the name Maryina Grove came from. Someone claims that the area is named so because of the nearby village of Maryino. Another version tells us about the incredibly beautiful boyar Marya, the wife of the ancestor of the boyar families of the Romanovs, who once owned these lands, supposedly the area was named after her. Others are sure that Maryina Grove owes its name not to the beauty at all, but to Ataman Marya, who once led the robbers who once lived in the nearby forests.
Proximity to the city and proximity to a vast grove attracted summer residents and merchants, who, apparently, became an excellent profit for local gangs. The area thus acquired a "dark" reputation. In the second quarter of the XVIII century. the bozhedomka is transferred here - the burial place of unidentified corpses found on the streets of Moscow, and in 1750, by decree of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, the first Moscow city cemetery, called Lazarevsky, appeared in the southern part of Maryina Grove. Not without reason, many famous writers of the early 19th century dedicated their works with fantastic legends to Maryina Roshcha. Despite the fact that the trees were cut down a long time ago and only rare birches and acacias remind us of the old days, there are still rumors and legends about the terrible events that the area was famous for.
But not everything here was so gloomy. In addition to the robbers, Maryina Grove was also famous for its festivities, which were popular with Muscovites. It was said that everything here is full of life and everything reminds of death. Also, in total, there were 29 industrial enterprises that provided jobs for many citizens. The largest of these was the iron foundry of Gustav List. And the Kalibr plant is famous as the first large specialized enterprise for the production of precision measuring instruments, which was put into operation in 1932. During this period, the village was already officially part of Moscow. After 1917, it was listed first in the Rostokinsky, and then in the Sokolniki districts of the capital.
Nevertheless, for a couple of decades, the collective farm continued to operate here, which later became part of the Kolkhoz im. Stalin, which functioned back in the 1950s.
In 1880, Jews began to settle here, and a couple of decades later, in 1926, a log synagogue was built here ... but that's a completely different story.