Woe from Wit
The Fire of Moscow (1812) spared Kuznetsky Most, where Napoleon's Guards were stationed in defense of French colony in Moscow. In 1817-1819, the city locked Neglinnaya River in a tunnel and demolished the redundant bridge - excluding its norther wall that supported surviving buildings. Soon, the French colony returned and Kuznetsky Bridge became the street of bookstores, fashion and upper-class shopping, mostly managed by the French. "Kuznetsky Most" became the symbol of French influence on Russians, immortalized in Woe from Wit by Alexandr Griboyedov.