Khodynka Field

Khodynka Field (Russian: Ходынское поле, Khodynskoye pole) is a large open space in the north-west of Moscow, at the beginning of the present day Leningradsky Prospect. It takes its name from the small Khodynka River which used to cross the neighbourhood. Major constructions on the field included the 19th century military barracks and the Botkin Hospital, the largest in Moscow at the time of its inauguration in 1910.

Khodynka was the site of the first Russian powered flight, and became a regular airfield, in use through the late 1980s. The Russian National Air & Space Museum is at Khodynka.

Prior to becoming an airfield, Khodynka had been used to celebrate state occasions. In June 1883 the coronation of Alexander III. The event was co-ordinated by Mikhail Lentovsky and included four theatres, a circus, puppet shows choirs and orchestras. The central point was an allegorical procession entitled Spring is Beautiful. In May 1896, the site was used for the ill-fated coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. A stampede caused by a rumoured shortage in souvenir coronation mugs resulted in more than 1000 (some sources say 1500) people being trampled to death (see Khodynka Tragedy).