Pochaina Ravine is the key natural landmark of the Historic Center of Nizhny Novgorod. The entire Upper Town sits on a peninsula formed by the channels of the two greatest rivers in Europe — the Oka and the Volga River, connected to the mainland only from the south; and right at the top of this peninsula, at its very midpoint, lies Pochaina Ravine. The ravine runs due south to north, forming a distinctive canyon in the soft soils of the Upper Town. Within 50 to 100 metres of the ravine's slopes stand many of the city's key structures. Along its floor once flowed the river that gave the ravine its name.

Buildings, structures, and monuments located in the immediate vicinity of Pochaina Ravine (from north to south)

The authorities' struggle with Pochaina Ravine

Like any natural phenomenon, the ravine does not fit neatly into conceptions of statehood as an all-powerful, unlimited force that governs chaos. This gives rise to periodically renewed attempts to subdue the ravine's natural logic — from burying the river in a culvert to grand schemes for filling in the ravine entirely and building several blocks of multi-storey housing in its place.

The "hot phase" of the confrontation with the ravine

On the weekend of 9 April 2017, near a newly built block opposite the Dynamo Stadium, construction excavators appeared beside the ravine — without any meaningful agreement with the city's public — and began filling in the western slope with earth mixed with trees torn from its walls. This provoked a negative response from residents on social media. People crossing the footbridge connecting the Pokrovka and Ilyinka neighbourhoods also expressed bewilderment.