The name of the area, Boloto (literally meaning the marsh), was known since the 14th century, when it was located in the meadows on the low bank of the Moscow River and frequently flooded.he square was frequently used for public executions, The area was flooded on a regular basis until the 1780s, when the Vodootvodny Canal was dug to normalize the situation.On 10 December 2011 several dozens of thousands protesters held a rally in the framework of 2011 Russian protests. This was the biggest rally in Moscow since the 1990s