Zaitseva St., 6-1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198096
Even before the Petrine era, there were several villages in these lands — Laurola, Niprola, Lakhta by the Sea, Vallakyulya, and others. On pre-Petrine maps, in the place of the current Avtovo, the village Autova (Аутова) (plan of 1699) or Autovo (Аутово) (on the Bergengheim map, compiled by him in the 19th century based on archival data from 1676) can be seen. Referring to these data, many researchers derive the modern name of the area from the Finnish "autio," which means "deserted," "abandoned." There is also a version that Avtovo comes from one of the Finnish designations for bear (Ovto) or from the name of a net (Otava). Despite the versions of Finno-Ugric origin, the word "Avtovo" has long been assimilated into the Russian language, follows general rules, and declines in exemplary literary style.
Other opinions have also been expressed. Historian Pylyaev, for example, in his book "Old Petersburg," published in 1887, tells the origin of the name "Avtovo" as follows: "While touring the most affected coastal areas on the Peterhof road, Alexander I visited a settlement that had been completely destroyed by flooding. The devastated peasants gathered around the emperor and wept bitterly. Calling an old man from among them, the sovereign ordered him to tell who and what had been lost? The old man began in his own way: 'Everything, Father Tsar, everything is lost! Here at aftovo, the little house was completely washed away with its belongings and livestock, and at aftovo, two horses, four cows were flooded, at aftovo...' and so on. 'Very well,' said the emperor, 'this is all at Aftov’s, and what was lost at others?' Then they explained to the sovereign that the old man used 'aftovo' instead of 'this.' Laughing at his mistake, the sovereign ordered a new village to be built on a high embankment and named it 'Aftovo.'" Documentary material shows the untenability of this claim.
Already in the first quarter of the 18th century, dachas began to be built along the Peterhof road, mainly on the elevated left side. At the beginning of the 19th century, large plots in the Avtovo settlement area were owned by Baron Ral, merchant Mezel, and others.
In 1801, a factory was relocated to the 7th verst of the Peterhof road from Kronstadt, which was named the "St. Petersburg Cast Iron Foundry" (later the "Putilov Plant," then the "Kirov Plant").
In 1824, a severe flood practically destroyed the village of Avtovo and the neighboring Yemelyanovka. On the sites of the washed-away villages, embankments 4–5 meters high were made, and new villages were built at state expense. This development remained until the late 1930s.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Avtovo was a working-class suburb of Saint Petersburg. The majority of residents worked at the Putilov Plant.
A new residential area arose in this district in 1937–1941 according to the project of architect Olya.
The center of the district became the Round Square (since 1958 — Komsomolskaya Square).
The first wealthy person in Avtovo was Semyon Bogomolov, who owned houses and land plots there. One of the streets, previously built up with his houses, was called Bogomolovskaya (now Vozrozhdeniya). At the end of the 19th century, Timofey Matveyevich Matveev, a worker at the Putilov Plant and the maternal grandfather of Yuri Gagarin, lived on Bogomolovskaya Street. Opposite the Putilov Plant near the Circular Railway was a plot of land belonging to Semyon Bogomolov’s son — Stepan Semyonovich Bogomolov.
Sources:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Автово_(исторический_район)
