Red Square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter, known as Kitay-gorod. The land that Red Square is situated on was originally covered with wooden buildings, but cleared by Ivan III's edict in 1493. The newly-opened area (originally known simply as the Pozhar, or "burnt-out place") gradually came to serve as Moscow's primary marketplace. Later, it was also used for various public ceremonies and proclamations, and occasionally as the site of coronation for Russia's tsars. The Russian word ??????? (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" but the "red" translation persevered.