The name of the boulevard is connected to the Samotyetsky pond, which was located at Samotyek, the old name of the Neglinnaya River.

To the north of the square stretches a chain of parks: Durovsky and Ekaterininsky squares, as well as Ekaterininsky park. Previously, they formed a single green area surrounding the Naprudnaya River, which flowed from the north into the Neglinnaya behind the Samotychny square. Now both rivers are enclosed in a collector.

Near the northern part of the boulevard is the Dostoevskaya metro station.

At the entrance stands a monument to twice Hero of the Soviet Union pilot V.I. Popkov, in front of which there is a flowerbed. The monument is surrounded by blue spruces.

In fact, this is not just a monument, but a distinction: "A Hero of the Soviet Union, who has performed a second feat no less than the first, is awarded the Order of Lenin and a second medal 'Golden Star'. In his honor, a bronze bust is erected with an inscription in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR."

The bust of V.I. Popkov was installed in 1953, while he was still alive. Now it can also be considered a monument.

In 1960, a monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin (1894, 1949) appeared on the boulevard, created by sculptor L.E. Kerbel and architect G.A. Zakharov.