and cut down all the greenery

After visiting Russia some time ago and comparing old pictures, a lot of the trees were cut simply to make parking spots. Most people didn’t own a car in the USSR because public transit and walk ability were prioritized, and so these areas weren’t designed with parking in mind. When the Soviet Union was antidemocratically dissolved, public transit was gutted and cars were heavily publicized, so most families who could afford it ended up buying some old car, and they needed parking spots.