In January 1831, General Velyaminov's troops cut a clearing and cleared a road through the forest between the settlement of Aldy and the Groznaya fortress, depriving the inhabitants of forest cover for the sake of a military passage to the south. The imperial historian Potto wrote: Velyaminov "set about cutting a clearing and clearing a road between Aldy and Groznaya in order to prepare for himself a secure gateway to the south"[1]. On January 21, 1831, Mairtup was exterminated "with its luxuriant gardens and plantations" — orchards of many years' standing, the foundation of the village's way of life, were destroyed[1].