Going underground
Discover the stunning “underground palaces” of the Moscow Metro
Words: Piers Gladstone
Far from being simply a way to get from A to B, the Moscow Metro is a tourist destination in its own right, with its stations, or “underground palaces”, showcasing a dazzling array of architecture and design
“IN ALL OTHER countries you can only see such masterpieces in galleries, not in the metro,” states Valentin Alexeivitch, the director of the Moscow Metro Museum. “No other stations from any other countries have the Grand Prix awards from New York and Paris,” he says proudly, pointing to the original certificates in glass cabinets, awarded to Mayakovskaya, Sokolniki, Kropotkinskaya and Krasnye Vorota stations.
The Moscow Metro is the lifeblood of Moscow. Nine million passengers use the 171 stations and 270km of track every day, more than the combined total of New York and London. The stations are a place to meet friends, to get out of the cold or even to do some shopping. And in some of the Metro stations, or “underground palaces” as they have been justly described, you can see breathtaking and inspirational design and architecture. “When our worker takes the subway, he should be cheerful and joyous,” proclaimed Lazar Kaganovich,
the People’s Commissar, who gave his name to the Metro when it was first opened (it was later to be renamed after Lenin in 1955).
According to a commemorative book published the year after the Metro’s opening, “the underground structure should not look like an underground structure, it should not remind people of being below the surface without daylight. The stations should be filled with light, should feel spacious, and should be bright and happy places”. While the Metro now is somewhat overcrowded (but is still something for other European cities to aspire to), this mission statement created an ensemble of unique architectural and design feats.
At the beginning of the 20th century there was a chronic shortage of public transport in Moscow. Several plans were drawn up for a metro system, but were shelved due to funding problems and then the outbreak of the First World War. During the 1920s, Moscow witnessed a massive population and territory expansion, putting an even heavier burden on its failing public transport system. In July 1931 the government decided “to start immediately the development of a project for underground railways to provide adequate and cheap transport for the public”. No expense was spared on providing this cheap transport, however. After a fact-finding mission to New York and London, the Moscow City Council declared that in these two cities, “it is considered pointless to spend more than the bare minimum on a public service. The construction of the Metro inaugurates a new and higher phase of Soviet architecture, which will be manifested in the reconstruction of Moscow”. In other words, the Moscow Metro was to be a showcase for both its own citizens and the rest of the world.
BY THE END of 1933, 36,000 people were employed on the Metro’s construction, and six months later this number had grown to 75,000, making it the country’s largest civilian construction project. Incredibly, most of the work was done by hand because there was a shortage of mechanised tools. Workers used pickaxes and spades. Trolleys loaded with rock and soil were pulled by hand. Each station’s layout and design was individual and unique, complete with chandeliers, mosaics, marble-cladding, stained-glass, and statues to name but a few features. The greatest artists and architects, most notably Alexei Dushkin, were employed and the finest materials from all over the Soviet Union used.
At 7am on 16 May 1935, the doors opened to the crowds of Muscovites who had waited outside the stations throughout the night. Tickets were valid for 35 minutes and 175,000 passengers per day travelled on the Metro. Fares were five Kopeks, and remained at the same level until 1991, by which time five Kopeks was equivalent to one-fifth of the price of a loaf of bread. Today, a ticket costs approximately twice the price of a loaf of bread.
BY 1938, SEVERAL new stations on two different lines were opened, notably Belorusskaya with its mosaics of rural Belorussian life, Ploshchad Revolutsii with its life-size bronze statues and the mosaic-filled cupolas, stainless steel and marble of Mayakovskaya. However, the German invasion of 1941 brought the construction of the Metro to a halt. As in London, millions of citizens found shelter below ground. During the night people could stay until 5am. Drinking fountains and toilet facilities were installed. Women and children slept in cars stationed at the platforms and on the platforms themselves, while the rest sheltered in the tunnels on specially laid wooden floors. During this time 217 children were born in the Metro.
Four days after Russia joined the Second World War, Kirovskaya (now Chistye Prudy) was closed to passengers and used as Central Headquarters. The concourse was fitted out with offices and wooden panelling separated this area from passing trains. Moscow’s air defence system was incorporated into Belorusskaya station, while several other stations were used by other military bodies.
As the German army neared Moscow, for the first time in its history the Metro did not open to the public on 16 October, following the previous day’s order to close and destroy it. Cars and equipment were to be evacuated, the tunnels were prepared to be flooded, it was mined and escalators dismantled. The decision was reversed, however, and by 17 October public service resumed.
In December 1941, construction recommenced. The Metro’s workshops were also involved in the war effort, producing and repairing military equipment.
In 1943, the Metro’s personnel, 70% of whom were women, collected enough money to build an armoured train that took part in the Battle of Kursk. It played a significant role in this decisive battle, helping to halt the German advance for five days until the soldiers ran out of ammunition. The carriage is still in service on the red line, and can be recognised by the signs placed on it to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory in Europe.
In 1944, the construction of Moscow’s most important metro line, the Circle Line, was started.
It was a huge project: 44.4km of tunnels and the excavation of 2.5km of ground, 12 stations running predominantly under the Garden Ring road, which would allow passengers to transfer lines without having to go into the centre of Moscow. Fittingly for such an important line, every station on it is magnificent, from the gold-trimmed white porcelain and bas-reliefs of Prospekt Mira to the art nouveau stained glass of Novoslobodskaya.
FROM THE END of the war until the late 1980s, the Metro’s construction mirrored that of Moscow’s new residential areas. From the 1960s, new stations were built to a more practical and utilitarian design, a far cry from the grandeur of the previous era.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Metro didn’t receive the same level of resources. However, today it continues to expand with new stations opening every year and 60km of track scheduled to be built by 2015. The unveiling of a new exit at Mayakovskaya, the futuristic Delovoi Tsentr and the ultra-modern Park Pobody are all metaphors for Moscow’s newfound wealth and confidence.
No other metro reflects the modern history of a country in such style as the Moscow Metro, and no other metro deserves such exploration as this one.
MOSCOW METRO MUSEUM
Sportivnaya Metro Station, Khamovnichesky Val Street, 36; +7 095 222 7309 or +7 095 222 7833. Open Monday 11am-6pm, Tues-Friday 11-4pm. Visits by appointment only. All exhibits are labelled in Russian and the staff do not speak English. But those who are interested should not be deterred.
TRAVEL TIPS
- A single ticket costs 15 Roubles (£0.30), but if you want to use the Metro to move around the city, it is better to buy a ticket for 10 journeys (£3). Tickets should be used to go through the barrier on entering the Metro, but are not required to exit.
- The only maps with Roman and Cyrillic text are in the carriages, so always carry a map.
- Stations that have interchanges between lines have different names. To find the interchange on the platform, look for a blue sign with a stick man running up a staircase.
- A private guided tour in English (£25 for two hours) can be booked through Patriarshy Dom Tours, +7 495 795 0927; www..visitinrussia.com ■ Trains are fast, efficient and arrive every couple of minutes. It is best to avoid rush hour. The last train leaves at 1am.
- It is illegal to take photographs of the stations without permission from the relevant authority.
