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69-639: The field is close to several Moscow Metro stations including Dinamo and Aeroport on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line , and Oktyabrskoe Pole on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line , which is named after Khodynka field. Khodynka Field (up to the 17th century "Khodinskiy Meadow") has been known as such since the 14th century. The first mention of this name dates back to 1389, when Knyaz Dmitry Donskoy bequeathed Khodyinsky Meadow to his son Yuri Dmitrievich . For

138-426: A 20-kilometre (12 mi) long circle which enables passenger travel between these diameters, and the new Moscow Central Circle (line 14) and even newer Bolshaya Koltsevaya line (line 11) form a 54-kilometre (34 mi) and 57-kilometre (35 mi) long circles respectively that serve a similar purpose on middle periphery. Most stations and lines are underground, but some lines have at-grade and elevated sections;

207-512: A long time the field was undeveloped, placed it on arable land Tver coachmen settlement. At the beginning of the 17th century, the army of Tsar Vasili IV fought here against the troops of False Dmitry II . During the reign of Catherine the Great , in 1775, the field was the scene of grand festivities on the successful conclusion of the war with Turkey with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca . In

276-548: A part of the Filyovskaya Line . The stations, too, were supplied with tight gates and life-sustenance systems to function as proper nuclear shelters. In the further development of the Metro the term "stages" was not used any more, although sometimes the stations opened in 1957–1959 are referred to as the "fifth stage". During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, the architectural extravagance of new Metro stations

345-522: A shortage in food and that the coronation mugs contained a gold coin resulted in a stampede in which more than 1000 (some sources say 1500) people were trampled to death (see Khodynka Tragedy ). Major constructions on the field included the 19th century military barracks and the Botkin Hospital, the largest in Moscow at the time of its inauguration in 1910. The field is best known as the site of

414-435: A similar look due to the extensive use of same-sized white or off-white ceramic tiles with hard-to-feel differences. Walls with cheap ceramic tiles were susceptible to train-related vibration: some tiles would eventually fall off and break. It was not always possible to replace the missing tiles with the ones of the exact color and tone, which eventually led to variegated parts of the walls. The contrasting style gap between

483-748: A single gold-plated decorative pane known as "Tree of peoples' of USSR" or additional station hall for Tretyakovskaya to house cross-platform interchange system between line 6 and line 8. To this day, Tretyakovskaya metro station consists of two contrasting halls: brutalistic 1971 hall and custom design hall from 1986 reminiscent of Tretyakovskaya Galereya museum located within walking distance. Ilyushin The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex , operating as Ilyushin ( Russian : Илью́шин ) or as Ilyushin Design Bureau ,

552-470: A standardized logo of the network as part of a broader rebranding of the Moscow Transport. The Moscow Metro, a state-owned enterprise , is 449 km (279 mi) long and consists of 15 lines and 263 stations organized in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm , with the majority of rail lines running radially from the centre of Moscow to the outlying areas. The Koltsevaya Line (line 5) forms

621-532: A technique which the Metrostroi factory had only just mastered. The Taganskaia Metro Station on the Ring Line was designed in...quite another style by the architects K.S. Ryzhkov and A. Medvedev... Their subject matter dealt with images of war and victory...The overall effect was one of ceremony ... In the platform halls the blue ceramic bodies of the chandeliers played a more modest role, but still emphasised

690-478: A top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). In comparison, New York City Subway trains averaged a slower 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and had a top speed of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). While the celebration was an expression of popular joy it was also an effective propaganda display, legitimizing the Metro and declaring it a success. The initial line connected Sokolniki to Okhotny Ryad then branching to Park Kultury and Smolenskaya . The latter branch

759-416: A tourist attraction in itself, thanks to its lavish interior decoration. The Moscow Metro is a world leader in the frequency of train traffic, as intervals during peak hours often do not exceed 90 seconds. In February 2023, Moscow was the first in the world to reduce the intervals of metro trains to 80 seconds, but in practice trains are not likely to exceed the 90 seconds interval. The full legal name of

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828-399: A tragic accident on May 30, 1896 during the festivities of the crowning of Nicholas II . In the area of one town square, buffooneries, theaters, 150 buffets for distribution of gifts, and 20 pubs were built for the celebrations. Nearby to the celebration square was a field which had a ravine and many gullies. On the evening of May 17, people who had heard rumours of rich coronation gifts from

897-701: Is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk , Reutov , Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast . Opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union . As of September 2024 , the Moscow Metro had 297 stations and 519.4 km (322.7 mi) of route length, excluding light rail Monorail, making it

966-546: Is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau , founded in 1933 by Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin . Soviet/Russian nomenclature identifies aircraft from Ilyushin with the prefix "Il-" ( Russian : Ил- ). Ilyushin has its head office in Aeroport District , Northern Administrative Okrug , Moscow . Ilyushin was established under the Soviet Union . Its operations began on 13 January 1933, by order of P. I. Baranov, People's Commissar of

1035-634: Is announced by a male voice on inbound trains to the city center (on the Circle line , the clockwise trains), and by a female voice on outbound trains (anti-clockwise trains on the Circle line). The metro has a connection to the Moscow Monorail , a 4.7-kilometre (2.9 mi), six-station monorail line between Timiryazevskaya and VDNKh which opened in January 2008. Prior to the official opening,

1104-741: Is surrounded by a variety of restricted-access facilities, including the main headquarters of Aeroflot , design bureaux for Ilyushin , Mikoyan Gurevich (MiG), Sukhoi and Yakovlev , the Aircraft Production Organization No. 30 ( MAPO ), and GRU headquarters ("the Aquarium"). The National Aviation and Space Museum (aka the National Aeronautics Museum or the Museum of the Air Forces) was on

1173-522: The 8th-longest in the world , the longest in Europe and the longest outside China. It is also the only system with three circle lines. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 73 m (240 ft) underground at the Park Pobedy station, one of the world's deepest underground stations. It is the busiest metro system in Europe, the busiest in the world outside Asia, and is considered

1242-501: The Filyovskaya Line , Butovskaya Line and the Central Circle Line are the three lines that are at grade or mostly at grade. The Moscow Metro uses 1,520 mm ( 4 ft  11 + 27 ⁄ 32  in ) Russian gauge , like other Russian railways, and an underrunning third rail with a supply of 825 Volts DC , except lines 13 and 14, the former being a monorail, and the latter being directly connected to

1311-705: The Russian Orthodox Church . Megasport Arena , an ice sport palace, was opened on the Khodynka Field in 2006, and hosts EuroLeague matches of the PBC CSKA Moscow basketball club. In 2016 CSKA Moscow Stadium was opened on the opposite side of Megasport arena, serving as a home venue for football club CSKA Moscow . 55°47′14″N 37°31′57″E  /  55.7872°N 37.5326°E  / 55.7872; 37.5326 Moscow Metro [REDACTED] The Moscow Metro

1380-473: The tsar (the gift was actually a bread roll , a piece of sausage , gingerbread and a mug ) began to gather in anticipation. At about 5 o'clock in the morning of the coronation day, several thousand people were already gathered on the field. A police force of 1800 men failed to maintain civil order, and in a catastrophic crush, and resulting panic to flee the scene, 1389 people were trampled to death and roughly 1300 were otherwise injured. The negligence of

1449-508: The 1990s and 2000s, Lenin's name was excluded from the signage on newly built and reconstructed stations. In 2016, a Metro representative stated that Lenin's name would remain on station name plates as it aligns with the official name of the company, unchanged since the Soviet era. The first official name of the metro was L. M. Kaganovich Metro ( Метрополитен им. Л.М. Кагановича ) after Lazar Kaganovich (see History section). However, when

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1518-427: The 19th century, Khodynka was used to celebrate state occasions. In June 1883, the coronation of Alexander III was celebrated here. The event was co-ordinated by Mikhail Lentovsky and included four theatres, a circus, puppet shows, choirs, and orchestras. The climax was an allegorical procession entitled Spring is Beautiful . In May 1896, the site was used to celebrate coronation of Tsar Nicholas II . Rumours about

1587-839: The Bolshaya Koltsevaya line, which became fully functional on 1 March 2023. Its new stations included Pechatniki, Nagatinsky Zaton and Klenovy Bulvar. The first plans for a metro system in Moscow date back to the Russian Empire but were postponed by World War I , the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War . In 1923, the Moscow City Council formed the Underground Railway Design Office at

1656-717: The Crimea, the Caucasus, the Urals, and the Soviet Far East Skilled engineers were scarce, and unskilled workers were instrumental to the realization of the metro. The Metrostroi (the organization responsible for the Metro's construction) conducted massive recruitment campaigns. It printed 15,000 copies of Udarnik metrostroia ( Metrostroi Shock Worker , its daily newspaper) and 700 other newsletters (some in different languages) to attract unskilled laborers. Kaganovich

1725-641: The Heavy Industry and the Head of the Main Department of Aviation Industry. In 1970, the position of chief designer was taken by G. V. Novozhilov . In 2006, the Russian government merged Ilyushin with Mikoyan , Irkut , Sukhoi , Tupolev , and Yakovlev under a new company named United Aircraft Corporation . In July 2014, it was reported that Ilyushin and Myasishchev would merge to form

1794-499: The Kaluzhskaia station ( Oktyabrskaya nowadays, not to be confused with contemporary "Kaluzhskaya" station on line 6). The work of Abram Damsky further publicized these ideas hoping people would associate the party with the idea of bright future. The Kaluzhskaya Station was designed by the architect [Leonid] Poliakov. Poliakov's decision to base his design on a reinterpretation of Russian classical architecture clearly influenced

1863-496: The Metro at its debut, and its design was greeted with pride; street celebrations included parades, plays and concerts. The Bolshoi Theatre presented a choral performance by 2,200 Metro workers; 55,000 colored posters (lauding the Metro as the busiest and fastest in the world) and 25,000 copies of "Songs of the Joyous Metro Conquerors" were distributed. The Moscow Metro averaged 47 km/h (29 mph) and had

1932-430: The Metro stations almost finished at the time of the ban (such as VDNKh and Alexeyevskaya ) got their final decors simplified: VDNKh's arcs/portals, for example, got plain green paint to contrast with well-detailed decorations and pannos around them. A typical layout of the cheap shallow-dug metro station (which quickly became known as Sorokonozhka – "centipede", from early designs with 40 concrete columns in two rows)

2001-522: The Metro was awarded the Order of Lenin , it was officially renamed Moscow Order of Lenin L. M. Kaganovich Metro ( Московский ордена Ленина Метрополитен им. Л. М. Кагановича ) in 1947. When the metro was renamed in 1955, the Okhotny Ryad station was renamed as "Imeni Kaganovicha" in honor of Lazar Kaganovich. In 1957, the original Okhotny Ryad name of the station was reinstated. The first line of

2070-660: The Metro was named after him until 1955 ( Metropoliten im. L.M. Kaganovicha ) . The Moscow Metro construction engineers consulted with their counterparts from the London Underground , the world's oldest metro system, in 1936: British architect Charles Holden and administrator Frank Pick had been working on the station developments of the Piccadilly Line extension, and Soviet delegates to London were impressed by Holden's thoroughly modern redeployment of classical elements and use of high-quality materials for

2139-659: The Moscow Board of Urban Railways. It carried out preliminary studies, and by 1928 had developed a project for the first route from Sokolniki to the city centre. At the same time, an offer was made to the German company Siemens Bauunion to submit its own project for the same route. In June 1931, the decision to begin construction of the Moscow Metro was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of

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2208-487: The Moscow Metro is considered to have reached its zenith in these stations. The Koltsevaya Line was first planned as a line running under the Garden Ring , a wide avenue encircling the borders of Moscow's city centre. The first part of the line – from Park Kultury to Kurskaya (1950) – follows this avenue. Plans were later changed and the northern part of the ring line runs 1–1.5 kilometres (0.62–0.93 mi) outside

2277-618: The Moscow Metro since 2 December 2014. Download coordinates as: Each line is identified by a name, an alphanumeric index (usually consisting of just a number, and sometimes a letter suffix), and a colour. The colour assigned to each line is its colloquial identifier, except for the nondescript greens and blues assigned to the Bolshaya Koltsevaya , the Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya , and Butovskaya lines (lines 11, 10, and 12, respectively). The upcoming station

2346-404: The Moscow Metro was launched in 1935, complete with the first logo , the capital M paired with the text "МЕТРО". There is no accurate information about the author of the logo, so it is often attributed to the architects of the first stations – Samuil Kravets, Ivan Taranov and Nadezhda Bykova. At the opening in 1935, the M letter on the logo had no definite shape. In 2014, the Moscow Metro adopted

2415-716: The Moskva River through a deep tunnel) and Kurskaya – Partizanskaya (four stations) were inaugurated in 1943 and 1944 respectively. War motifs replaced socialist visions in the architectural design of these stations. During the Siege of Moscow in the fall and winter of 1941, Metro stations were used as air-raid shelters; the Council of Ministers moved its offices to the Mayakovskaya platforms, where Stalin made public speeches on several occasions. The Chistiye Prudy station

2484-537: The Sadovoye Koltso, thus providing service for seven (out of nine) rail terminals. The next part of the Koltsevaya Line opened in 1952 (Kurskaya– Belorusskaya ), and in 1954 the ring line was completed. When the Metro opened in 1935, it immediately became the centrepiece of the transportation system (as opposed to horse-carried barrows still widely used in 1930s Moscow). It also became the prototype,

2553-466: The Soviet Union . In January 1932 the plan for the first lines was approved, and on 21 March 1933 the Soviet government approved a plan for 10 lines with a total route length of 80 km (50 mi). The first lines were built using the Moscow general plan designed by Lazar Kaganovich , along with his project managers (notably Ivan M. Kuznetsov and, later, Isaac Y. Segal) in the 1930s–1950s, and

2622-712: The Ukrainian and Siberian coalfields and construction workers from the iron and steel mills of Magnitogorsk, the Dniepr hydroelectric power station, and the Turkestan-Siberian railway... materials used in the construction of the metro included iron from Siberian Kuznetsk, timber from northern Russia, cement from the Volga region and the northern Caucasus, bitumen from Baku, and marble and granite from quarries in Karelia,

2691-598: The airfield proper. Flights into or out of the airfield apparently continued to at least 1989, but the runways existed into the 2000s. Past plans for the site included a modern air and space museum, expected to be the largest in the world upon completion. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness hoped to have the largest temple in Russia to be erected there, but this did not come to pass due to vocal opposition by

2760-486: The architecture was based on that of the most popular stations in existence (Krasniye Vorota, Okhotnyi Ryad and Kropotkinskaya); while following the popular art-deco style, it was merged with socialist themes. The first deep-level column station Mayakovskaya was built at the same time. Building work on the third stage was delayed (but not interrupted) during World War II , and two Metro sections were put into service; Teatralnaya – Avtozavodskaya (three stations, crossing

2829-441: The arrival of the first train, but all stations simultaneously close their entrances at 01:00 for maintenance, and so do transfer corridors. The minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds during the morning and evening rush hours. As of 2017, the system had an average daily ridership of 6.99 million passengers. Peak daily ridership of 9.71 million was recorded on 26 December 2014. Free Wi-Fi has been available on all lines of

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2898-544: The circular ticket hall of Piccadilly Circus , and so engaged Pick and Holden as advisors to Moscow's metro system. Partly because of this connection, the design of Gants Hill tube station , which was completed in 1947, is reminiscent of a Moscow Metro station. Indeed, Holden's homage to Moscow has been described as a gesture of gratitude for the USSR's helpful role in The Second World War . Soviet workers did

2967-579: The city's physical layout. Engineers for the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company (Metrovick) were given a show trial and deported in 1933, ending the role of British business in the USSR. The first line was opened to the public on 15 May 1935 at 07:00 am. It was 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) long and included 13 stations. The day was celebrated as a technological and ideological victory for socialism (and, by extension, Stalinism ). An estimated 285,000 people rode

3036-403: The completion of the Moscow Metro; without industrialization, the Soviet Union would not have had the raw materials necessary for the project. For example, steel was a main component of many subway stations. Before industrialization, it would have been impossible for the Soviet Union to produce enough steel to incorporate it into the metro's design; in addition, a steel shortage would have limited

3105-426: The concept of the lamps, some of which I planned in collaboration with the architect himself. The shape of the lamps was a torch – the torch of victory, as Polyakov put it... The artistic quality and stylistic unity of all the lamps throughout the station's interior made them perhaps the most successful element of the architectural composition. All were made of cast aluminum decorated in a black and gold anodized coating,

3174-451: The deep-dug Shabolovskaya (1980), have the near-tunnel walls decorated with metal sheets, not tiles. Tyoply Stan features a theme related to the name and the location of the station ("Tyoply Stan" used to literally mean warm area ): its walls are covered in brick-colored ribbed panes, which look like radiators ). Downtown area got such stations as Borovitskaya (1986), with uncovered red bricks and gray, concrete-like colors accompanying

3243-570: The design was useful for demonstrating the extra structural strength of the underground works (as in Metro doubling as bunkers , bomb shelters). The chief lighting engineer was Abram Damsky, a graduate of the Higher State Art-Technical Institute in Moscow. By 1930 he was a chief designer in Moscow's Elektrosvet Factory, and during World War II was sent to the Metrostroi (Metro Construction) Factory as head of

3312-534: The imperial authorities caused public indignation in Russia, and a number of minor officials were dismissed. However, the new Tsar did not cancel the coronation ball scheduled for later that day. Many mystic writers in Russia say that deed predestined the death of Nicholas in Soviet Russia. The first powered flight in Russia took place at Khodynka, carried out in 1910 by Boris Rossinsky . In 1911, pilot Alexander Vasiliev landed his Bleriot XI there, becoming

3381-534: The labour and the art work, but the main engineering designs, routes, and construction plans were handled by specialists recruited from London Underground. The British called for tunnelling instead of the " cut-and-cover " technique, the use of escalators instead of lifts, the routes and the design of the rolling stock. The paranoia of the NKVD was evident when the secret police arrested numerous British engineers for espionage because they gained an in-depth knowledge of

3450-491: The lighting shop. Damsky recognized the importance of efficiency, as well as the potential for light as an expressive form. His team experimented with different materials (most often cast bronze, aluminum, sheet brass, steel, and milk glass) and methods to optimize the technology. Damsky's discourse on "Lamps and Architecture 1930–1950" describes in detail the epic chandeliers installed in the Taganskaya Station and

3519-578: The mainlines with 3000V DC overhead lines, as is typical. The average distance between stations is 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi); the shortest (502 metres (1,647 ft) long) section is between Delovoy Tsentr and Mezhdunarodnaya , and the longest (6.62 kilometres (4.11 mi) long) is between Krylatskoye and Strogino . Long distances between stations have the positive effect of a high cruising speed of 41.7 kilometres per hour (25.9 mph). The Moscow Metro opens at 05:25 and closes at 01:00. The exact opening time varies at different stations according to

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3588-551: The metro has been Moscow Order of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner of Labor V.I. Lenin Metro ( Московский ордена Ленина и ордена Трудового Красного Знамени метрополитен имени В.И. Ленина ) since 1955. This is usually shortened to V.I. Lenin Metro ( Метрополитен им. В.И. Ленина ). This shorter official name appears on many stations. Although there were proposals to remove Lenin from the official name, it still stands. During

3657-418: The monorail had operated in "excursion mode" since 2004. Also, from 11 August 1969 to 26 October 2019, the Moscow Metro included Kakhovskaya line 3.3 km (2.1 mi) long with 3 stations, which closed for a long reconstruction. On 7 December 2021, Kakhovskaya is reopened after reconstruction as part of the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line . The renewed Varshavskaya and Kashirskaya stations reopened as part of

3726-497: The only finisher of 11 pilots who started a 453-mile race from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Starting in the 1930s, the airfield played annual host to Aviation Day festivities, held on the third weekend in August. A. S. Yakovlev worked as a mechanic at the airfield for a time in the 1920s, and examined the wrecks of various aircraft present in the ravine near the field during work on his earliest powered aircraft designs. The airfield

3795-413: The overall expressiveness of the lamp. Stalin's first five-year plan (1928–1932) facilitated rapid industrialization to build a socialist motherland. The plan was ambitious, seeking to reorient an agrarian society towards industrialism. It was Stalin's fanatical energy, large-scale planning, and resource distribution that kept up the pace of industrialization. The first five-year plan was instrumental in

3864-487: The power to mobilize; because the party was a single source of control, it could focus its resources. The most notable example of mobilization in the Soviet Union occurred during World War II . The country also mobilized in order to complete the Moscow Metro with unprecedented speed. One of the main motivation factors of the mobilization was to overtake the West and prove that a socialist metro could surpass capitalist designs. It

3933-576: The powerfully decorated stations of Moscow's center and the spartan-looking stations of the 1960s was eventually filled. In the mid-1970s the architectural extravagance was partially restored. However, the newer design of shallow "centipede" stations (now with 26 columns, more widely spaced) continued to dominate. For example, Kaluzhskaya "centipede" station from 1974 (adjacent to Novye Cheryomushki station) features non-flat tiles (with 3D effect utilized), and Medvedkovo from 1978 features complex decorations. 1971 station Kitay-Gorod ("Ploshchad Nogina" at

4002-627: The size of the subway system and its technological advancement. The Moscow Metro furthered the construction of a socialist Soviet Union because the project accorded with Stalin's second five-year plan . The Second Plan focused on urbanization and the development of social services. The Moscow Metro was necessary to cope with the influx of peasants who migrated to the city during the 1930s; Moscow's population had grown from 2.16 million in 1928 to 3.6 million in 1933. The Metro also bolstered Moscow's shaky infrastructure and its communal services, which hitherto were nearly nonexistent. The Communist Party had

4071-495: The time) features cross-platform interchange (Line 6 and line 7). Although built without "centipede" design or cheap ceramic tiles, the station utilizes near- grayscale selection of colors. It is to note the "southbound" and "northbound" halls of the station have identical look. Babushkinskaya station from 1978 is a no-column station (similar to Biblioteka Imeni Lenina from 1935). 1983 Chertanovskaya station has resemblance to Kropotkinskaya (from 1935). Some stations, such as

4140-559: The vision for future Soviet large-scale technologies. The artwork of the 13 original stations became nationally and internationally famous. For example, the Sverdlov Square subway station featured porcelain bas-reliefs depicting the daily life of the Soviet peoples, and the bas-reliefs at the Dynamo Stadium sports complex glorified sports and physical prowess on the powerful new " Homo Sovieticus " (Soviet man). The metro

4209-597: Was also walled off, and the headquarters of the Air Defence established there. After the war ended in 1945, construction began on the fourth stage of the Metro, which included the Koltsevaya Line , a deep part of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line from Ploshchad Revolyutsii to Kievskaya and a surface extension to Pervomaiskaya during the early 1950s. The decoration and design characteristic of

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4278-642: Was closely involved in the recruitment campaign, targeting the Komsomol generation because of its strength and youth. The beginning of the Cold War led to the construction of a deep section of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line . The stations on this line were planned as shelters in the event of nuclear war. After finishing the line in 1953 the upper tracks between Ploshchad Revolyutsii and Kiyevskaya were closed, and later reopened in 1958 as

4347-453: Was decisively rejected on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev . He had a preference for a utilitarian "minimalism"-like approach to design, similar to Brutalism style . The idea behind the rejection was similar to one used to create Khrushchyovkas : cheap yet easily mass-produced buildings. Stations of his era, as well as most 1970s stations, were simple in design and style, with walls covered with identical square ceramic tiles. Even decorations at

4416-590: Was determined to realise the Moscow Metro, regardless of cost. Without Kaganovich's managerial ability, the Moscow Metro might have met the same fate as the Palace of the Soviets : failure. This was a comprehensive mobilization; the project drew resources and workers from the entire Soviet Union. In his article, archeologist Mike O'Mahoney describes the scope of the Metro mobilization: A specialist workforce had been drawn from many different regions, including miners from

4485-458: Was developed for all new stations, and the stations were built to look almost identical, differing from each other only in colours of the marble and ceramic tiles. Most stations were built with simpler, cheap technology; this resulted in utilitarian design being flawed in some ways. Some stations such as adjacent Rechnoi Vokzal and Vodny Stadion or sequiential Leninsky Prospect , Akadmicheskaya , Profsoyuznaya and Novye Cheryomushki would have

4554-593: Was especially important to the Soviet Union that socialism succeed industrially, technologically, and artistically in the 1930s, since capitalism was at a low ebb during the Great Depression. The person in charge of Metro mobilization was Lazar Kaganovich . A prominent Party member, he assumed control of the project as chief overseer. Kaganovich was nicknamed the "Iron Commissar"; he shared Stalin's fanatical energy, dramatic oratory flare, and ability to keep workers building quickly with threats and punishment. He

4623-794: Was extended westwards to a new station ( Kiyevskaya ) in March 1937, the first Metro line crossing the Moskva River over the Smolensky Metro Bridge . The second stage was completed before the war . In March 1938, the Arbatskaya branch was split and extended to the Kurskaya station (now the dark-blue Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line ). In September 1938, the Gorkovskaya Line opened between Sokol and Teatralnaya . Here

4692-581: Was rejected. The Moscow Metro was one of the USSR's most ambitious architectural projects. The metro's artists and architects worked to design a structure that embodied svet (literally "light", figuratively "radiance" or "brilliance") and svetloe budushchee (a well-lit/radiant/bright future). With their reflective marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers, many Moscow Metro stations have been likened to an "artificial underground sun". This palatial underground environment reminded Metro users their taxes were spent on materializing bright future ; also,

4761-516: Was touted as the symbol of the new social order – a sort of Communist cathedral of engineering modernity. The Metro was also iconic for showcasing Socialist Realism in public art. The method was influenced by Nikolay Chernyshevsky , Lenin 's favorite 19th-century nihilist , who stated that "art is no useful unless it serves politics". This maxim sums up the reasons why the stations combined aesthetics, technology and ideology: any plan which did not incorporate all three areas cohesively

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