Exploring the magnificent Moscow Metro

One of the geometric stained-glass panels in Novoslobodskaya, the second last station we visited

Towards the end of our stay in Russia’s capital, Poor John and I spent a couple of hours exploring the beauty of the famous Moscow Metro, which is also known as the People’s Palace.

First opened in 1935, during the Stalin era, the metro has 12 lines covering 349 kilometres and stopping at a staggering 207 stations. Some of these stations are absolutely breathtaking. Seriously, they are works of art in their own right.

Before we set out, Poor John spent time online to identify some of the best stations to visit. We had a long list and knew we couldn’t visit them all, but we figured out a zigzagging route that would let us see quite a few. And we did all that for about $1 each because once you enter the metro system, you can keep travelling at no extra charge until you exit. Because we stayed underground, I don’t have any pictures from the station entrances or turnstiles. Next time.

The busy hall at Arbatskaya station

We started with the Arbatskaya station on line 3. It opened in 1953 and was designed by Leonid Polyakov, Valentin Pelevin and Yury Zenkevich. It was meant to double as a station and a bomb shelter, so it is large and deep. The platform is 250 metres long. The walls are decorated with glazed ceramic tiles and ceramic flower bouquets. The chandeliers are bronze.

Officials walk through the hall at Park Pobedy station

A mural at one end of a hall in Park Pobedy

Next stop was Park Pobedy also on line 3. This newer station, opened in 2003, has two underground halls and was designed by N. Shurygina and N. Shumakov. I’ve read that the descent from ground-level to the southern hall has four escalators 126 meters long (the longest in Moscow). The hall decoration is dedicated to victories in the Patriotic Wars of 1812 and 1941–45. The hall pylons are faced with white and red marble.

We only saw the southern hall and I was delighted to take pictures of military/police without having my camera confiscated. Times have changed.

The modern Minskaya station where we arrived by mistake

It was too late by the time I realised we had boarded the wrong train, so we got a surprise stop at the Minskaya station that had opened only six months earlier. I can’t find more info about it, but the decoration is modern, digital and train-related.

The art filled hall in Kievskaya station

Platform

Cornice

Art

A mural depicting the feast in Kiev

Luckily it wasn’t hard to get back on track and we soon arrived at Kievskaya on line 5. This station opened in 1953. Its design was decided through an open competition held in Ukraine. The winners were E.I. Katonin, V.K. Skugarev and G.E. Golubev. Not surprisingly, the frescos on the pylons depict events from Ukraine’s history.

It was built under the personal supervision of General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. It is believed that the elegant decor was a way for Khrushchev to pay tribute to his Ukrainian homeland. The panel on the hall’s end wall shows the feast in Kiev that honoured the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia.

The triumphal arch at Oktyabrskaya station

The platform at Oktyabrskaya station

Our next stop was Oktyabrskaya on line 5. Opened in 1950, it was designed by Leonid Polyakov, who helped design Arbatskaya, the first station we visited. The pylons have ventilation grilles that are flanked by anodized aluminum torches that give the hall a golden glow. At one end there is a miniature triumphal arch with a metallic gate that walls off a blue lit room, symbolising peace. 

Hammers and sickles adorn Paveletskaya station

Mosaic panel

Hammer and sickle

Still on line 5, we visited Paveletskaya station which opened in 1943. Designed by S.V. Lyashchenko and E.S. Demchenko. Hammers and sickles dominate the decoration. The hall is lit by bronze chandeliers. A mosaic panel represents friendship and unity between the working class and the collective farm peasantry. The station has some beautiful staircases.

One of 76 sculptures at Ploschad Revolyutsii station

Sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture

Then we were back to line 3 to see Ploschad Revolyutsii, one of the metro’s most famous stations. It’s named after Revolution Square, under which it is located. Designed by Alexey Dushkin and opened in 1938, the station is known for it’s statues. Each arch is flanked by a pair of bronze sculptures by Matvey Manizer. These pieces depict the people of the Soviet Union, including soldiers, farmers, athletes, writers, aviators, industrial workers and schoolchildren. There are 76 sculptures in the station.

The vast hall and platform at Mayakovskaya station

One of the ceiling mosaics

Dushkin also designed Mayakovskaya, which opened in 1938 and is situated on line 2. The station name as well as the design is a reference to futurism and its prominent Russian exponent, poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Considered to be one of the most beautiful in the system, Mayakovskaya is a fine example of pre-World War II Stalinist architecture and one of the most famous metro stations in the world. It is most well known for its 34 ceiling mosaics depicting ’24 Hours in the Land of the Soviets’. I only got a pic of one. During World War II, the station was used as a command post for Moscow’s anti-aircraft regiment.

Hope I’m not wearing you out. We only have two stations to go.

Musician mosaic

‘Peace Throughout the World’ mosaic by Korin

Geometric mosaic

Profession mosaic

Geometric mosaic

It’s obvious that Dushkin was a popular architect for the metro. He and Alexander Strelkov designed the beautiful Novoslobodskaya station on line 5. Dushkin had long wished to decorate a metro station with stained glass. As a result, this station is best known for its 32 stained-glass panels, which were designed by the famous Soviet artist, Pavel Korin. The panels were made in Latvia because Russia did not have a tradition of working with stained glass or any masters of the craft. Six of the stained-glass panels depict people from different professions including a musician, an agronomist and, of course, an architect. The remaining panels have intricate geometric patterns and stars. The station opened in 1952.

More officials at the Komsomolskaya station

Statue of Vladimir Lenin

Art

And at long last we arrived at the stunning Komsomolskaya on line 5. It’s considered a Gateway to Moscow and is one of the busiest station in the whole system because it is under three railway terminals. Alexey Shchusev was the lead architect, but after his death, the work was finished by Viktor Kokorin, A. Zabolotnaya, V. Varvarin and O. Velikoretsky and the artist, Korin, who created the eight ceiling mosaics. In 1951, both Korin and Shchusev (posthumously) were awarded the Stalin Prize for their work on the station, which opened the following year. Six years later, the station was awarded the Grand Prix title of Expo ’58 in Brussels.

I so wish we’d had time to explore more stations. If you want to look at more, here’s a link to a 2011 list of an architect’s favourite stations. Do you have a favourite station or a favourite artwork?

An interesting bit of history
In the 1930s, Soviet workers did the labor and art work for the early metro stations, but the main engineering designs, routes and construction plans were handled by specialists recruited from the London Underground, the oldest metro system in the world.

Magnificent ceiling at Komsomolskaya station