Moscow Metro: Architectural Extravagance Hidden Underground

Three stations of the Moscow Metro's Circle Line — Belorusskaya, Kievskaya and Komsomolskaya — were included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Sites, the official website of Moscow Mayor's reported on January 16. Each station tells a story about the culture and life of the Soviet people, has an individual design and is an important element of the city's heritage.

When Kievskaya station was built, 40 designers submitted their projects in an open contest. A team from Kiev led by Professor Yevgeny Katonin won the competition, with their design celebrating the 300th anniversary of friendship between Russia and Ukraine. The station was opened in 1954.

The project of the ground pavilion and the underground platform of Belorusskaya station was developed by architects Ivan Taranov and Nadezhda Bykova. The main theme of the design was the economy and culture of the Belarusian people. Lying 42 meters below the surface, the station was opened for passengers in 1952.

Komsomolskaya station was built by the architect Alexei Shchusev in 1952. Its interior is decorated with military themed bas-reliefs by Soviet sculptor Georgy Motovilov.

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The very first Moscow Metro line consisting of 13 stations was opened to the public on May 15, 1935. It was one of the USSR’s most ambitious architectural projects.
Photo: Visitors on tour of Elektrozavodskaya metro station during the Night in Metro event held on December 23, 2017.

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Nicknamed the “palaces of the people,” the stations built during the Stalin era still impress tourists with their reflective marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers.
Photo: Tourists at Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow metro on July 29, 2016.

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A sculpture at the Baumasnkaya station of the Moscow Metro's Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line after renovation is seen in this photo taken on December 24, 2015.

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Earlier plans for a metro system in Moscow, which date back to the Russian Empire, were postponed due to World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War.
Photo: Smalt mosaic by Alexander Deyneka at Mayakovskaya metro station after its reconstruction is seen in this picture taken on April 24, 2010.

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Maintenance works at Mayakovskaya station of Moscow Metro's Zamoskvoretskaya Line on August 15, 2015.

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As of 2017, the Moscow Metro is considered the seventh longest in the world, with its 207 stations and its route length of 349.4 kilometers.
Photo: Kievskaya station of the Moscow metro network's Circle Line on March 10, 2009.

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On January 16, 2018, three stations built in the 1950s – Belorusskaya, Kievskaya and Komsomolskaya were added to the list of important cultural heritage sites.
Photo: "Belarusian Partisans" sculpture installed inside the passage at Belorusskaya station of the Moscow metro is seen in this picture taken on March 16, 2016.

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Semyonovskaya station of the Moscow metro.

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Paveletskaya station of the Moscow metro network's Circle Line on March 12, 2009.

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Paveletskaya station of the Moscow metro network's Zamoskvoretskaya line on November 10, 2009.

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The list of important cultural heritage sites also includes 12 other metro stations: Avtozavodskaya (built in 1943), Baumanskaya (1944), Partizanskaya (1944), Krasnye Vorota (1935), Kropotkinskaya (1935), Mayakovskaya (1938), Novokuznetskaya (1943) ), Paveletskaya (1943), Semenovskaya (1944), Chistye Prudy (1935), Elektrozavodskaya (1944), and the station Universitet (1959). Photo: A tour guide on Elektrozavodskaya metro station during the Night in Metro event held on December 23, 2017.

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Taganskaya station of the Moscow metro network's Circle Line on March 12, 2009.

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"Parade of athletes" ceiling mosaic in the lobby of Novokuznetskaya station of the Moscow metro.

CC BY-SA 4.0 / Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov / Novokuznetskaya Station of Moscow Subway. Vestibule Ceiling Mosaic "The Parade of Athletes"(cropped photo)

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Novokuznetskaya station of the Moscow metro.

CC BY-SA 4.0 / Alex Florstein / Novokuznetskaya Station of Moscow Subway (cropped photo)

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The Colors of Metro train, launched on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Moscow Metro, is seen at the Partizanskaya station on May 20, 2015.

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