6 ms·

Going underground: the Moscow metro

72 points by e15ctr0n 9y ago

avenoir 9y ago
Some interesting facts about the Moscow's M. The Metro could have appeared as early as 1875 in Moscow, but the Russian Orthodox Church blocked it by claiming that "a man, created in the image of God, cannot humiliate himself by descending into the underworld." In the October of 1941, during 2nd world war, the soviet government was preparing complete liquidation of the Metro. It was supposed to be flooded but the government order was soon abolished. The total combined length of the M is 300km or 186 miles. Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/victorstepanov/mscw-metro https://www.buzzfeed.com/victorstepanov/mscw-metro
- XaspR8d 9y ago
  Wow, very literal meaning of liquidating government assets...
- negus 9y ago
  The story about Church protest has no proof. At least I tried to find it and found nothing worthy
  - avenoir 9y ago
    According to this source [1] the quote was supposedly from a bishop's letter to the Patriarch of Moscow at the time. > Церковники распускали разные, порою до глупости нелепые слухи. Один из архиереев писал московскому митрополиту: «Возможно ли допустить сию греховную мечту? Не унизит ли себя человек, созданный по образу и подобию божию разумным созданием, спустившись в преисподнюю? А что там есть, то ведает один бог, и грешному человеку ведать не надлежит». И подобная нелепость воспринималась всерьез. Seems like it was one of many letters, but not the sole factor that forced Duma to scrap the project. [1] http://www.metro.ru/library/metropoliteny/147/ http://www.metro.ru/library/metropoliteny/147/
    - cat199 9y ago
      Considering the presence of famously well known cave monasteries within the Russian Empire's borders dating back for 800 or so years even already at that time, with many famed ascetics, elders, and saints, I would hope that the letter yielded a sharp rebuke from the patriarch on that particular point.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Pechersk_Lavra#Caves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Pechersk_Lavra#Caves Not to mention the well known knowledge of Roman Christian persecution and the related subterranean activities required to survive at that time.. But since the quote is out of context and has no reference to an actual response, who is to say... All the better to make the church seem backwards though..
- clydethefrog 9y ago
  What was the motivation behind the liquidation? A quick search does not provide any details.
  - danielvf 9y ago
    Probably the approaching German army. The Germans launched their attack on Moscow in October, 1941, which would line up with the timeline.
Grue3 9y ago
Ride it everyday, and all the Soviet nostalgia aesthetic is making me sick. Here are some actually interesting stations: - Vorobyovy Gory (the longest station, situated on a bridge over Moscow River) - Dostoyevskaya (decorated with scenes from Dostoyevsky's novels which tend to be rather... dark) - Timiryazevskaya (the only deep single-vault station in Moscow, looks cool) - the entire monorail line (just weird) - Vystavochnaya (the station under business district Moskva-City, it's just huge) - Arbatskaya, light blue line (one of the smallest, and possibly the most useless station, very quirky) Some of the recently built stations (yellow line Ramenki extension, light green line north of Maryina Roscha, dark blue line north of Strogino) have pretty interesting designs, if you don't mind travelling to the outskirts of Moscow.
- dagenleg 9y ago
  I think the soviet parts are pretty cute. They are curious remnants of history now, since USSR is long gone and we will probably never see "Socialist realism" style being employed at such a scale ever again.
  - atemerev 9y ago
    I see you are an optimist! As a Russian, I can't really say that. Mr. Putin acts rather strangely for the last few years.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- arjie 9y ago
  I mean, it's only appealing to those of us not living under an oppressive regime. If I were in Stalinist Russia I would have been in no mood to appreciate that style.
  - ivan_gammel 9y ago
    That style was designed specifically to make people appreciate it, to feel the sense of people's victory over fascism and relief from the Great Patriotic War, so if you would live in 1950s, it's quite possible that you'd be impressed and like it.
pavel_lishin 9y ago
Unfortunately, they're not all as beautiful as the ones pictured here. The one I grew up next to is pretty drab: https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj Although right outside is a pretty awesome statue of Gagarin: https://flic.kr/p/dLU1xg https://flic.kr/p/dLU1xg
- mladenkovacevic 9y ago
  The one I grew up next to is pretty drab: https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj That's still pretty nice to be honest.
  - pavel_lishin 9y ago
    Eh, it's kind of drab, especially compared to the ones I'd ride through as I went towards the center. It's about as fun as most of New York's stations, most of which aren't really artistically interesting either.
    - mladenkovacevic 9y ago
      It's certainly not as ostentatious as the major stations in that article but the ceiling height, apparent quality of materials used (marble on the columns, slate floor, not completely horrendous tile on the subway walls) and the abundance of light make for a functional and safe-feeling environment. Compare that to the first east-bound station on the Toronto subway line (one of the few stations with sometimes-usable bathrooms). https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Kipling-interior.jpg/300px-Kipling-interior.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Ki...
      - pavel_lishin 9y ago
        That looks a lot like the penultimate stop on the E line in Queens in NYC at first glance.
        mladenkovacevic 9y ago
sAbakumoff 9y ago
I always thought that the most amusing part of Moscow Metro is people one can meet there. Just one example : https://twitter.com/maxsparber/status/858330495788220416 https://twitter.com/maxsparber/status/858330495788220416
- scrumper 9y ago
  Magnificent. I have a photo buried somewhere of a chap taking his pet eagle for a walk in Moscow. Thing was bigger than his torso, sat right there on his arm looking around at who it wanted to eat.
- richard_shelton 9y ago
  Yeah... Just an another example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpr8pvSgqI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpr8pvSgqI8
  - sAbakumoff 9y ago
    Owls are the coolest creatures in the known Universe!
scrumper 9y ago
I tagged along on one of my wife's business trips to Moscow about a decade ago. I spent a week mostly on my own exploring the city, and consequently much time on the metro (and more time lost). It certainly helped my ability to read Cyrillic but I would not call it a relaxing trip. The metro stations really are breathtaking: emerging into a gilded, be-chandeliered hall after a near 5 minute escalator ride isn't something I'll forget.
thriftwy 9y ago
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/scenes-from-the-moscow-metro/528660/ https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/scenes-from-the-mo... A larger set of photos, partially the same, suggested to me by Zen.

72 points by e15ctr0n 9y ago

Some interesting facts about the Moscow's M. The Metro could have appeared as early as 1875 in Moscow, but the Russian Orthodox Church blocked it by claiming that "a man, created in the image of God, cannot humiliate himself by descending into the underworld." In the October of 1941, during 2nd world war, the soviet government was preparing complete liquidation of the Metro. It was supposed to be flooded but the government order was soon abolished. The total combined length of the M is 300km or 186 miles. Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/victorstepanov/mscw-metro https://www.buzzfeed.com/victorstepanov/mscw-metro

XaspR8d 9y ago
Wow, very literal meaning of liquidating government assets...
negus 9y ago
The story about Church protest has no proof. At least I tried to find it and found nothing worthy
- avenoir 9y ago
  According to this source [1] the quote was supposedly from a bishop's letter to the Patriarch of Moscow at the time. > Церковники распускали разные, порою до глупости нелепые слухи. Один из архиереев писал московскому митрополиту: «Возможно ли допустить сию греховную мечту? Не унизит ли себя человек, созданный по образу и подобию божию разумным созданием, спустившись в преисподнюю? А что там есть, то ведает один бог, и грешному человеку ведать не надлежит». И подобная нелепость воспринималась всерьез. Seems like it was one of many letters, but not the sole factor that forced Duma to scrap the project. [1] http://www.metro.ru/library/metropoliteny/147/ http://www.metro.ru/library/metropoliteny/147/
  - cat199 9y ago
    Considering the presence of famously well known cave monasteries within the Russian Empire's borders dating back for 800 or so years even already at that time, with many famed ascetics, elders, and saints, I would hope that the letter yielded a sharp rebuke from the patriarch on that particular point.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Pechersk_Lavra#Caves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Pechersk_Lavra#Caves Not to mention the well known knowledge of Roman Christian persecution and the related subterranean activities required to survive at that time.. But since the quote is out of context and has no reference to an actual response, who is to say... All the better to make the church seem backwards though..
clydethefrog 9y ago
What was the motivation behind the liquidation? A quick search does not provide any details.
- danielvf 9y ago
  Probably the approaching German army. The Germans launched their attack on Moscow in October, 1941, which would line up with the timeline.

Grue3 9y ago

Ride it everyday, and all the Soviet nostalgia aesthetic is making me sick. Here are some actually interesting stations: - Vorobyovy Gory (the longest station, situated on a bridge over Moscow River) - Dostoyevskaya (decorated with scenes from Dostoyevsky's novels which tend to be rather... dark) - Timiryazevskaya (the only deep single-vault station in Moscow, looks cool) - the entire monorail line (just weird) - Vystavochnaya (the station under business district Moskva-City, it's just huge) - Arbatskaya, light blue line (one of the smallest, and possibly the most useless station, very quirky) Some of the recently built stations (yellow line Ramenki extension, light green line north of Maryina Roscha, dark blue line north of Strogino) have pretty interesting designs, if you don't mind travelling to the outskirts of Moscow.

dagenleg 9y ago
I think the soviet parts are pretty cute. They are curious remnants of history now, since USSR is long gone and we will probably never see "Socialist realism" style being employed at such a scale ever again.
- atemerev 9y ago
  I see you are an optimist! As a Russian, I can't really say that. Mr. Putin acts rather strangely for the last few years.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
arjie 9y ago
I mean, it's only appealing to those of us not living under an oppressive regime. If I were in Stalinist Russia I would have been in no mood to appreciate that style.
- ivan_gammel 9y ago
  That style was designed specifically to make people appreciate it, to feel the sense of people's victory over fascism and relief from the Great Patriotic War, so if you would live in 1950s, it's quite possible that you'd be impressed and like it.

pavel_lishin 9y ago

Unfortunately, they're not all as beautiful as the ones pictured here. The one I grew up next to is pretty drab: https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj Although right outside is a pretty awesome statue of Gagarin: https://flic.kr/p/dLU1xg https://flic.kr/p/dLU1xg

mladenkovacevic 9y ago
The one I grew up next to is pretty drab: https://flic.kr/p/C6QcXj That's still pretty nice to be honest.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  Eh, it's kind of drab, especially compared to the ones I'd ride through as I went towards the center. It's about as fun as most of New York's stations, most of which aren't really artistically interesting either.
  - mladenkovacevic 9y ago
    It's certainly not as ostentatious as the major stations in that article but the ceiling height, apparent quality of materials used (marble on the columns, slate floor, not completely horrendous tile on the subway walls) and the abundance of light make for a functional and safe-feeling environment. Compare that to the first east-bound station on the Toronto subway line (one of the few stations with sometimes-usable bathrooms). https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Kipling-interior.jpg/300px-Kipling-interior.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Ki...
    - pavel_lishin 9y ago
      That looks a lot like the penultimate stop on the E line in Queens in NYC at first glance.
      - mladenkovacevic 9y ago

sAbakumoff 9y ago

I always thought that the most amusing part of Moscow Metro is people one can meet there. Just one example : https://twitter.com/maxsparber/status/858330495788220416 https://twitter.com/maxsparber/status/858330495788220416

scrumper 9y ago
Magnificent. I have a photo buried somewhere of a chap taking his pet eagle for a walk in Moscow. Thing was bigger than his torso, sat right there on his arm looking around at who it wanted to eat.
richard_shelton 9y ago
Yeah... Just an another example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpr8pvSgqI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpr8pvSgqI8
- sAbakumoff 9y ago
  Owls are the coolest creatures in the known Universe!

scrumper 9y ago

I tagged along on one of my wife's business trips to Moscow about a decade ago. I spent a week mostly on my own exploring the city, and consequently much time on the metro (and more time lost). It certainly helped my ability to read Cyrillic but I would not call it a relaxing trip. The metro stations really are breathtaking: emerging into a gilded, be-chandeliered hall after a near 5 minute escalator ride isn't something I'll forget.

thriftwy 9y ago

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/scenes-from-the-moscow-metro/528660/ https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/05/scenes-from-the-mo... A larger set of photos, partially the same, suggested to me by Zen.