9 ms·

Why is the Moscow Metro so grandiose compared to other Soviet architecture

163 points by xenocratus 5y ago

emteycz 5y ago
These talks about the beauty of brutalism are interesting stuff, but that's not how I remember it. I remember communism - it is notorious for it - to be incredibly poor at allocation of resources, unquestionable bureaucrats that didn't need to explain anything, and mind-numbingly total disrespect of individual people. It's the same in Prague - grandiose metro was built right under destroyed-by-neglect cultural heritage and starving people who were forced to steal bricks to build their houses.
- vidarh 5y ago
  I don't see where this talks about the "beauty of brutalism"? Brutalism was largely rejected in the Soviet Union (Stalin offended Le Corbusier massively by rejecting his brutalist plan for Moscow, for example) until Khrushchev saw cheap and crappy construction as a viable solution to the housing crisis that was intended to be temporary (e.g. most of the housing was planned for a 20 year lifetime - of course it didn't play out that way). There was no illusion at that point at least that it would be beautiful. Stalins focus on big ornate statement-buildings over solving housing was certainly an incredibly poor allocation of resources.
  - emteycz 5y ago
    That was sarcasm. My bad, I know it doesn't go well over the internet. There actually was artistic brutalism though - some architects here in Czechia (mostly Prague) tried to do their best with what was avaiblable. Some of these buildings are (post-significant rework) even nice. Some. And these were built way past Stalin - 70's and 80'. My point was that the metro was the precious project of the bureaucrats.
- halsom 5y ago
  You remember communism directly? Or you remember communism’s propagandized reputation in the west?
  - emteycz 5y ago
    I am not in the west. I visited the west only few times. I am on the westernmost border of the former Iron Curtain.
- jtifbtosmrbd 5y ago
  People had houses?! Where do I sign up?
aws10 5y ago
Stalinkas (apartment blocks built during Stalin's dictatorship) also look neo-classicist. Building grandiose government buildings also happens in the West. Right now in Germany government buildings are doing fine whereas private buildings crumble.
baybal2 5y ago
> Why is the Moscow Metro so grandiose compared to other Soviet architecture (reddit.com) Stalin's ego, turned into an architectural style. That's why. No need to spend 3 screens of writing on this.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  "Stalin's ego, turned into an architectural style. That's why. No need to spend 3 screens of writing on this." Are you interested in getting a two-word answer or in learning about the history of the Soviet Union, the Metro, its view of socialism, ideals, etc? A brief dismissive answer like your teaches virtually nothing, and the reader does not come away from it any more informed than before. It also does a disservice to HN by discouraging intellectual curiosity. Not to mention that it's against HN guidelines[1], which say: "Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something." [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - baybal2 5y ago
    The "monumental" works of Stalin era are monuments of sheer cruelty. When you go to Moscow metro, think think how many people had to die building it, repressed while building it, robbed while building it, starved while building it for you to see that beauty. Had I had a way, I would've ordered all and every piece of Stalinist work to be scraped off, and buried. You don't see foreigners walking ogling at Svastikas in Berlin metro. It all was meticulously demolished, bulldozed, scrubbed, and buried.
    - Twixes 5y ago
      Well, Autobahnen weren't demolished after Hitler was gone, were they? It's absurd to destroy useful and valuable works just to spite a dead dictator. Swastikas obviously don't amount to that, but whole astounding subway stations definitely do.
mynegation 5y ago
Soviet architecture developed in periods, like in other countries, and there definitely was a return to simplicity in 60s-80s. It is strange that author cites main building of Moscow State University as an example of “brutalist” architecture. It may seem massive and intimidating but it is not what brutalist architecture means. I lived in that building for several years and it is ornate and intricate example of Stalinist architecture, very much in line with subway stations built in the same period. Subway stations built in different periods used the prevailing architectural style of the time. It is just that not too many tourist see them as they tend to be well outside Moscow centre.
- vidarh 5y ago
  > It is strange that author cites main building of Moscow State University as an example of “brutalist” architecture. It may seem massive and intimidating but it is not what brutalist architecture means. What do you mean? They don't. They cite it as an example of "Stalinist Classicism": > In fact, Stalin is most associated with "Stalinist Classicism", which is very ornate, so it wasn't just restricted to the Metro. Example: MGU, Moscow State University.
- ch_sm 5y ago
  Where does the author name Moscow State Uni as an example of brutalism? I can only find a paragraph where they associate it with Stalinist Classicism, which seems apt: > But the Metro is not the only piece of architecture that rejects simplicity or blandness in Moscow from Stalin's lifetime. In fact, Stalin is most associated with "Stalinist Classicism", which is very ornate, so it wasn't just restricted to the Metro. Example: MGU, Moscow State University..
- KptMarchewa 5y ago
  Agreed. It's socrealism, prevalent under Stalin. There are similar examples of socrealist, stalinist architecture from my city: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plac_Konstytucji https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plac_Konstytucji
HatchedLake721 5y ago
For pictures, see https://www.google.com/search?q=moscow+metro&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=moscow+metro&tbm=isch Anyone I spoke with who used Moscow metro, compared to New York and London, people say Moscow always wins hands down. Huge stations, wi-fi on trains and fresh breeze - not 30°C on central line in London during summer.
- aasasd 5y ago
  One downside of Moscow and SPb metro that perennially bothers me is how loud it is in the trains. In Helsinki or Stockholm metro (iirc) you can easily talk to someone at nearly normal indoor volume. Notably, the noise almost disappears if the track leaves the tunnels for open air—so I have to wonder what's special about tunnels in those foreign systems.
cousin_it 5y ago
This is a rare example of English-language text that reflects Russian reality accurately. Cheers to whoever wrote it. As a child I loved descending into the metro. Meeting up with friends at Kropotkinskaya or Mayakovskaya, waiting for them to show up and just taking in the beauty. It was like an oasis. Then I went to study at the MSU, built in the same period and style, and loved it too.
- Dracophoenix 5y ago
  If you wouldn't mind my asking, what was Soviet life like for you?
  - cousin_it 5y ago
    I mostly grew up in post-Soviet times.
  - dominotw 5y ago
    I really like this youtube channel by the guy who lived in soviet union. Talks about different aspects of soviet life https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXTAMdHwvWdmFyOlQmEtpQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXTAMdHwvWdmFyOlQmEtpQ It is so good.
- toyg 5y ago
  This subthread is particularly nice as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/lz3rj1/why_did_the_ussr_build_such_grandiose_designs_and/gq199hc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/lz3rj1/why_d...
Akcium 5y ago
As a Russian I'm glad to hear this :) What's funny is that we usually do not notice its beauty because we got used to it. And I don't travel a lot so I cannot compare. BUT In the past years we indeed got wi-fi, air conditioning and stuff. Some of trains are colored in thematic things, like: https://www.google.com/search?q=%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5+%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B0+%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE&newwindow=1&sxsrf=ALeKk00cwe6Xv5_Xet0ADV2z5VCHMkn96g:1621864176015&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio5NbwuuLwAhX3CRAIHYwODKAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1440&bih=789 https://www.google.com/search?q=%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%... Check it out, they look really great!
- Akcium 5y ago
  But we also have problems, of course: big crowds, random rogues, some of trains are dirty and smelly etc
  - pavlov 5y ago
    [New Yorker here doing the “Homer recedes into bush” meme]
  - toyg 5y ago
    I can tell you by experience that those problems are exactly the same in London, Paris, and New York, at the very least. Even in Japan, that utopic land of heavenly rail deployment, you get squeezed to an inch of your life at peak times (but at least the guy shoving you in, will wear impeccably-clean white gloves...)
- xenocratus 5y ago
  That's really cool! Looking forward to seeing those stations and trains one day. Your link also prompted me to check the St. Petersburg metro stations: https://www.google.com/search?q=sankt+petersburg+metro&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiP35LsveLwAhUH-4UKHUFUAEkQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=sankt+petersburg+metro&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIECAAQHjIGCAAQCBAeOggIABCxAxCDAToFCAAQsQNQ3tcBWKfzAWCs9QFoAHAAeACAAUWIAbkKkgECMjKYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=C7KrYM-tMYf2lwTBqIHIBA&bih=789&biw=1440 https://www.google.com/search?q=sankt+petersburg+metro&tbm=i... Equally pleasing! :)
geokon 5y ago
It's a bit surprising that this omits the fact that the Moscow Metro is a nuclear bomb shelter. There are huge blast doors everywhere and at many stations it's significantly deeper than Paris of New York. It's also got some of the longest escalators I've ever used in my life. Naturally since you need several minute to descend into the depths you'd want wider spaces and plazas. I can't imagine the claustrophobia if they'd made it to a western scale.. I also imagine there are huge challenges with ventilation and whatnot... To the other points raise, I never quite understood the multi-decade Moscow housing shortages. The USSR (and now Russia) had internal travel passports, and at least back then you couldn't just pick up your bags and move to a different city. Why were more people than houses allowed to immigrate to Moscow? Maybe someone has some historical insight into this?
- orthoxerox 5y ago
  > Why were more people than houses allowed to immigrate to Moscow? Maybe someone has some historical insight into this? Labour demand. Moscow used to have lots and lots of factories and these factories needed workers. Increasing industrial capacity was seen as more important than providing every worker's family with their own flat right now, so stopgap measures like communal flats, dorm-style flats, hotel-style flats were used. Some are occupied to this day by people waiting for their proper flat since 1972.
  - geokon 5y ago
    I see, so it wasn't some unexpected influx. It was a deliberate decision on the part of the authorities. I guess it makes sense that industry is clustered and you often can't bring the factories to where the people live.
- Arech 5y ago
  > It's a bit surprising that this omits the fact that the Moscow Metro is a nuclear bomb shelter. That applies to the oldest stations in the city's center. Many stations build even in 1980s are not so deep & suitable for the task, though they may have some special means integrated too.
darksaints 5y ago
As a side note, the /r/AskHistorians subreddit is absolutely fascinating, both from a subject-matter perspective, but also from the perspective of an exploration of the extreme ends of moderation policy. Specifically, the moderators have a zero tolerance policy towards unresearched and uncited answers. If you give an answer that is poorly cited, your comment gets deleted. The practical result is mainly seen in two ways. The first is when extremely interesting questions end up with no answers (the running joke is entire comment chains of [deleted]s). But the second is that when a question does receive an answer, it is usually brilliantly and thoroughly answered, with assumed followup questions answered as well. And those posts end up getting linked to by other social media platforms, paraphrased and summarized on websites like Atlasobscura, and plagiarized by clickbaiters.
- refurb 5y ago
  Yup. If you want to see a great resource of interesting historical FAQs, look at the r/askhistorian archives. It’s a very impressive collection of answers that are remarkably well done.
- jvanvleet 5y ago
  Years ago I made a single reply to askhistorians that survived and got a handful of upvotes. Nothing special and yet the one reply I have any pride in.
  - mrec 5y ago
    Yes, I have a few of those too. I think of it as Extreme Redditing :)
- Mediterraneo10 5y ago
  r/AskHistorians is a magical exception where mods are allowed to be very heavy-handed. On other special-interest subreddits, discussion quality has become very low since 5 years ago or so. The redesign hid the sidebar from users, so people don’t see the FAQ there and just post the same questions over and over again. Knowledgeable regulars don’t want to keep answering the same questions, so they leave. So, it is more likely that unknowledgable people will post crap replies.* But mods are afraid to be strict and delete bad-quality posts and replies, because apparently there is a way for ordinary redditors to complain to Reddit, who can then assign the sub to other mods who promise to be tolerant. Corporate Reddit wants people asking the same things again and again, and posting replies regardless of quality, because that means engagement. * (A good example of this is any post on a mainstream travel reddit asking about travel to Iran. Many tourists go to Iran – nationalities other than the US and UK can get visas, and they overwhelmingly enjoy their time there. For 30 years it has been a common rite of passage for Eastern European backpackers, their first trip outside the Europe–Turkey–Caucasus region. On dedicated travel forum websites, people know this. But Reddit threads quickly amass replies from Americans like “Dude, you’re going to get beheaded.”)
dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago
The first thing that shocked me about it was how deep it is. You go down and down, on very steep stairs. Then you go even more down, it's very different from subways in most parts of Europe, I almost feel like descending to a coal mine, even the air seemed very different.
dekoruotas 5y ago
Some Soviet bus stops are also unusually grandiose: http://fuel-design.com/publishing/soviet-bus-stops/ http://fuel-design.com/publishing/soviet-bus-stops/
- sdwr 5y ago
  The one on the front cover is lovely.
- datameta 5y ago
  This book is quite the architectural and anthropological journey. The bus stops reflect local climate and culture.
incanus77 5y ago
Less about appearance and more about function, I went to Moscow as an American in 2013. The thing that really blew me away was the fact that trains came pretty much on the minute, so there was no schedule. You just wait a little bit and a train comes by. The other really cool thing was the Yandex app for routing on the system, which a) worked completely offline, and b) would show you which car of a train to get on and off (and at which doors) to make the most efficient transfer between trains at stations. Simply stunning.
kfprt 5y ago
(It was built by slave labor!)

163 points by xenocratus 5y ago

These talks about the beauty of brutalism are interesting stuff, but that's not how I remember it. I remember communism - it is notorious for it - to be incredibly poor at allocation of resources, unquestionable bureaucrats that didn't need to explain anything, and mind-numbingly total disrespect of individual people. It's the same in Prague - grandiose metro was built right under destroyed-by-neglect cultural heritage and starving people who were forced to steal bricks to build their houses.

vidarh 5y ago
I don't see where this talks about the "beauty of brutalism"? Brutalism was largely rejected in the Soviet Union (Stalin offended Le Corbusier massively by rejecting his brutalist plan for Moscow, for example) until Khrushchev saw cheap and crappy construction as a viable solution to the housing crisis that was intended to be temporary (e.g. most of the housing was planned for a 20 year lifetime - of course it didn't play out that way). There was no illusion at that point at least that it would be beautiful. Stalins focus on big ornate statement-buildings over solving housing was certainly an incredibly poor allocation of resources.
- emteycz 5y ago
  That was sarcasm. My bad, I know it doesn't go well over the internet. There actually was artistic brutalism though - some architects here in Czechia (mostly Prague) tried to do their best with what was avaiblable. Some of these buildings are (post-significant rework) even nice. Some. And these were built way past Stalin - 70's and 80'. My point was that the metro was the precious project of the bureaucrats.
halsom 5y ago
You remember communism directly? Or you remember communism’s propagandized reputation in the west?
- emteycz 5y ago
  I am not in the west. I visited the west only few times. I am on the westernmost border of the former Iron Curtain.
jtifbtosmrbd 5y ago
People had houses?! Where do I sign up?

aws10 5y ago

Stalinkas (apartment blocks built during Stalin's dictatorship) also look neo-classicist. Building grandiose government buildings also happens in the West. Right now in Germany government buildings are doing fine whereas private buildings crumble.

baybal2 5y ago

> Why is the Moscow Metro so grandiose compared to other Soviet architecture (reddit.com) Stalin's ego, turned into an architectural style. That's why. No need to spend 3 screens of writing on this.

pmoriarty 5y ago
"Stalin's ego, turned into an architectural style. That's why. No need to spend 3 screens of writing on this." Are you interested in getting a two-word answer or in learning about the history of the Soviet Union, the Metro, its view of socialism, ideals, etc? A brief dismissive answer like your teaches virtually nothing, and the reader does not come away from it any more informed than before. It also does a disservice to HN by discouraging intellectual curiosity. Not to mention that it's against HN guidelines[1], which say: "Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something." [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- baybal2 5y ago
  The "monumental" works of Stalin era are monuments of sheer cruelty. When you go to Moscow metro, think think how many people had to die building it, repressed while building it, robbed while building it, starved while building it for you to see that beauty. Had I had a way, I would've ordered all and every piece of Stalinist work to be scraped off, and buried. You don't see foreigners walking ogling at Svastikas in Berlin metro. It all was meticulously demolished, bulldozed, scrubbed, and buried.
  - Twixes 5y ago
    Well, Autobahnen weren't demolished after Hitler was gone, were they? It's absurd to destroy useful and valuable works just to spite a dead dictator. Swastikas obviously don't amount to that, but whole astounding subway stations definitely do.

mynegation 5y ago

Soviet architecture developed in periods, like in other countries, and there definitely was a return to simplicity in 60s-80s. It is strange that author cites main building of Moscow State University as an example of “brutalist” architecture. It may seem massive and intimidating but it is not what brutalist architecture means. I lived in that building for several years and it is ornate and intricate example of Stalinist architecture, very much in line with subway stations built in the same period. Subway stations built in different periods used the prevailing architectural style of the time. It is just that not too many tourist see them as they tend to be well outside Moscow centre.

vidarh 5y ago
> It is strange that author cites main building of Moscow State University as an example of “brutalist” architecture. It may seem massive and intimidating but it is not what brutalist architecture means. What do you mean? They don't. They cite it as an example of "Stalinist Classicism": > In fact, Stalin is most associated with "Stalinist Classicism", which is very ornate, so it wasn't just restricted to the Metro. Example: MGU, Moscow State University.
ch_sm 5y ago
Where does the author name Moscow State Uni as an example of brutalism? I can only find a paragraph where they associate it with Stalinist Classicism, which seems apt: > But the Metro is not the only piece of architecture that rejects simplicity or blandness in Moscow from Stalin's lifetime. In fact, Stalin is most associated with "Stalinist Classicism", which is very ornate, so it wasn't just restricted to the Metro. Example: MGU, Moscow State University..
KptMarchewa 5y ago
Agreed. It's socrealism, prevalent under Stalin. There are similar examples of socrealist, stalinist architecture from my city: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plac_Konstytucji https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plac_Konstytucji

HatchedLake721 5y ago

For pictures, see https://www.google.com/search?q=moscow+metro&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=moscow+metro&tbm=isch Anyone I spoke with who used Moscow metro, compared to New York and London, people say Moscow always wins hands down. Huge stations, wi-fi on trains and fresh breeze - not 30°C on central line in London during summer.

aasasd 5y ago
One downside of Moscow and SPb metro that perennially bothers me is how loud it is in the trains. In Helsinki or Stockholm metro (iirc) you can easily talk to someone at nearly normal indoor volume. Notably, the noise almost disappears if the track leaves the tunnels for open air—so I have to wonder what's special about tunnels in those foreign systems.

cousin_it 5y ago

This is a rare example of English-language text that reflects Russian reality accurately. Cheers to whoever wrote it. As a child I loved descending into the metro. Meeting up with friends at Kropotkinskaya or Mayakovskaya, waiting for them to show up and just taking in the beauty. It was like an oasis. Then I went to study at the MSU, built in the same period and style, and loved it too.

Dracophoenix 5y ago
If you wouldn't mind my asking, what was Soviet life like for you?
- cousin_it 5y ago
  I mostly grew up in post-Soviet times.
- dominotw 5y ago
  I really like this youtube channel by the guy who lived in soviet union. Talks about different aspects of soviet life https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXTAMdHwvWdmFyOlQmEtpQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXTAMdHwvWdmFyOlQmEtpQ It is so good.
toyg 5y ago
This subthread is particularly nice as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/lz3rj1/why_did_the_ussr_build_such_grandiose_designs_and/gq199hc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/lz3rj1/why_d...

Akcium 5y ago

As a Russian I'm glad to hear this :) What's funny is that we usually do not notice its beauty because we got used to it. And I don't travel a lot so I cannot compare. BUT In the past years we indeed got wi-fi, air conditioning and stuff. Some of trains are colored in thematic things, like: https://www.google.com/search?q=%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5+%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B0+%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE&newwindow=1&sxsrf=ALeKk00cwe6Xv5_Xet0ADV2z5VCHMkn96g:1621864176015&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio5NbwuuLwAhX3CRAIHYwODKAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1440&bih=789 https://www.google.com/search?q=%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%... Check it out, they look really great!

Akcium 5y ago
But we also have problems, of course: big crowds, random rogues, some of trains are dirty and smelly etc
- pavlov 5y ago
  [New Yorker here doing the “Homer recedes into bush” meme]
- toyg 5y ago
  I can tell you by experience that those problems are exactly the same in London, Paris, and New York, at the very least. Even in Japan, that utopic land of heavenly rail deployment, you get squeezed to an inch of your life at peak times (but at least the guy shoving you in, will wear impeccably-clean white gloves...)
xenocratus 5y ago
That's really cool! Looking forward to seeing those stations and trains one day. Your link also prompted me to check the St. Petersburg metro stations: https://www.google.com/search?q=sankt+petersburg+metro&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiP35LsveLwAhUH-4UKHUFUAEkQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=sankt+petersburg+metro&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIECAAQHjIGCAAQCBAeOggIABCxAxCDAToFCAAQsQNQ3tcBWKfzAWCs9QFoAHAAeACAAUWIAbkKkgECMjKYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=C7KrYM-tMYf2lwTBqIHIBA&bih=789&biw=1440 https://www.google.com/search?q=sankt+petersburg+metro&tbm=i... Equally pleasing! :)

geokon 5y ago

It's a bit surprising that this omits the fact that the Moscow Metro is a nuclear bomb shelter. There are huge blast doors everywhere and at many stations it's significantly deeper than Paris of New York. It's also got some of the longest escalators I've ever used in my life. Naturally since you need several minute to descend into the depths you'd want wider spaces and plazas. I can't imagine the claustrophobia if they'd made it to a western scale.. I also imagine there are huge challenges with ventilation and whatnot... To the other points raise, I never quite understood the multi-decade Moscow housing shortages. The USSR (and now Russia) had internal travel passports, and at least back then you couldn't just pick up your bags and move to a different city. Why were more people than houses allowed to immigrate to Moscow? Maybe someone has some historical insight into this?

orthoxerox 5y ago
> Why were more people than houses allowed to immigrate to Moscow? Maybe someone has some historical insight into this? Labour demand. Moscow used to have lots and lots of factories and these factories needed workers. Increasing industrial capacity was seen as more important than providing every worker's family with their own flat right now, so stopgap measures like communal flats, dorm-style flats, hotel-style flats were used. Some are occupied to this day by people waiting for their proper flat since 1972.
- geokon 5y ago
  I see, so it wasn't some unexpected influx. It was a deliberate decision on the part of the authorities. I guess it makes sense that industry is clustered and you often can't bring the factories to where the people live.
Arech 5y ago
> It's a bit surprising that this omits the fact that the Moscow Metro is a nuclear bomb shelter. That applies to the oldest stations in the city's center. Many stations build even in 1980s are not so deep & suitable for the task, though they may have some special means integrated too.

darksaints 5y ago

As a side note, the /r/AskHistorians subreddit is absolutely fascinating, both from a subject-matter perspective, but also from the perspective of an exploration of the extreme ends of moderation policy. Specifically, the moderators have a zero tolerance policy towards unresearched and uncited answers. If you give an answer that is poorly cited, your comment gets deleted. The practical result is mainly seen in two ways. The first is when extremely interesting questions end up with no answers (the running joke is entire comment chains of [deleted]s). But the second is that when a question does receive an answer, it is usually brilliantly and thoroughly answered, with assumed followup questions answered as well. And those posts end up getting linked to by other social media platforms, paraphrased and summarized on websites like Atlasobscura, and plagiarized by clickbaiters.

refurb 5y ago
Yup. If you want to see a great resource of interesting historical FAQs, look at the r/askhistorian archives. It’s a very impressive collection of answers that are remarkably well done.
jvanvleet 5y ago
Years ago I made a single reply to askhistorians that survived and got a handful of upvotes. Nothing special and yet the one reply I have any pride in.
- mrec 5y ago
  Yes, I have a few of those too. I think of it as Extreme Redditing :)
Mediterraneo10 5y ago
r/AskHistorians is a magical exception where mods are allowed to be very heavy-handed. On other special-interest subreddits, discussion quality has become very low since 5 years ago or so. The redesign hid the sidebar from users, so people don’t see the FAQ there and just post the same questions over and over again. Knowledgeable regulars don’t want to keep answering the same questions, so they leave. So, it is more likely that unknowledgable people will post crap replies.* But mods are afraid to be strict and delete bad-quality posts and replies, because apparently there is a way for ordinary redditors to complain to Reddit, who can then assign the sub to other mods who promise to be tolerant. Corporate Reddit wants people asking the same things again and again, and posting replies regardless of quality, because that means engagement. * (A good example of this is any post on a mainstream travel reddit asking about travel to Iran. Many tourists go to Iran – nationalities other than the US and UK can get visas, and they overwhelmingly enjoy their time there. For 30 years it has been a common rite of passage for Eastern European backpackers, their first trip outside the Europe–Turkey–Caucasus region. On dedicated travel forum websites, people know this. But Reddit threads quickly amass replies from Americans like “Dude, you’re going to get beheaded.”)

dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago

The first thing that shocked me about it was how deep it is. You go down and down, on very steep stairs. Then you go even more down, it's very different from subways in most parts of Europe, I almost feel like descending to a coal mine, even the air seemed very different.

dekoruotas 5y ago

Some Soviet bus stops are also unusually grandiose: http://fuel-design.com/publishing/soviet-bus-stops/ http://fuel-design.com/publishing/soviet-bus-stops/

sdwr 5y ago
The one on the front cover is lovely.
datameta 5y ago
This book is quite the architectural and anthropological journey. The bus stops reflect local climate and culture.

incanus77 5y ago

Less about appearance and more about function, I went to Moscow as an American in 2013. The thing that really blew me away was the fact that trains came pretty much on the minute, so there was no schedule. You just wait a little bit and a train comes by. The other really cool thing was the Yandex app for routing on the system, which a) worked completely offline, and b) would show you which car of a train to get on and off (and at which doors) to make the most efficient transfer between trains at stations. Simply stunning.

kfprt 5y ago

(It was built by slave labor!)