|
Story and photos
by Tomas van Houtryve
In a country struggling with a crashed economy, food shortages
and power outages, there is still one thing Russians can depend
on -- the Moscow Metro system. The 64-year-old subway network
hauls 9 million to 10 million people every day. Trains faithfully
arrive every 50 seconds at more than 150 stations under the city.
Rush-hour crowds fill the platform at the Lenin
Library metro station. Nine million to 10 million people ride
the subway daily.
Stalin initiated construction of the Metro in the early 1930s.
The colossal project aimed at more than just transporting people.
Stalin wanted an awe inspiring monument to the power of socialism.
Many stations are built with huge amounts of solid marble. Communist
statues and mosaics line the walls. Each station is architecturally
unique, but the system of gates, transfers and exits is universal.
Stations built during WWII were meant to double as bomb shelters.
They are far underground, with long, steep escalators to the surface.
A Moscow police office naps on the train.
Today the Metro continues to reflect the cultural and economic
changes on the surface. Fledgling entrepreneurs hawk goods from
kiosks along station passageways. Tiny stands selling CDs pump
flamenco guitar music through the tunnels. The heated underground
channels offer reprieve from Moscow's bitter cold. Musicians,
street artists and prostitutes all hustle for currency on underground
street corners.
 |
Even mafia
operations seek shelter from the cold. These prostitues await
customers in the station tunnels. |
Despite the current economic woes, trains continue
to overflow at rush hour. Crammed cars sometimes erupt in song.
Whole trains will harmonize to the tune of one vodka-soaked vocalist,
proof that nothing can stop the Russian spirit or the Moscow Metro.
Street musicians take advantage of the warmth
aned acoustics in the underground tunnels.
 |
Steep escalators lead
to the deepest stations, designed in WWII as bomb shelters. |
| The "M"
sign markes every Metro station entrance. There are more than
150 under Moscow. This is the Red Square Station. |
 |
|
