May 15 — Moscow Metro Day: 90 years of the Moscow Metro

A significant event is being celebrated in the Russian capital in 2025.: The Moscow Metro turns 90 years old. On May 15, 1935, underground trains passed through the Sokolnicheskaya Line for the first time. Today, the Moscow metro boasts the largest passenger traffic in Europe, as well as a place among the ten longest in the world. Izvestia tells us how the anniversary celebration will take place and what secrets the subway stations are hiding.

Moscow Metro Day in 2025: a history

The idea of creating an underground railway transport network in Moscow originated back in 1875, five decades before the opening of the first metro stations. Until the early 1930s, at least five projects were developed, but their implementation was postponed.

The case changed everything. On January 6, 1931, a heavy snowfall covered the capital, completely paralyzing traffic: neither trams, cars, nor cabs could move. After that, it was decided to immediately begin construction of the subway.

Already in December 1931, a trench for trains began to be dug on Rusakovskaya Street. The first metro builders had neither special equipment nor relevant experience — only picks and shovels. In parallel, the discussion of the metro project continued. Initially, the stations were not going to be built deep underground, but in this case the entire city would have to be dug up. Therefore, in 1932, engineer Veniamin Makovsky proposed a deep-laying metro project that would allow work to be carried out without opening the ground. The idea of the young specialist caused a flurry of criticism from colleagues, but was approved by the head of state, Joseph Stalin.

On May 15, 1935, the first launch of an underground train with passengers took place at Sokolniki station, marking the beginning of the era of the Moscow Metro. On that day, 13 stations were opened — the section from Sokolniki to Park Kultury on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, as well as Alexandrovsky Sad, Arbatskaya and Smolenskaya on the Filevskaya Line.

After the official launch, the Moscow Metro was constantly expanding. In the 1930s, the stations "Kievskaya", "Revolution Square", "Kurskaya", "Sokol", "Airport", "Dynamo", "Belorusskaya" and others were opened. At that time, the construction took place under the motto "Let's create a palace for the people!", therefore, much attention was paid to the architecture of the stations of the first and second stages. The beauty of the capital's metro was also celebrated abroad. Thus, the Mayakovskaya station project won a prize at the New York World's Fair.

During the Great Patriotic War, the subway operated not only as a transport network, but also as an air raid shelter. During the air alerts, up to 500,000 people gathered at stations and in tunnels. Over time, the metro has developed its own infrastructure with shops, libraries, and even hairdressers. During the anxious hours of the air raids, joyful events also happened: during the war, 217 children were born at Moscow subway stations. Construction also continued — from 1941 to 1945, more than 13 km of lines were laid and seven stations were opened.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the first day in the history of the Moscow Metro occurred when it was closed. In October 1941, German troops came close to the capital, and the Soviet leadership intended to blow up the underground railway so that it would not fall to the enemy. On October 16, the subway was closed, but the destruction order was never executed.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the first Ring Metro line was built, combining all existing lines and connecting major metropolitan railway stations, and the construction of the Arbat Line was actively underway. During this period, the metro began to expand towards the suburbs. New lines have been added — Kaluzhskaya and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, new stations have been opened in Cheryomushki, Kuntsevo, Nagatino, Kuzminki. And in the 1970s, the inner space of the ring began to fill up - now the marginal radii were connected not only through the brown branch, but also in the center.

The turn of the 1970s and 1980s was the most fruitful in the history of the Moscow Metro. At that time, the Serpukhovskaya line was built from scratch, including eight stations from Serpukhovskaya to Yuzhnaya. And in 1985, as part of the "metro-building exchange", Czechoslovak specialists joined the Pragskaya station to the gray line. In turn, Soviet engineers and workers built the Moskovskaya station in Prague.

In the 1990s, the upheavals of perestroika and the subsequent collapse of the USSR seriously slowed down the pace of development of the Moscow metro. Nevertheless, during this period, many projects that began in the Soviet era were completed: the northern section of the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line was completed, and the Lyublinskaya line from Chkalovskaya to Maryino was launched.

In the 2000s, the metro went beyond the MKAD and further into the region. Myakinino became the first station in the Moscow region. Already in the 2010s, trains began running in such areas as Brateevo, Orekhovo-Borisovo, Troparevo, Novokosino, Vykhino-Zhulebino.

In 2016, the launch of the Moscow Central Ring (MCC), a surface railway line that is part of the metro, took place. And in March 2023, the Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line (BKL), the longest metro ring in the world, was fully launched. Its length, along with all stations and electric depots, is 70 km, which is 13 km longer than the previous champion— the second ring line of the Beijing Subway.

To date, the Moscow Metro includes 294 stations, including the MCC. This is the most sought-after mode of transport in the capital, accounting for almost half of the total passenger traffic. Up to 9 million people go down to the subway every day. During the busiest hours, the minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds, the shortest in the world among non—automated subways.

Moscow Metro Day in 2025 — events

In honor of the anniversary of the Moscow Metro, several thematic events will be held in the capital. So, on May 15, the historical reconstruction of the metro launch in 1935 will take place at Sokolniki station. Immersive performances, a concert and the Time Tunnel exhibition are also waiting for guests. And near the entrance to the station, Muscovites will be able to see a 1950s G-type carriage.

An exhibition of retro wagons will be held at Partizanskaya station from May 15 to 18. It will feature a D-type wagon from the 1950s, a VEKA service electric locomotive, a UM5 wagon from the 1940s that served as a track meter, and an E wagon from 1968. All exhibits will be available to the public on the weekend.

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Another unusual exhibition will be held at the Polezhaevskaya station — visitors will be able to see special equipment of the Moscow Metro. Among the exhibits there will be a diagnostic train "Synergy-2", a motorcycle laboratory "SMDK-Mtr" and others.

In addition, a train parade will take place on the Ring Line, in which eight trains of different generations will take part. They will run at 30-minute intervals, and in each one you can make an exciting trip.

Interesting facts about the Moscow Metro

The stations of the Moscow metro keep many amazing secrets. In honor of the holiday, Izvestia collected some unusual facts about the subway.

The columns with arches at the Mayakovskaya station have an interesting property: if you come close to the column and say something, the person standing on the opposite side will clearly hear every word, even if it is very noisy in the lobby. The "phone effect" arises due to the peculiarities of the metal construction of the arches.

In the 1930s, there were tubs of live palm trees at the Kropotkinskaya station. At that time, the station was called the Palace of Soviets, and according to architect Alexei Dushkin, its interior was supposed to resemble an ancient Egyptian temple. Now live plants can be found at another station, Filatov Meadow. Wildflowers and herbs grow there under glass hoods.

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From Kotelniki station, you can get to three settlements at once: exit No. 2 leads to Kotelniki, exit No. 6 leads to Lyubertsy, and exit No. 7 leads to the Moscow Vykhino-Zhulebino district.

There are traces of ancient mollusks at several stations of the Moscow metro. The fossils were preserved in marbled limestone, which was used to line the stations. The largest ammonite with a diameter of 60 cm is located at the Victory Park station. Passengers at the Elektrozavodskaya station can see sea urchin needles and brachiopod shells (marine invertebrates that lived in bivalve shells) on the walls. And at the Ilyich Square station, a whole sea has been preserved — fossils of corals, sponges and sea lilies.

The metro scheme became colored only in 1957. At that time, Moscow was preparing to host the World Youth Festival. Foreign guests enjoyed using the subway, but not everyone spoke Russian. To reduce confusion, the lines on the diagram were painted in bright colors.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the history and traditions of Moscow Sky Defenders Day.