Underground palaces. What is unique about Circle Line stations

The impressive and majestic Circle Line connects most of the capital’s metro branches plus seven railway stations. March 14 marks the 70 th anniversary of its full opening as on this day, back in 1954, the city launched the third, final, section from Belorusskaya to Park Kultury.

Irina Chizhevskaya, a tour guide from the Moscow Transport Museum, has explained mos.ru why the Circle Line is so unique. Read on to learn what is symbolic of each of its stations, why it was so richly decorated and what masterpieces often go unnoticed by metro passengers.

How the Circle Line was changing and why it is colored brown on the map

The idea to create the Circle Line appeared back in the 1920 s, but it was not included in the original metro construction plans. In the 1930 s, the lines were designed to run along the busy tram routes; besides, in those years, trolleybus B used to cope well with passenger flows along the Garden Ring. And yet, metro builders continued to make sketches of a circular line, either following the Garden Ring or curving it southeast to cover the city’s industrial areas.

“The Circle Line was always present in prospective metro projects because for a long time there had been only one interchange hub — connecting the Ploshchad Revolutsiyi, Okhotny Ryad and Ploshchad Sverdlova (now Teatralnaya) stations. The final project included the then existing and future metro sections plus seven of the city’s nine railway stations. The work began towards the end of the Great Patriotic War. As the city’s population was gradually increasing, the metro required new interchange hubs to connect railway stations and residential and industrial areas,” Irina Chizhevskaya explains.

There is a widely known story saying that the Circle Line made its way into the construction plan after Joseph Stalin put a coffee mug on the drawings and it left a round brown mark on the paper. But this is only a legend, which was born when the lines on the map were colored.

“Initially, they had no fixed color; for example, Sokolnicheskaya was either red or black. But in 1957, Moscow hosted the 6 th World Festival of Youth and Students, a grandiose event that brought together people from different countries. To make it easy for foreigners to navigate in the metro, the lines were marked with colors. They chose the three easiest to print: red, green, and blue. And if mixed, they make brown. Hence the color of the Circle Line,” says Irina Chizhevskaya.

Building the Moscow Metro, or the brief history of the underground cityHistory on wheels. Mos.ru reports from the Moscow Transport Museum reserves

Temple of the triumph of the Soviet people

In fact, it took 10 years to build the Circle Line — a record time by the standards of that era. Its first section between Park Kultury and Kurskaya, running under the Garden Ring, was launched on January 1, 1950; the second one from Kurskaya to Belorusskaya followed on January 30, 1952. The line ends linked up on March 14, 1954, with trains starting to run from Belorusskaya to Park Kultury. The Circle Line is said to be the apotheosis of the Stalinist Empire. Irina Chizhevskaya explains why it has such rich decorations:

“The Moscow Metro was originally designed like underground palaces for the people. The young Soviet country wanted to prove that despite all the difficulties it lived and developed. But whereas the design of the stations built at the first stages was still influenced by constructivism, the Circle Line was built on a grand scale to be majestic and impressive. After all, it was in the post-war period. And what is the post-war period? It is the triumph of the Soviet people. The Circle Line became a reflection of the Great Victory — its temple,” Irina Chizhevskaya says.

The stations’ design resembles that of a temple, with “naves” (elongated rooms limited on one or two sides by columns) leading to sculptures and monumental paintings that play the role of “altars”, while the interior decor is dedicated to the triumph of the Victory and the joys of peaceful life in the Soviet Union. Park Kultury represents recreation, sports and art in the Soviet Union, Paveletskaya stands for the Volga Region — Russia’s breadbasket, Kurskaya signifies the Chernozemye (Central Black Earth Region), Komsomolskaya is a triumph of the Victory, Prospekt Mira symbolizes a boost in agriculture, and Krasnopresnenskaya commemorates the victory of the 1905 and 1917 revolutions.

Stained multi-colored glass windows and gemstone mosaics

Vibrant, light, and impressive — all this is about Novoslobodskaya, which is thought to be one of the most beautiful Circle Line stations, as it is decorated with dozens of stained multi-colored glass windows framed in steel and gilded brass. Placed inside the pylons and lit from the inside, the pieces of glass produce fantastic floral and astral patterns inspired by embroidery on Russian royal clothing. In the upper part of the stained glass windows there are medallions depicting scenes from peaceful life: a musician at the piano, an artist in front of an easel, or an agronomist in the field.

“Novoslobodskaya recreates a temple with arches, gilding and a long hall leading to the ‘altar’ — a cobalt glass panel covering the entire wall with the inscription ‘World Peace. ’ It shows a mother holding a child in her arms. This is a symbol of the Motherland,” added Irina Chizhevskaya.

The most grandiose station is Komsomolskaya. Its spacious hall, with tall marble columns topped by carved capitals, big chandeliers and a stucco ceiling, is set to impress the passengers. Komsomolskaya was supposed to reflect the splendor of Moscow and act as a kind of gateway to the city.

“It was this station that was first seen by guests of the capital who arrived at the three railway stations. Its radial sister, by the way, is also the largest and brightest station on its line. The mosaics at Komsomolskaya are made of cobalt glass and semi-precious stones. They glorify military commanders and warriors: Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov, and soldiers of the Red Army,” said Irina Chizhevskaya.

The underground hall at the Kurskaya station has restrained decoration in contrast to its above-ground lobby: resembling an ancient temple of military glory, it has a sonorous round hall adorned with sculptures wearing laurel wreaths, a grand dome at the end and decorative stars and victory swords on the walls.

Reminiscences of old Russian architecture and 300 million year-old marble

Many find Dobryninskaya too inexpressive compared to the spectacular neighboring stations; however, Irina Chizhevskaya is sure that, having taken a closer look, one can see how beautiful it is.

“It refers us to old Russian architecture as its designs and color schemes are inspired by medieval temples. The station is dedicated to the labor of the Soviet people. Its pylon niches hide marble bas-reliefs depicting men and women in national costumes. They are harvesting crops, feeding domestic animals and fishing. We actually do not notice many details in the interiors while we are walking quickly from one station to another,” she emphasized.

Some details were discovered only recently, for example, fossils of primordial marine inhabitants were found in marble facings at the Circle Line stations: cephalopod shells at Prospekt Mira, crinoids, nautiluses and sponges in the walkway between Paveletskaya on the Circle Line and the same-name radial station, and gastropods and ammonites on the pylons at Krasnopresnenskaya.

“The marble that was used to decorate Krasnopresnenskaya’s pylons is about 300 million years old. The Circle Line can tell paleontologists and simply lovers of antiquities quite a lot, indeed. Yet, the fossils were not part of the design. The construction materials were brought from all over the Soviet Union, and the stone was just stone,” noted Irina Chizhevskaya.

Metro as a national history museum

Moscow’s metro stations are a good place to study the national history. The Circle Line rethinks the country’s past, adapting it to the then new socialism realities. Komsomolskaya, with its images of Russian commanders and Red Army soldiers, serves as a prime example of it. Later stations differ from the Circle Line, since the second half of the century was marked by the fight against architectural exuberance.

“At that time there was a pressing issue of building more dwelling; it was necessary to spend money rationally. As a result, the architects and decorators had their hands tied. So, opened in the late 1950 s, the Filyovskaya line stations look very ascetic. Therefore, against the background of other historical lines, the Circle Line stands out,” concluded Irina Chizhevskaya.