London might have the most expansive overall rail transit system in Europe, and Paris the best network; New York might have the best and most expansive rail transit system in the Americas; but nobody--and I mean nobody--builds a more beautiful subway system than does Moscow.
Those last few stations seem far more Modernist than the other ones, especially that first one. Glad to see that Russian subway design has moved from the 1930s into the 1960s!
Of course, they're all beautiful... but the nature of Russian society can clearly be determined by comparing the inexpensive construction of the housing units to the lavish design of the subway stations. Clearly, Russians take more pride in their shared, communal spaces than in their personal residences. There's nothing wrong with that, but it would never, ever work in the United States... our culture does not allow it.
__________________ la forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel...
When I visited family friends in Kiev last summer, they asked me for my impressions of the city and whether it felt like a more backward place. I told them that I was insanely jealous of their subway systems and compared to the grimy subways of Philly and New York, it sometimes felt like I was the one who was living in a backward place. It's hard not to get blown away by these marble palaces, and I haven't even had a chance to see the Moscow stations which no doubt take it to the next level.
Ofcourse I'm fully aware that our standard of living is something that our family friends would love to have, so perhaps my response was somewhat tone deaf, but sometimes it feels like the American society has lost its balance between the public and the private realms. It's as if we all live in these wonderful, huge houses, as the country's infrastructure crumbles around us.
I think it's awesome that Moscow invests so much money into and has so much pride in its transportation system. I think a lot of cities and systems could learn a few from Moscow.
hey, I am in Moscow now and would like to check out some stations. My internet at the hotel is just AWFUL, so I can't really look at this whole thread (It took 3 minutes just to load this section).
Does anyone have a list of the top stations? The metro is great here, by the way. 1 minute headways at rush hour!! But I would love to check out some stations, please, NO PHOTOS, just a list, the load times just suck here.
Thanks!
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"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away"
For beauty and fancy:
Nearly all stations on Brown line (aka Koltsevaya)
On Dark-Green line - Aeroport, Dynamo, Mayakovskaya, Novokuznetskaya.
Dark-Blue line stations from Kievskaya to Kurskaya
For history: Red line from Park Kultury to Sokolniki and Light-Blue line from Kievskaya to Aleksandrovsky Sad (first line built, completed on 1935)
For modern things: Lihgt-Green line from Chkalovskaya to Trubnaya and Dark-Blue line from Park Pobedy to Mitino.
Thanks for the list. I didn't have time to check them all out, so little time. I got to see at least 2 dozen, simply amazing stations. Wish America could take pride in transit like Moscow. Off to St Petersburg in the morning, hopefully my internet is better there.
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"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away"
Yes! I can finally get from Pechatniki to Marina Roshina on the Metro!!! I remember when the scene from Crime and Punishment with the axe was causing controversy last year. It is kind of creepy, but I like it.
Wow... Just wow. Moscow has the most beautiful subway stations in the world hands down. Nothing in the United States comes within 10 light years of that. And I'm not even just talking about subway stations haha That first picture on this page probably rivals some rooms of the White House. Just amazing, I don't think any other subway system in the world comes close.
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Before one surrenders to the hands of destiny one might consider the power of the human spirit and the force that lies in one's own free will.
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