When was the metro first opened in the USSR? History of Metro

Metro is traditionally considered the most reliable type of public transport. Trains "subway" are not in traffic jams, move fast, are able to transport a huge number of passengers. Due to the speed and predictability of the subway enjoys well-deserved popularity among residents of large cities.

Background

Every metropolis, starting from the middle of the XIX century, considered it a matter of honor to acquire a ramified network of underground tunnels that would reduce the surface traffic. Pioneers in this difficult business were Londoners: the first metro in the world appeared in the English capital, and it happened back in 1862.

The novelty could not boast of any special comfort: the open wagons moved in smoke-covered and smoky tunnels (the English used locomotives), making a ridiculous route of 3.6 kilometers at the present time-but still it was a big breakthrough.

Traffic jams are not a new problem

Moscow at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries may not have looked like the current one, but the traffic jams were also notable. Of course, then they involved not iron, but the most common horses, but the accumulation of cargo and passenger crews sometimes stopped traffic on the streets completely.

The problem has matured with all the obviousness and, inspired by the example of the British, the authorities of tsarist Russia have become preoccupied with the construction of the underground in the 1890s - long before the time when the metro was first opened in the USSR. In what year would this event take place, if the draft of 1901 were adopted (and what kind of appearance the stations would have acquired), we will never know. However, history does not tolerate a subjunctive mood.

The first project of the Moscow Metro

At the beginning of the twentieth century, three enthusiasts: P. Balinsky, E. Knorre and N. Karazin invested in the draft decision of the Moscow transport problem the abyss of their time, talent and nerves. In the struggle it was necessary to enter literally at every step. Owners of the "horse" were afraid of competitors. The city government remained dissatisfied with its financial benefits. Even the clergy got involved, without which it will not be sanctified anywhere: say, the flyover will damage the splendor of some Moscow churches. Even the thought was expressed that the subway is harmful (!) For the village.

If it were not for the stagnancy and greed of officials, the question of when the metro was first opened in the USSR, in which city and year, would not make sense, since the merit of construction would belong to a completely different country. But it happened differently. A brilliant project Balinsky was rejected, and the implementation of the new, developed by Knorre in 1912, prevented the outbreak of the First World War and all known revolutionary events. The construction of the underground was postponed for an indefinite period: in times of great upheaval, not up to town-building feats.

The task of the new government

The new authorities had to solve the transportation problem in the capital of the young Soviet Union. Initially, the leadership, apparently, still harbored some illusions that without a subway can be dispensed with: the number of trams, buses and trolleybuses was actively increasing. But by the beginning of the 1930s it became clear that land transport could not solve the problem completely.

As in many other undertakings, the political will was the fundamental factor: the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee in July 1931 ordered the immediate start of the construction of the metro - and from this fateful decision until the time when the metro was first opened in the USSR, only four years passed.

Shock construction

In September 31st, Metrostroy was organized, a scheme of 10 lines (80 km in total) was approved in March 33rd, and in mid-autumn 1934 from Komsomolskaya to Sokolnikov, a trial, "run-in" train, consisting of two wagons .

If to implement the idea as a whole it took nearly five years, then for the construction, from the moment of approval of the project and until the day when the metro was first opened in the USSR - a year and a half. It is clear that the work was moving at a shock pace: in the Soviet Union, almost everything had to have a tinge of unheard-of feats. But the merit of the builders is undoubted, and Muscovites should be eternally grateful for this accomplishment.

The first metro stations favorably differ from the newest in beauty and sophistication, which modern architects consider superfluous. Our pragmatic age places emphasis on functionality and economy. And then say: when the number of stations exceeds a hundred, they are no longer such an object of aesthetic interest, as if there are only twenty. In the 30s, everything was again, and the attitude toward what was going on was different.

Beauty and functionality

The architects of Metrostroi recalled that just one year before the time when the metro was first opened in the USSR, they were called up and told that the projects of the stations needed to be done in 25 days. And the only requirement, which was presented to the result - they should be "beautiful".

To the credit of the architects, one must say that they coped with work on time and on "excellent", approaching each decision individually, with fiction and love. By the time the metro was first opened in the USSR, 13 stations were ready in the capital. It's funny that Kaganovich demanded to replace the dermatine on the seats with natural leather, advocating for its durability. Modern economists would simply shudder at this decision.

The best gift for Muscovites

On February 4, 1934, the metro train drove all the way from the beginning to the end, and the 6th eight trains of the Moscow metro received the first passengers - the delegates of the 7th Congress.

Initially, the subway could only travel 11.5 km - from Sokolniki to the Park of Culture, with a branch to Smolensk (later - the Arbat line). To the services of passengers there were 13 stations and 14 trains. Of course, today's metropolitan residents such a "subway" would not be at all impressed, but at the time when the metro was first opened in the USSR, in Moscow it was perceived as a real miracle. On the opening day, May 15, 1935, 370 thousand people wished to experience the hitherto unknown mode of transport.

Of course, it was not without the expensive comrade Stalin. In those days, without him anywhere did not do - was not an exception and the day when the USSR was first opened the subway. The train was decorated with a portrait of the leader and a banner with the appropriate content: "Thanks to the great Stalin for paternal concern for the working people of Moscow."

Yesterday and today

It must be said that in a sense, "the father of all peoples" really saved this remarkable structure, having made a decision not to leave Moscow in 1941, when the Germans approached the city for a critical distance. October 15 this year - the only day in history, when the subway doors were not opened for their passengers. All strategic facilities (including the subway including) were mined and prepared for destruction. Fortunately, this did not happen: the order was canceled. During the war, the subway served as a bomb shelter, saving and even giving life: in 1941, there were born 217 babies.

The owner of the first ticket was an ordinary worker, the master of the factory "Red Proletarian" P. Latyshev. It is unlikely that on that May day, when the metro was first opened in the USSR, anyone could imagine what a grandiose project this venture would lead to. Today lines of 327.5 km length are connected by 196 stations, and on a daily passenger traffic Moscow metro is a world record holder.