Underground Cathedrals: Moscow's Struggle for a Subterranean Masterpiece

Abstract

The Moscow Metrostroi Project began as a much-hated proposal by Soviet government officials to alleviate congestion in the 1920s. But in a fascinating process described by Hill, this proposal evolved into the construction of a metro line that symbolized the possibility of a socialist utopia for Muscovites. She argues that the USSR’s first metro line was significant as a state-initiated project in which workers collectively overcame the obstacles of creating a socialist society. Workers equated building the metro with building socialism, and the metro’s 1935 completion seemed to herald the beginning of a decidedly urban socialist society. –Monique Rodríguez.