But beneath its beauty, Moscow's metro hides other marvels: buried deep underground are many secret stories and concealed facts. One of the most famous rumors concerns the so-called ‘Metro-2'. Years after the story of this top-secret, politburo metro line first emerged it remains neither confirmed nor denied.
The first line of the secret metro was reputedly built in Stalin's time, by order of the Kremlin, to enable the authorities to flee the city in case of emergency. The line supposedly ran directly to ‘Uncle Joe's' dacha. Later, two more lines were built, making the total length of the Metro-2 lines, which criss-cross the city center, about 150 km criss-crossing the city centre, linking the airport with several destinations inside the Garden Ring. The secret metro lines are deeper than the public ones, and are said to be in deplorable condition. It is said, somewhat jokingly, that their only function is to allow the President to avoid Moscow's choking rush hour traffic.
Another popular legend tells of a huge underground town at Ramenki, also served by the mysterious Metro-2. This was apparently built as a bomb shelter, and was designed to house 12,000-15,000 people for up to 25 years.
There is nothing new about these stories - Moscow's underground constructions have a long history. In pre-revolutionary times, entrepreneurs, merchants and monks were alleged to have built their own tunnels and passages, for different, often dubious reasons. In Soviet times, information concerning the cavernous world beneath our feet was covered up by the government; the structures were put to state use. Communist party members were each said to have had their own private apartment down under - a 180 sq.m. flat with every detail matching their own aboveground. Although those shelters were never needed, there is evidence that Metro-2 did serve its purpose, at least to some extent. The November celebrations in 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, were held at the Mayakovskaya station. On that occasion, Stalin and his bodyguards arrived by train through the secret tunnels, rather than risk a procession through the clogged streets.
The underground part of the light blue Filevskaya Line, running from Alexandrovsky Sad, is believed to have begun as Stalin's dacha express before work was suspended. But with the capital's transportation network stretched to breaking point, this is still perhaps the only example of this secret infrastructure being used by the public.
Yet again, it seems our Soviet heritage was inadvertently designed for future generations. There is still no clear evidence to prove or disprove the existence of this mystery metro, but if it is there and not being used, maybe the authorities should consider opening it up for public use. I think many of Moscow's motorists would share my enthusiasm. ■
By Daria Chernyshova
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