Known as one of the world’s grandest subway systems, the Moscow Metro is filled with materials more commonly associated with palaces or museums – marble and granite walls, bronze columns, and lavish chandeliers are just a few of the opulent textures you’ll find beneath the streets of Russia’s largest city.
Despite their renown, the Moscow government almost never allows professional photographers to capture the beauty of the stations. But in 2014, photographer David Burdney was finally given that opportunity. Visiting the system late at night after the metro had closed, Burdney was able to capture each station in its best light, and completely devoid of people.
Burdney’s original interest in the metro came from their unique role in Russian history. Know as “Palaces for the People,” the original metro stations opened in 1935 as an element of Communist propaganda. Employing the slogan “The whole country is building Metro,” leader Joseph Stalin enlisted nearly 75,000 workers to complete the system as a symbol of the government’s supposed care for its people.
“Crystal chandeliers and cobalt blue glass, exquisite red marble quarried in Russia, magnificent bronze columns and intricate ceiling plaster reliefs, forced people to physically ‘look up’ to the light, giving thanks to Stalin,” explained Burdney to MashuMashu.
Today, the Moscow Metro transports up to 9 million people daily through 200 stations. With several additional expansions in the works, the system is expected to become the world’s largest by 2020.
See more of Burdney’s work on his website, here.
AD Classics: Moscow Metro / Robert Pogrebnoi and Yuriy Zenkivich
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