Caroline Hurry
Caroline Hurry

First opened in November 1955 as a subterranean Communist paradise, Saint Petersburg’s metro is not just the deepest in the world – but also one of the busiest with five subway lines, 67 stations, more than 3 000 trains and 2.5 million passengers a day.

 

Undergound mural
Undergound mural

Buy your coin ticket then take the stairs or escalators down to a veritable art gallery, filled with opulent chandeliers, marble, intricate mosaics, and heroic statues depicting smiling, muscular workers from collective farms in Kiev, Minsk and Siberia in the old Soviet Union. Each meticulously clean and graffiti-free station spins a story about Russia’s past.

At the end of the platform in The Avtovo (А́втово ) station part of the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line is a magnificent mosaic representing the Leningrad Blockade during World War 2
At the end of the platform in The Avtovo station is a magnificent mosaic representing the Leningrad Blockade during World War 2

Many of the Metro stations, such as the 85 meter deep Admiralteyskaya doubled as bomb shelters during the Cold War. Big blast doors and air filters would’ve protected the people from an upcoming attack.

At the end of the platform in The Avtovo (А́втово ) station part of the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line is a magnificent mosaic representing the Leningrad Blockade during World War 2