Collection on the Construction and History of the Moscow Metro Rapid Transit System
SPEC.RARE.0349
Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1.89 Cubic feet
1930s-1983
As of 2025, the Moscow Metro is a mass rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast (or region) of Russia, consisting of mostly underground railways. Planning and construction of the first five stages of the metro started in the early 1930s and continued into the 1950s. The Collection on the Construction and History of the Moscow Metro Rapid Transit System consists primarily of photographs, newspapers, books, maps, pamphlets, and advertising materials related to the architectural planning, construction, and public use of the Moscow Metro in Russia. This collection is dated 1930s-1983 and the contents are written in Russian.
(4) oversize folders; (2) oversize flat boxes; (1) 5" letter document box; (1) 2.5" legal document box
Russian
Arrangement of Materials
The Collection on the Construction and History of the Moscow Metro Rapid Transit System is arranged chronologically with an undated item at the end. Materials from the same date are further arranged alphabetically by last name of the author or by title found on the item.
Acquisitions Information
Accession No. RARE.2025.0042: Purchased, 2024 July
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Collection on the Construction and History of the Moscow Metro Rapid Transit System, SPEC.RARE.0349, Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Use of Materials
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processing Information
Processed by: Allison McPherson and David Mezick, 2025 June; Finding aid written by: Allison McPherson and David Mezick, 2025 June
Historical Note
As of 2025, the Moscow Metro is a mass rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast (or region) of Russia, consisting of mostly underground railways. It is one of the busiest metro systems in the world, and is known for the ornate architecture of some of its stations.
The building of a metro system was discussed in Moscow starting before World War I. In 1931, the Soviet Union officially decided to begin planning and construction of the Moscow Metro. The general plan for the metro was created by Lazar Kaganovich (1893-1991), after whom the metro was initially named. Kaganovich was a supporter of Joseph Stalin and a member of the Politburo, the top policy-making body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The first line of the Moscow Metro opened in 1935, and remainder of the first stage of the project was completed by 1937. The early stations were designed to be grand and ornate in order to celebrate and demonstrate the ideals of the Soviet Union and its Communist Party. Construction of the following four stages of the project continued through the Second World War and into the 1950s. In 1955, the metro was renamed Moscow Order of Lenin L. M. Kaganovich Metro after Vladimir Lenin. Additional stations and upgrades continued to be added into the early 21st century. The style of later stations varied from the early more elaborate architecture of the first stages.
Scope and Contents
The Collection on the Construction and History of the Moscow Metro Rapid Transit System consists primarily of photographs, newspapers, booklets, maps, pamphlets, and advertising materials related to the planning, construction, and public use of the Moscow Metro in Russia. Also included in this collection are two photograph albums from the construction of the Moscow Metro and a portfolio that contains the Moscow Metro plans, photographs, and other records. This collection is dated 1930s-1983 and the contents are written in Russian. Titles have been transliterated into Latin script and also include English translations in parenthesis.
General Note
Forms part of the Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture.
Moskovskiĭ metropoliten
Advertising--Transportation--Russia (Federation)--History--20th century
Architecture--Russia (Federation)--History--20th century
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Pamphlets
Promotional materials
Subways--Russia (Federation)--Moscow--20th century
Subways--Russia (Federation)--Moscow--Design and construction--20th century
Subways--Russia (Federation)--Moscow--Maps--20th century
Transportation maps
Matchbook
1
1
1930s
Kattsen (Il’ia Efremovich)
Metropoliten v Moskve (A metro in Moscow)
1
2
1931
Rottert (Pavel Pavlovich) note to Aleksei Shchusev
1
3
1931
Volynskii (V. la.)
Moskovskiĭ metropoliten (The Moscow Metro)
1
4
1932
"Metrostroi: 5i uchastok" (Metro construction: Fifth section) photograph album
2
1
1933
"Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten: Skhemy i chertezhi" (The Moscow Metro: Plans and drafts) portfolio
RARE Shared 6
1
RARE Shared 4
1-2
1933
Tarakhovskaia (Elizaveta Iakovlevna)
Metropoliten children's book
1
5
1933
"Metrostroi: Sooruzhenie stantsii Sokol’niki s podkhodami" (Building the Metro: Constructing Sokolniki station and its access routes) photograph album
3
1
1933 June-1934 September
Kaganovich (Lazar)
O stroitel’stve metropolitena i plane goroda Moskvy (The Construction of the Subway and the Plan of the City of Moscow)
1
6
1934
Kaganovich (Lazar)
The Construction of the Subway and the Plan of the City of Moscow
1
7
1934
"Konkurs na sostavlenie proekta emblemy metro" (Competition to create a design for the metro logo) announcement and entries
4
1
1934
Smirnov (F.)
Metro proletarskoi stolitsy (The Metro of the Proletarian Capital)
1
8
1934
Pravda newspaper with article by Lazar Kaganovich
4
2
1934 July 30
Chto Dolzhen Znat passazhir metropolitena (What a passenger on the Metro should know)
1
9
1935
Korchmarev (Klimentii Arkad’evich) "Pesnia pobeditelei Metro" (Song of the Victors of the Metro)
1
10
1935
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten: Sbornik otchetnykh dokumentov i materialov o stroitel’stve i puske pervoi ocherede Moskovskogo metropolitena (The Moscow Metro: An anthology of reports and other materials on the construction and initialization of the Moscow Metro)
1
11
1935
Velikzhanin (Leonid) "Metro" photographs
1
12
1936
Sovetskii Metro (Soviet Metro) newspaper
4
3
1936 May 15
Skhema gorodskogo transporta Moskvy (Moscow city transport map)
RARE Shared 6
2
1939
Potemkin (S.) and A. Vladimirov
Tret’ia ochered’ Metro (The third phase of the Metro)
1
13
1945
Kattsen (Il’ia Efremovich) and K. S. Ryzhkov
Metropoliten Moskvy (The Moscow Metro)
1
14
1948
Strakhova (Mariia Vasil’evna)
Metro children's book with illustrations by Viktor Ivanov
1
15
circa 1949
"Moskovskoe metro" (Moscow Metro) album
4
4
1950s
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten imeni L. M. Kaganovicha (The Moscow Metro, named in honor of Lazar Kaganovich) photographs
1
16
1950
"Metro" cigarettes proofs
1
17
1951
Ezhov (Aleksandr Ivanovich)
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten. Stenogramma publichnoi lektsii, prochitannoi v Tsentral’nom lektorii Obshchestva v Moskve (The Moscow Metro. Transcript of a public lecture given at the Central Reading Room of the Society in Moscow)
1
18
1953
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten imeni L. M. Kaganovicha: Kratkii spravochnik (The Moscow Metro named in honor of Lazar Kaganovich: A brief guide)
1
19
1955
Metro maps
1
20
after 1955-1983
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten imeni V. I. Lenina, Lenin Metropolitan Railway of Moscow multilingual guidebook
1
21
1956
Sanitarnye Pravila po soderzhaniiu stantsii (Sanitary regulations in the maintenance of stations)
1
22
1958
Moskovskiĭ Metropoliten imeni V. I. Lenina (The Moscow Metro named in honor of Vladimir Lenin)
1
23
1959
Kak Proekhat po bol'shoi Moskve (How to get around greater Moscow)
4
5
1961
Grachev (Mikhail) press photograph
4
6
undated