BEE FLOWERS

Panoramas and details: 450 photos online

Begun in the 1930's, the Stalin-era underground was the USSR's largest civilian construction project, with stations built as "people's palaces." Employing outstanding architects and artists, it still looks amazing after all those years. The early stations form an eclectic blend of Baroque, Classicism, Soviet Realism, quasi-religious iconography with idealizations of historical characters and their victories, sports, industry, agriculture, very much warfare past and present, the brighter future just ahead, and the heroically laboring working class with inclusion of the various Soviet ethnicities. Oh, and... the Revolution!

The art includes bas-reliefs, friezes, marble and bronze statues, stained-glass windows and countless mosaics made with glass, marble and granite in good Byzantine fashion. Do check out the sky-themed mosaics by Alexander Deineka at the Art Deco styled Mayakovskaya station.

At present, the Moscow Metro has 10 radial lines, and one circular line connecting all the other lines. Close to 10 million people are transported on weekdays and there are now over 170 stations. Of course this means it gets awfully crowded during the day.

A printed book is available for $25 plus postage: