Ploshchad Revolyutsii (russian: Пло́щадь Револю́ции) is a station on the
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...
, in the
Tverskoy District
Tverskoy District ( rus, Тверско́й райо́н, p=tvʲɪrˈskoj, a=Ru-Тверской.ogg) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population:
The district extends from Kitai-gorod north ...
of central Moscow. The station is named after
Revolution Square, under which it is located. It is on the
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line.
History
When the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line was first built, the tracks from Ploshchad Revolyutsii extended westward to
Aleksandrovsky Sad rather than
Arbatskaya. When the westward extension of the line was completed in 1953, trains were rerouted through the new segment.
Architecture
The station opened in 1938, its architect was
Alexey Dushkin
Alexey Nikolayevich Dushkin (24 December 1904 – 8 October 1977) was a Soviet architect, best known for his 1930s designs of the Kropotkinskaya and Mayakovskaya stations of the Moscow Metro. He worked primarily for subway and railroads and ...
. The station features red and yellow
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
es resting on low pylons faced with black
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n marble. The spaces between the arches are partially filled by decorative ventilation grilles and ceiling
tracery
Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
.
Sculptures
The station contains 76 statues in the
socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
style. Originally, 80 sculptures were created for the space—10 pairs, each replicated 4 times throughout the station. Today, nine pairs are in the archways, and a copy of the final pair ("The Pioneers") appears on each of the two platforms, bringing the total number of statues to 76.
Each arch is flanked by a pair of
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
sculptures by
Matvey Manizer
Matvey Genrikhovich Manizer (russian: Матвей Генрихович Манизер, – 20 December 1966) was a prominent Russian sculptor. Manizer created a number of works that became classics of socialist realism.
Life
Manizer wa ...
depicting the people of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, including soldiers, farmers, athletes, writers, aviators, industrial workers, and schoolchildren. The series is meant to be considered in order, symbolizing Russia's transformation from the pre-revolutionary past, through the revolution, into the (then) contemporary era.
The order of sculpture pairs are:
# Male worker-partisan & male enlisted soldier
# Male agricultural laborer & male sailor with pistol
# Male sailor & female aviator
# Male soldier with dog & female sharpshooter
# Male miner & male engineer
# Male & female agricultural laborers
# Female & male students
# Male football player & female athlete
# Mother & father in swim clothing
# Male & female students in Young Pioneers uniforms
Several of the sculptures are widely believed to bring good luck to those who
rub them. The practice is targeted at specific areas on individual sculptures, including the soldier's pistol, the patrolman's dog, the roosters, and the female student's shoe.
An observer in the station will see numerous passengers touching or rubbing the statues as they pass, and the bronze of these details is highly polished as a result.
Transfers
From this station, passengers can transfer to
Teatralnaya on the
Zamoskvoretskaya Line
The Zamoskvoretskaya line (russian: link=no, Замоскворе́цкая ли́ния, ), formerly Gorkovsko–Zamoskvoretskaya () (Line 2), is a line of the Moscow Metro. Opened in 1938, chronologically it became the third line. There are 24 ...
and
Okhotny Ryad on the
Sokolnicheskaya Line, but the latter can be reached only through Teatralnaya as there is no direct transfer.
References
External links
metro.ru: official Ploshchad Revolyutsii websitemymetro.ruKartaMetro.infonbsp;— Station location and exits on map of Moscow
Moscow Metro stations
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line
Public art in Russia
Tverskoy District
Railway stations in Russia opened in 1938
Railway stations located underground in Russia
{{Moscow-metro-stub