Mayakovskaya (), is a

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. It serves the capital city of Moscow and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy, and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one l ...

station on the

Zamoskvoretskaya Line The Zamoskvoretskaya line (, ), formerly Gorkovsko–Zamoskvoretskaya () (Line 2; Green Line), is a line of the Moscow Metro in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. Opened in 1938, chronologically it became the third line in the metro system despite bei ...

, in the

Tverskoy District Tverskoy District ( rus, Тверской район, p=tvʲɪrˈskoj, a=Ru-Тверской.ogg) is a administrative divisions of Moscow, district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Moscow, Russia. P ...

of central Moscow. The name as well as the design is a reference to

Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

and its prominent Russian exponent

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

. Considered to be one of the most beautiful in the system, it is a fine example of pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Stalinist Architecture Stalinist architecture (), mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style or socialist classicism, is the architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, between 1933 (when Boris Iofan's draft for the Palace o ...

and one of the most famous Metro stations in the world. It is best known for its 34 ceiling mosaics depicting "24 Hours in the Land of the Soviets." During World War II, it was used as a command post for Moscow's anti-aircraft regiment.

History

The station was built as part of the second stage of the Moscow Metro expansion, opening on 11 September 1938. If the first stage was more focused on the building of the system itself, both architecturally and in terms of the engineering, the stations appear modest in comparison to those that the second stage brought to the system. For the first time in the world, instead of having the traditional three-neath pylon station layout, the engineers were able to overlap the vault space and support it with two

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

s, one on each side. This gave birth to a new

Deep column station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emerg ...

type design, and Mayakovskaya was the first station to show this. Located 33 meters beneath the surface, the station became famous during

when an air raid shelter was located in the station. On the anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, on 7 November 1941,

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

addressed a mass assembly of party leaders and ordinary Muscovites in the central hall of the station. During World War II, Stalin took residence in this place. At the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

the Soviet Pavilion included a life-size showcase copy of this station, whose designer

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 a ...

was awarded Grand Prize of the 1939 World's Fair.

Design

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture was based on a Soviet future as envisioned by the poet Mayakovsky. The station features streamlined columns faced with stainless steel and pink

rhodonite Rhodonite is a manganese inosilicate, with the formula (Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca)SiO3, and member of the pyroxenoid group of minerals, crystallizing in the triclinic system. It commonly occurs as cleavable to compact masses with a rose-red color (its na ...

, white Ufaley and grey Diorite marble walls, a flooring pattern of white and pink marble, and 35 niches, one for each vault. Surrounded by filament lights there are a total of 34 ceiling mosaics by

Alexander Deyneka Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka (; May 20, 1899 – June 12, 1969) was a Soviet painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Russian modernist figurative painters of the first half of the 20th century. His ''Collec ...

with the theme "24-Hour Soviet Sky." In 2005 a new second north exit was built, along with a new vestibule. Passengers leaving the station first descend on a short escalator ride into an underground vestibule, and then ascend the long way to the surface. The new exit also allows access to the 35th mosaic, which was previously hidden behind the service section. Other mosaic works were designed from scratch, accompanied by ample use of marble and stainless steel sculpturing. The bust of the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was moved to the new surface vestibule, whose ceiling was also decorated with a mosaic composition from Mayakovsky's poem "Moscow Sky".

Gallery

File:Mayakovskaya by Hadi Karimi.jpeg, Mayakovskaya station File:Vestibule of Mayakovskaya metro station (Вестибюль станции метро Маяковская) (7157519910).jpg, Mayakovskaya new (northern) vestibule File:Pyotr Tchaikovskiy Concert Hall Moscow Metro.jpg, Mayakovskaya southern vestibule File:Mayakovskaya (Маяковская) (4831142198).jpg, Station platform of Mayakovskaya station File:MJK 2009 1187.JPG, Northern exit hall. Columns, ceiling mosaic and texts were inspired by Futurist art File:030522-Moscow-IMG 9099-2.jpg, Mayakovskaya Metro Station,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

References

{{Moscow Metro Moscow Metro stations Railway stations in Russia opened in 1938 Tverskoy District Zamoskvoretskaya Line Colonnades Stalinist architecture Railway stations located underground in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Moscow