Moscow as the Hub, Railways as the Spokes
When looking at Russia on a map, the first thing that becomes apparent is the massive size of the country. Russia is the geographically largest country on the planet and many of the nation's decisions throughout its history can be attributed to an attempt to consolidate and centralize power across this vast expanse.
Prior to the digital age, the best means of connecting land and cultures was via transportation. The Romans connected their huge empire in the first millennium with an extensive road network, and the Russians sought to come up with a similar means of connectivity via transportation. After traveling through Russia in the early 19th century, Austrian professor Franz von Gerstner said to Tsar Nicholas:
"...there is no country in the world where railways would be more beneficial, and even necessary, than in Russia, as they provide an opportunity to reduce long distances by increasing the speed of movement" (1)
Tsar Nicholas and the proceeding Russian emperors followed von Gerstner's advice, as the latter half of the 19th century was replete with the construction of railways to interconnect Russia.
The heart and capitol of non-Imperial Russia, Moscow, is located in the geographic center of European Russia. Despite the fact that St. Petersburg was officially the capitol of the empire, railway construction boomed in the 19th century Moscow. Today, there are nine railway stations, or voksal, in Moscow. All nine were completed after 1850 and before the Soviet Revolution. These stations, all named after their outbound terminus, form a ring around the center of Moscow and their routes project radially out of the city and across the nation. If we think of Moscow as the hub of the empire, Moscow's train routes are the spokes of a metaphorical wheel extending from the center of the city to the farthest Russian expanse.
The fact that all of these railway stations were constructed during the rule of the tsars brings up a few very important questions. Why did the tsars build such an extensive railway network from Moscow, while St. Petersburg was the imperial capitol? Second, what do the railway stations and routes, the spokes of the hub, say about the tsars' international ambitions for Imperial Russia? During this tour, we will visit five of Moscow's most famous and historically pertinent railway stations, marveling in the grandeur of the beautiful architecture and engaging in a dialogue on what we can learn about Russia's history and international influence from its railways.