Moscow's Railway Stations as a Mirror
Moscow's nine railway stations were all initially built and completed during the Russian Empire. Tsars in St. Petersburg ordered the construction of the nine stations with their individual routes projecting radially outward from the hub of Moscow. The focus on Moscow, despite the imperial capitol being St. Petersburg, underlines the Russian conception of Moscow as truly the "heart of Russia." These railway stations were beautiful structures that highlighted the decadence of the Russian empire. The railway stations were the original palaces of the people, and Stalin likely copied this idea for his ornate Metro stations. The Komsomolskaya Metro station, often touted as one of the most beautiful subway stations in the world, is situated in Komsomolskaya Square alongside Leningradsky and Yaroslavsky stations.
These stations, particularly the international stations covered in this tour, each tell us something different about the mileau that they were constructed in during the Tsarist regime. We see Leningradsky as an artery between the head of Russia, St. Petersburg, and its heart, Moscow. Yaroslavsky starts the unimaginably long journey across Siberia and connected Russia to the Far East. Rizhsky acted as means to join the international trade economy, peripatetic Kursky reflected its politically dynamic destinations, and finally Belorussky served as the threshold into European politics and conflict.
These five railway stations in Moscow show a city that mirrors the Russian Empire itself: a centralized area that pushes boundaries in an attempt to expand, consuming vast tracts of land and absorbing the culture of those lands. In this capacity of imperial boundary pushing, the small medieval town of Moscow grew into the huge ringed city and metropolis of today.
This tour chose only five of the nine railway stations in Moscow to highlight. These five stops can be found on the map below. The other four stations, three of which are only domestic, could also be of interest in exploring this theme. They complete the circle around the center of Moscow and their routes similarly radiate outward, truly making the railways of Moscow look like a a wheel with a hub and spokes.