Moscow Metro – Novokuznetskaya – Line 2

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 01

Novokuznetskaya (Новокузнецкая) is a Moscow Metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. The station was opened on 20 November 1943.

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 02

Construction of the station began shortly after the launch of the second stage in 1938. Despite World War II the station was opened on time. Later in 1978 the platform was lengthened. This part is in a more modern style than the rest of the station.

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 03

The station honours the Soviet fighting men with its heavy ornamentation. The architects, I. Taranov and N. Bykova, won a USSR State Prize for their design.

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 04

The decorations include seven octagonal ceiling mosaics by Vladimir Frolov on the theme of wartime industry and bas-reliefs running along the base of the ceiling (by artists N.V. Tomsky, A.E. Zelensky, S.M. Rabinovich, and N.M. Shtamm) depicting the soldiers of the Red Army in combat.

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 05

The pink and white marble pylons are also decorated with cast-bronze portraits of Russian war heroes like Mikhail Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky. Floor lamps, long since replaced with more up-to-date lighting in other Metro stations, still give Novokuznetskaya an atmosphere of brooding shadow.

Novokuznetskaya – Line 2 – 06

There is an urban legend that the station’s ornate benches were made of Carrara marble taken from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour just before it was demolished (in 1931), but it is not true, and the marble was from Ural, not Italy.

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – Interior – By Sudakovsky

Moscow Metro – Belorusskaya – Line 5

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – ceiling mosaic – 12

Belorusskaya (Белору́сская) is a station on the Moscow Metro’s Koltsevaya line. It is named after the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the terminus of the line before the circle was completed in 1954. Designed by Ivan Taranov, Z. Abramova, A. Markova, and Ya. Tatarzhinskaya, the station has low, white marble pylons, an elaborately patterned plaster ceiling, light fixtures supported by ornate scroll-shaped brackets, and a variety of decorations based on Belarusian themes.

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – ceiling mosaic – 02

Overhead, twelve octagonal mosaics by G. Opryshko, S. Volkov, and I. Morozov depict Belarusian daily life, and underfoot the platform is intricately tiled to resemble a Belarusian quilt. A sculptural group by sculptor Matvey Manizer called ‘Soviet Belorussia’ used to stand at the end of the platform before it was removed in 1998 to make room for a second entrance. Another sculptural group, ‘Belarussian Partisans’ by S.M. Orlov, S. M. Rabinovich, and I. A. Slonim, is located in the passage between this station and Belorusskaya–Radialnaya.

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – ceiling mosaic – 07

The station’s original vestibule is located at the southwest corner of Belorusskaya Square. A newer entrance opens onto Butirsky Val Street.

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – ceiling mosaic – 04

In 2002, a bomb exploded under one of Belorusskaya’s marble benches, injuring seven people.

Belorusskaya – Line 5 – ceiling mosaic – 03

From this station passengers can transfer to Belorusskaya on the Zamoskvoretskaya line, whose metro entrance in closest to Aero Express, direct train to Sheremetevo Airport.