The subway is by far the most popular and fastest mode of public transportation. The first line (part of the modern red line from Ploshad Vosstania to Avtovo) was opened in 1955. The deepest station in St. Petersburg is Admiralteyskaya which goes down for 86metres (282 feet). Today there are five lines. The metro here is like an underground museum.
Stations are different and the first stations from the first line are in a monumental architecture style – Stalinist Neoclassicism. As most of the stations were open during the Soviet times, the topic of Soviet prosperity and happiness of simple people can be seen very often. The panel picture “Слава труду!” (“Glory to Labor!”) on the Narvskaya metro station depicts a large meeting of workers with Lenin. In the station itself there are 12 sculpture compositions which depict people of different professions.
ProBa school is located in the city center and the closest metro station, Vladimirskaya, is within a 5 minutes walking distance. It’s named after the Vladimirsky cathedral located just opposite of the metro. The particularity of this station is that it is located inside of the building and you can’t actually see the vestibule. This station belongs to the first series of stations from 1955. Big chandeliers, white marble walls and decorative gold gratings along the station implement the idea of festive and pompous style of the Soviet architecture. When you go up the escalator, turn back and you’ll see a huge colorful mosaic panno called “Abundance” (Изобилие).
If you are a student of Russian language in ProBa school, you probably live in the city center and don’t often need transportation. Well, it is not a reason to miss an opportunity to visit this underground museum for the price of a token (~60 cents). For that you’ll need to know some useful words and phrases in Russian!
Metro Vocabulary
Подорожник [Podorozhnik] – a local e-purse cardused for all public transport;
Турникет [Turniket] – turngate. Insert your coin or scan the card to pass it;
Жетон [Zheton] – token;
Эскалатор [Eskalator] – escalator. Since the metro here is very deep it may take a while to get down;
Переход [Perekhod] – transfer. When you need to switch to another line, use переход.
Станция [Stantsiya] – station;
Поезд [Poyezd] – train;
Вагон [Vagon] – railway carriage;
Осторожно, двери закрываются! [Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsya] – meaning “be careful, the doors are closing!” which you hear in the train.
Не бегите по эскалатору! [Ne begite po eskalatoru!] – “Do not run on the escalator!” Every escalator is under the surveillance of a metro worker who sits at the foot of the escalator and is responsible for the security of passengers. Sometimes you can hear this phrase if you are in a hurry and decide to run.
