The museum helps to establish connections between generations

In March of this year, SMU-8 found a new home on Gazgoldernaya Street. The move was a good reason to expand the Museum of Labor Glory and History of SMU-8.

Tatyana Rodyukova (Dubinyarskaya) with one of her works

The history of the museum began 40 years ago. On June 5, 1981 at 16.30 a ceremonial meeting dedicated to its opening took place. The founder of the museum was SMU-8 employee Tikhon Fadkin, who in 1931 came to the construction of the metro at the call of the Komsomol.

The museum, renovated after the move, has showcases where you can view the stages of metro construction by workers of all generations of SMU-8: in photographs, newspapers, magazines and documents from different years.

Yellowed pages of certificates, on which the names and ranks of SMU-8 employees are written in calligraphy, their medals and orders are carefully laid out under glass. Nearby are photographs of the first mines, built in the early 1930s for future first-stage stations. Journals from 1935, which describe the opening of new lines, have also been preserved in the archives.

A separate showcase is dedicated to the Hero of Socialist Labor Yuri Rachmaninov, the great-nephew of the famous composer Sergei Rachmaninov. His biography includes years dedicated to SMU-8. Family photographs, wristwatches, and significant awards became eloquent witnesses of his work for the benefit of the capital’s Metrostroy.

The renovated museum also found a place for current talents. Thus, the leading engineer of SMU-8 Tatyana Rodyukova (nee Dubinyarskaya) has been interested in watercolors in her free time for the last three years. He chooses a variety of themes for his paintings. Now she is inspired by nature, especially the sea.

In the production and economic department where she works, there are always many different tasks. And even despite the late evenings at work, at home Tatyana finds the opportunity to sit at the easel.

– I really appreciate our well-coordinated team, thanks to which we succeed. But nevertheless, life is not limited to work; I find it a little sad when a person develops in only one area,” the girl admits. – Now is the age of information, there really is a lot of it, and you can learn absolutely different things. There are so many interesting things in the world, I encourage everyone to step out of their boundaries and try something new - believe me, it’s nice. It's a pity that there are only 24 hours in a day.

– We welcome proposals from employees who are interested in different types of art. And in order for the museum to be constantly replenished with new exhibits, we are also waiting for files of newspapers, magazines, commemorative books, insignia issued in different years about the history of the capital’s subway, from relatives of workers who spent many years working in SMU-8, which are kept as a memory of their ancestors, as well as from current participants in the construction of the metro,” says Alexander Kormushin, deputy director for safety of SMU-8 and part-time museum curator.

– Thanks to the move to a new office, we doubled the area of the museum, where we were able to arrange an exhibition in honor of the 90th anniversary of Mosmetrostroy and our management. Both anniversary dates are important to us, each of which has been historically confirmed and reflected in archival photographs, documents and awards of different generations of our employees. They decided to coincide with the opening of the museum and the exhibition of our artist Tatyana Dubinyarskaya. Such exhibitions help visitors feel the connection between generations,” said SMU-8 Deputy Director Sergei Somyanov.

“So that the museum could be visited from anywhere in the world, the entire photo archive was posted on the SMU-8 website athttps://smu-8metrostroya.ru/ in the “Gallery” section,” added SMU-8 system administrator Ilya Stepanov, a young specialist who took an active part in organizing the museum’s Internet space. – We will continue to preserve the traditions of SMU-8 in new modern formats.

General Director of Mosmetrostroy JSC Sergei Zhukov with his first deputy Mikhail Arbuzov and Director of SMU-8 Metrostroy LLC Nikolai Sorokin at the opening of the SMU-8 Museum