The Moscow metro was born and developed before her eyes. She was at the origins of construction, worked in the mine with the pioneers and created a dynasty of metro builders. SMU-5 veteran Zinaida Galkina shared her most vivid memories on the day of her centenary.
How did you get to Mosmetrostroy? Why did you choose this one out of all the roads?
– By chance. After an unsuccessful operation, I had to say goodbye to my plans to enroll in a technical school, where I had already applied. She survived miraculously, the recovery took a long time, there was a threat of loss of vision.
When I got stronger, my father’s neighbor and friend called me to the construction site. So in 1935 I ended up in Mosmetrostroy. At first I was hired as an accountant in the HR department. A month later I was transferred to work at mine No. 7-8 as a winch operator. Sent to the construction of the inclined passage of the Belorusskaya.
Do you remember your first day at the construction site? What impressed you most?
– I was greeted very warmly by the friendly team of female winch-winners. And I was inspired. True, I only went into the mine twice. Then it turned out that at 16 years old I do not have the right to work underground. They didn’t pay attention to my age when I was hired; I was tall and looked older. I was transferred to the position of secretary at the mine committee.
What is the difficulty of working at a construction site for a woman?
– There were no difficulties: men and women worked equally. They did everything with enthusiasm and helped each other out. I remember how I slipped in the mine, screamed, and the men heard. Seeing that I was falling, they put up their jackets and caught me.
You were also a counselor. How did this happen?
– I worked at the mine committee for only three months. From there I was taken to the Dorprofsozh on Komsomolskaya as an instructor in the organizational mass department and sent as a counselor to a children's camp in Rumyantsevo. There were no teachers there. My first race consisted of kids about seven or eight years old. The guys behaved exemplary.
Your whole family worked at Mosmetrostroy. Tell us how the dynasty was born?
– After a shift in the camp, I was transferred again. In the new department, I met my future husband, Alexander Galkin, who started as a caisson miner at the construction of Krasnoselskaya. Once, while going on vacation, he left a surprise in everyone’s desk drawers - “Bear-toed Bear” candies. I had the most. Colleagues noticed that he paid special attention to me. And so the dynasty began.
I sent the children to the construction of the metro myself, telling them how good it was here. The sons followed the advice. Volodya worked as the head of the technical department of Directorate No. 157 of Glavtonnelmetrostroy, Nikolai was the chief surveyor at SMU-9. In Mosmetrostroy, our name has become synonymous with reliability. I was often thanked for my sons and their upbringing.
You also had the opportunity to work abroad. What do you remember?
– I didn’t just accompany my husband on business trips abroad. In China, I was accepted into the embassy staff. In Afghanistan, she started in the personnel department of our station, was the secretary of the embassy department, and then worked at the consulate. Mosmetrostroy was then building an irrigation canal in Jalalabad.
What is your personal secret of longevity?
– In work. I was always on the move. Participated in competitions. And in any business she was open to everything new.