75 years of the great victory

Thousands of metro workers became participants in the Great Patriotic War. Under fire from fascist troops, they restored bridges, crossings, tunnels, erected defensive structures, and fought in the air force, sea, engineer, tank and ground forces. In 1941 alone, about 1,300 Metrostroy workers went to the front.

22.00 - at this time, enemy aircraft bombed Moscow areas almost every day

Air bombs dropped by fascist planes caused fires. The enemy mainly targeted industrial facilities, including the Moscow Metro. There were attempts to destroy the metro bridge near the Kievsky railway station. One live shell fell on the overlap of the Smolenskaya - Arbatskaya section. Metro workers repaired the destruction within one day. Later, a bomb hit the ventilation shaft of a mine on Sverdlov Square, but, fortunately, did not explode.

The war changed the nature of the work of designers and builders. Now the metro has become not just a means of transport, but also a massive reliable shelter for the population from air attacks. Metro builders quickly solved the problem of strengthening the existing ventilation system.

217 children were born in the Moscow metro from July 1941 to March 1943

Along the entire length, the station and transport tunnels were provided with drinking water and temporary plumbing facilities. Seats have been set up for mothers with children. The tunnels of the third stage of the metro under construction were also used; they were urgently strengthened and sealed.

There were doctors on duty in the metro, libraries and clubs, and various events. For example, on November 6, 1941, a meeting of the Moscow Council was held at Mayakovskaya. And the Kirovskaya station was used by members of the General Staff. At this time, guards were posted on the surface of the ventilation structures to promptly extinguish fires caused by dropped “lighters.”

41 medical workers of Metrostroy. Our doctors also became participants in the Great Patriotic War

Doctors and nurses made a significant contribution to the victory over the Nazis. They worked and fought on the fronts and in the rear, shoulder to shoulder with the entire Soviet people. Among them were workers of the medical unit of the Moscow Metro Construction.

Some of them walked along military roads from beginning to end. They worked in hospitals, provided assistance to the wounded in battles, and helped with the evacuation of the population. Many received government awards, seven received the “Medal for Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War.”

13.5 km of distillation tunnels passed during the war period

The defeat of the Germans near Moscow in November-December 1941 was the basis for the decision to continue construction of the third stage of the metro. During the war years, seven stations were opened. On January 1, 1943, a 6.5 km long section from the Sverdlov Square station to the Stalin Plant station was put into operation. In 1944, a 7 km long section from Kursky Station to Izmailovsky Park came into operation. In 1944, construction continued on the fourth stage of the metro - the Big Ring, 19.4 km long.

The thinning ranks of builders who went to the front were replenished by women. Their number at that time in Metrostroy reached 65-70%. Women worked in the slaughter and harvesting rocks. They became blasters, drillers, pumpers, hoist operators, insulators, fasteners, coiners, and electric locomotive drivers.

About 300 pilots were trained by the Metrostroy flying club before the start of the war

26 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They destroyed enemy tanks, equipment, trains, ships from the sky and shot down over 250 aircraft, making more than 7,300 sorties. All of them are students of the Metrostroy flying club.

The flying club was created in September 1934, when Metrostroy received a site for an airfield near the Malye Vyazemy station near Moscow. It all started with an open field, three planes and several instructors. Over time, a hangar was erected and a parachute tower 60 meters high was installed. The best young workers, Stakhanovites, were selected for the flying club. In 1935, 43 pilots were graduated, and in 1936, Metrostroy gave the country more than 130 pilots. Over the entire period, the flying club has trained 700 parachutists.

54 metro construction workers received the Hero of the Soviet Union for their exploits during the war

With the outbreak of hostilities, detachments of metro builders headed to the construction of defensive structures in Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Gorky, and Valdai. They worked in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, and built railway tunnels in the Caucasus and the east of the country. At the same time, many of them voluntarily went to the front, to the front line.

Engineers, foremen, and tunnel workers from Metrostroy served in the air force, sapper, tank, artillery, engineering, and rifle troops. Their exploits are amazing. Mosmetrostroy is rightfully proud of its employees who shot down planes, destroyed tanks and hoisted the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in Berlin.