Was always impeccable

This year marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of the first head of Metrostroy, Pavel Rotert. The archives of our newspaper contain many publications about this outstanding engineer. Let's remember some facts about the talented person who stood at the origins of our company and metro construction in the country.

Pavel Rotert was born on July 4, 1880

The chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy, Sergo Ordzhonikidze, invited Pavel Rotert to head the most ambitious Moscow construction project of that time. By that time, Rotert had several grandiose projects brought to life. Among them are the construction of the House of State Industry (Derzhprom) in Kharkov, the House of Government in Moscow. He was the chief engineer of Dneprostroy, the great construction project of the first five-year plan, erected factories, bridges, dams, and railways.

Taking on the new task assigned to him, Rotert created a single center for developing a plan for the construction of the metro in Moscow. He collected and analyzed all the ideas and projects that existed at that time, taking into account world experience. He was among the specialists of the Soviet expert commission, which gave an opinion on what method to build the metro.

Pavel Rotert traveled abroad and saw examples of the construction of structures for various purposes, including a tunnel under the Hudson, which amazed him. He insisted on choosing the construction of a deep metro due to the complexities of geology in the capital. Although this method was much more expensive.

He took into account all the shortcomings of the world's subways to make the Moscow one the most reliable, comfortable and beautiful. For the station halls, the most convenient island platform type for passengers was chosen. As a result, all his ideas were supported.

Rotert made a great contribution to the creation of an industrial-factory complex at Metrostroy and established connections with enterprises in Moscow and the country. He did a lot to attract highly qualified specialists to the construction site, people who, like himself, were passionate about business. And also to train young people in metro construction. Thanks to him, in 1938, a postgraduate course in the specialty “Tunnels and Subways” was opened at the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers.

The first head of Metrostroy was born in the city of Bialystok in the Russian Empire. Now this is the territory of modern Poland. His father was a foreman at a textile factory. Pavel Rothert graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineers. He was a scientist, professor, one of the first doctors of technical sciences in Moscow. He headed Metrostroy from 1931 to 1938, under his leadership the first and second stages of the Moscow Metro were built.

Colleagues remembered him as a man of few words, but polite, tactful, and accurate to the second. He lived on Spiridonovka Street. I arrived at the office at nine in the morning. I used a cab driver, since the leaders of Metrostroy at that time did not yet have cars.

His appearance was always impeccable. Rotert went to work in elegant imported suits (he changed them often), in snow-white starched shirts, which were decorated with expensive cufflinks and beautiful ties. He always had with him a miracle chest with unique tools, which he brought from trips abroad.

At meetings, he patiently listened to people, without interrupting them, without making comments, and gave everyone the opportunity to speak. He weighed every opinion, thanks to which he enjoyed untouchable authority and respect. He supported new promising ideas and himself introduced technologies that made the construction process mechanized. Already at the second stage, tunnel-boring shields and reinforced concrete lining were used, and various methods of securing soil during excavation were used.

Interesting fact: Rotert never signed papers with his last name. Instead of signing, he put a large letter “M” on documents. His deputies signed themselves as “MZ-1”, “MZ-2”. He was awarded the Order of Lenin for the construction of Dneprostroy (1931) and the Order of the Red Star for the construction of the first stage of the Moscow metro (1935).

Pavel Rotert passed away on November 11, 1954. The first head of Metrostroy advised the Metrostroy workers until the very end. Age and illness did not prevent him from going down into the mine.

Metro workers honor the memory of the first leader. A street in the metro town in Losi is named after him. Every year our veterans visit the grave of Pavel Rotert at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

INTERESTING

The House of State Industry in Kharkov, built in 1925-1928 under the leadership of Pavel Rotert, is the first Soviet skyscraper. The building consists of 9 interconnected frame buildings made of iron and concrete, ranging in height from 8 to 11 floors. Currently it is classified as an architectural monument in the constructivist style.

For Gosprom, Rotert developed the technology of industrial reinforced concrete, using block construction for the first time, and also created a machine for tying reinforcement