Testaments of the All-Union shock construction - to the descendants!

For the first time in the history of Mosmetrostroy, a meeting was held with the descendants of the leaders of our legendary organization and representatives of labor dynasties.

The idea to hold the meeting arose in the process of preparation for the 90th anniversary of Mosmetrostroy. It was then that the Council of Veterans, the press service, the personnel and social development department restored ties with the descendants of outstanding leaders: Ilya Gotsiridze, Nikolai Gubankov, Vasily Polezhaev, Pyotr Vasyukov and others. Relatives willingly shared their memories and provided materials and documents from family archives for the design of museum display cases located in the Administration building on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. The initiative of the Veterans Council was supported by the leadership of Mosmetrostroy in the person of General Director Sergei Zhukov.

The evening of the meeting took place in a warm, informal atmosphere at the tea table in the conference room on the 3rd floor of the organization’s central office.

“Every time I hold meetings here, I look at the portraits of the outstanding leaders of our company and always admire the power of the foundation that they laid for the current generation of metro builders,” said Sergei Zhukov, General Director of Mosmetrostroy JSC. In his welcoming speech, he spoke about the current state of affairs in the company, presenting in detail the ongoing projects and planned development prospects. As we got to know each other, the meeting acquired an increasingly informal atmosphere, and ease and openness of communication emerged.

“We keep photographs and all publications about our grandfather in family albums,” said the granddaughter of Hero of Socialist Labor Vasily Polezhaev Elena, showing unique photos and an article in the newspaper “Metrostroyevets” for 2009. Vasily Dementievich is the only metro builder, the head of the organization, after whom the capital’s subway station is named. As Sergei Anatolyevich clarified, today work is already underway to perpetuate the memory of other outstanding figures of the Moscow metro construction in the names of stations.

— We came up with a proposal to the Moscow Government so that in the future, when planning new stations, they should be named after our famous leaders: “Koshelevskaya”, “Gubankovskaya”, etc. I hope that our initiative will be accepted and implemented,” Sergei Zhukov shared his plans.

Granddaughter of Nikolai Gubankov, head of Metrostroy from 1950 to 1958. — Galina keeps her grandfather’s unpublished memories of work and is ready to share them with the editors of Metrostroevets:

“I am grateful to the leadership of Mosmetrostroy for restoring the monument at my grandfather’s grave at the Kuntsevo cemetery. The memory of the heroic work of metro builders only grows stronger with each new generation: descendants carefully treat the surviving photographs and materials that once belonged to their relatives. And some follow in the footsteps of their grandfathers and fathers. Granddaughter of Hero of Socialist Labor Pyotr Vasyukova Olga is an architect by profession; her choice of path was influenced by the atmosphere that reigned in the house.

— We are all connected with construction in one way or another. My aunt was married to Sergei Dakhno from the famous dynasty of metro construction workers, my dad also worked in metro construction. I saw with what inspiration my grandfather solved important production problems, so I absorbed the spirit of Metrostroy from childhood. I liked the combination of precision and creativity,” said Olga.

“From a young age, they worked in tandem,” added Bela Abramovna, the widow of Hero of Socialist Labor Yuri Koshelev. — And we always achieved optimal solutions. They have dozens of patents and certificates of inventions in metro construction. Amazing people worked at Metrostroy, they were enthusiasts!

— The surveyor starts construction and finishes it. My grandfather was called the underground navigator - the word passed to Marina, the granddaughter of the pioneer Ivan Shashkin. “He was especially proud of his participation in the construction of the Novoslobodskaya and Kyiv (circular) stations. He had a huge desk, I remember the rustle of tracing paper and amazingly sharp pencils. I still keep this special feeling of belonging to how the metro is created.

“If you add up the total length of service at Metrostroy of the Adadurov and Galkin dynasties, you get 500 years,” said Chairman of the Veterans Council Boris Prigoda.

Their founders were the builders of the first stage, who passed on their love and dedication to their work to their descendants. Today, the oldest veteran of Mosmetrostroy is Zinaida Galkina, who turned 103 at the end of spring. Despite her impressive age, she retains clarity of mind and even interest in what the company does. The conversation is supported in moments of reminiscence by Vladimir, the son of Zinaida Ivanovna, who, together with his brother Nikolai, began his career in the construction of the metro in the 60s. Vladimir Galkin has been on a well-deserved rest for 8 years. His wife Ovsana Eduardovna and daughter Ekaterina continue to work in the Mosmetrostroy Administration. The son of pioneers Nikolai and Anna Adadurov, Anatoly gave 60 years to the Moscow Metro Construction.

— I worked under nine leaders of Metrostroy, and each of them left a good mark on my life. For example, when I was the head of the site, Vasily Polezhaev handed me his helmet with the words: “I want you to wear my gift with honor,” and I always tried to justify the trust.

Colleagues from the Moscow Metro also assisted in the formation of the anniversary exhibition. The meeting was attended by Pavel Sukharnikov, Deputy Director for Career Guidance and Exhibition Activities, Mikhail Gorokhov, Senior Fire Inspector, a famous collector, and employees of the Metro Museum. According to Pavel Sukharnikov, a meeting with the descendants of leaders of past years is a very interesting idea, and the metro should embrace this wonderful initiative. You need to remember and respect your predecessors, then a foundation is created that holds the team together and gives strength.

“Only a good memory brings souls back to earth.” If the spiritual world exists, then all those whom we remembered today were with us. And there is nothing more valuable than maintaining a precious thread between the past and the future. This is what Mosmetrostroy stood for and stands for,” Boris Prigoda emphasized. The descendants of the metro construction heroes supported his thoughts; they expressed their gratitude to the company management and the Veterans Council for the assistance and attention provided.

In a solemn ceremony, the General Director of Mosmetrostroy JSC Sergei Zhukov presented corporate gifts and letters of gratitude to the invited guests for preserving the memory of the glorious history of our organization. He also urged those gathered not to lose contact and consider this meeting the beginning of a new metro construction tradition.