RZM
One of the reasons the Moscow underground stations is as they are today - more like palaces than subway stations, is because back in the days when Stalin was the upper dog in USSR, he decided that he wanted to build a underground station service and make it also some of a propaganda instrument to how great the USSR was.. And also to give the masses a taste of the arts... And what an art it was indeed... It was impressive then - and are still impressive if you have the time to look at what is underground... And the collective still cost less to use the sub, than to use the other collective transports... (I think some between 8 or 15 copek.)
And the underground stations is deeper than in most other nations - as it also was meant to be used as shelter if USSR ever got to war - and most of the stations in down-town Moscow was ready in 1941, when the war started... And the stations was indeed used to protect the civilians when the germans hit Moscow in 1941... Many russians in the capital, survived mostly because of this underground subway stations.. As they did it in London at the same time, when Germany did their best to blow London to pieces...
It is also rumored, that Stalin used some parts of this subway system to travel to places inside, or outside of Moscow out of sight of everyone... And some other parts, who was build but never used by the public, is known to have been used by the government of Soviet Union, and later by the russian authority as some form of emergency services where all the most important government offices and buildings is connected to the subway system - for the governments use.. The Subway system used by the government is more or less like an subway on their own, trailing out from Kremlin, and other important offices to parts long away from Moscow.. To more or less secrets railroad stations, who until 1991 was on standby alert, if ever the need arise (No, it is not a James Bond plot, but a really one)
Diclotican
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