The Moscow Metro as a civil defense facility during the Great Patriotic War
Abstract
The article examines the role of the Moscow Metro as a defense facility throughout its history, from its design in the 1930s to the present. Special attention is paid to the period of the Great Patriotic War, when the metro served as an air raid shelter, hospital and command post. The study also covers the post-war development of the subway, including the modernization of infrastructure to protect against new threats. Based on the analysis of archival data and historical sources, key factors have been identified that have determined the strategic importance of the metro as an element of civil defense.
About the Author
M. I. Prutskov
Russian University of Transport
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Prutskov Maxim Igorevich, Senior Lecturer
Moscow
References
1. Official website of the Moscow Metro: https://mosmetro.ru (section “History”).
2. Mandatory resolution of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council “On the rules for using the Moscow Metro as a bomb shelter” [O pravilah ispol’zovaniya Moskovskogo metropolitena kak bomboubezhishcha] September 21, 1941.
3. Resolution No. 77 of the State Defense Committee of the USSR “On the Air Defense of Moscow” [O protivovozdushnoj oborone Moskvy] July 9, 1941, Moscow
4. A.S. Sparber, K.A. Cherkassky Moscow Metro during the Great Patriotic War [Moskovskij metropoliten v gody Velikoj Otechestvennoj vojny], 2017, 160 p.
5. Naumov M.S. Under the Seven Hills: Past and Present of the Moscow Metro [Pod sem’yu holmami: proshloe i nastoyashchee moskovskogo metro]. - M.: ANO IC Moskvovedenie, OAO Moskovskie Uchebniki, 2010 - 448 p.
Review
For citations:
Prutskov M.I. The Moscow Metro as a civil defense facility during the Great Patriotic War. P.O.I.S.K. 2025;(4):12-17. (In Russ.)
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