The Moscow Metro’s most beautiful stations: Ploshchad Revolyutsii (PHOTOS)

This is one of the oldest stations of the Moscow Metro and opened during the second phase of construction in 1938.

Incredibly difficult for foreigners to pronounce, the station name – ‘Ploshchad Revolyutsii’ (Revolution Square) – originates from the square it leads up to.

The decor consists of 20 granite arches, at the base of which stand 76 bronze figures.

The sculptures for the station were specially crafted by masters of the Leningrad Artistic Casting Workshop under the direction of Matvey Manizer, author of many Soviet monuments.

Below, for example, a poultry keeper is depicted with a chicken and a rooster.

There’s also a female student studying a book…

…a father with his child…

…a soccer player holding a ball…

…and young pioneer girls studying a globe.

A signalman sailor (the inscription ‘Marat’ on the cap refers to a real sailor named Olimpiy Rudakov, who took part in the ceremonial review for the coronation of British King George VI in 1937 as part of the crew of the ‘Marat’ battleship).

Then there’s a Stakhanovite miner with a jackhammer, who is sitting next to a young engineer.

One of the most popular sculptures, however, is the ‘Border Guard with a Dog’. Every day, thousands of passengers rub the dog’s nose for good luck, which is why it always looks perfectly polished!

The platform walls, meanwhile, are faced with gray marble quarried in the Chelyabinsk region.