Metro 2033: Ingenious End Time Drama with Tunnel View and Lots of Information about The Story and Location | 10 years ago | Page 4

Pretty much exactly 10 years ago, I not only played and benchmarked Metro 2033, but also examined the story behind it. Because I was not only once in Moscow and know the also Metro from my own excursions quite well. I was also able to find something new, because as a student and foreigner, in the days of the Soviet regime, one always had the ubiquitous watchdog beside you and the information was, let's say politely, filtered a little. But I, too, have been walking in the tubes before - without a comfortable train and coin insertion.

In order to really understand the virtual world of the game, let's first follow in the footsteps of the legendary Metro 2 – that is, those tunnels that officially did not exist until the opening of the KGB archives. The Moscow Metro consists not only of the glamorous railway stations, but also of a wide-ranging system of tunnels, shafts and entrances, which until recently hardly anyone knew. The picture on the right shows the coat of arms of the CISP – Head of Special Tasks of the Russian President (formerly 15. department of the KGB).

Secret and forbidden places existed in the Moscow Metro even before the inauguration in 1935. The first hidden station was the "Sovetskaya", positioned between the stations "Sverdlov Square" and "Majakovskaya" of the first secret plug of Metro 2. This station was specially built for Stalin's secret underground command post for civil defense directly under "Soviet Square". In this context, a very narrow and extremely long route was created in the middle of Moscow. It was not until 1979 that an additional stop was established with the station "Gorkovskaya"-"Tverskaya". You can still see the traces of this most expensive secret subway project under the "Soviet Square".

Plan of the secret metro lines below Moscow

Started before the war, the "Arbatsko-Pokrovka" tunnel complex was modernized and completed after the Second World War, connecting the Kremlin with the two Stalin bunkers. There Stalin planned above ground, enthusiastic about Hitler's mass scenes during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, a large stadium for his own propaganda stagings with a grandstand for the closest confidants, quick access to the bunkers and a direct connection to the Kremlin.

This resulted in two long car tunnels, one of which ended directly at the gate in front of the Spasski towers and the other in the metro station "Sokolniki"

In addition to the centrally branched network, there were other self-sufficient tunnel systems and tunnel facilities. Just like those under Stalin's Datsche. Located at a depth of 15 meters, the concrete reinforcement was carried out with cast-iron metro rails to withstand any airstrikes. This bunker was later connected to the Kremlin by a car tunnel. Stalin's penchant for pomp was evident not only in the pompous stations of the official lines, but also in the design of the secret bunker facilities.

The tunnel work was further complicated by the fact that separate paths and connections had to be established for the staff, so that they did not meet Stalin by chance. This also resulted in systems with many parallel corridors and cross-connections that mutated into a true labyrinth.

Even after the war, Stalin was constantly afraid of airstrikes. And so further connecting lines were created, partly under the most difficult hydrogeological conditions, such as the line between the stations "Smolensk" and "Arbat". This line was built in record time and even deeper and ran parallel to the existing official Metro line, which was not stopped during construction. None of the thousands of Moscowpeoplewho used the metro just a few meters away above the construction site could have guessed what gigantic secret construction projects were taking place in the immediate vicinity.

Even after Stalin's death, other fabled projects were started and partly or not. fully realized. The mysterious Metro 2 with its 4 unofficial lines has not been quieted to this day. Rumours, eyewitnesses, new facts – new details emerge several times a year.

From our own experiences and the impressions that the Moscow underground railway has left with us over the many years and countless journeys between 1979 and 2000, we know that it is difficult to escape the peculiar charm and oppressive depth of the tunnels. Let us therefore end this little historical excursion and finally immerse ourselves in the world of the novel hero Artjom, who no longer exists only on paper, but who has also breathed a more or less real life with this game.

Now let's descend into the metro together and forget everything we knew until then.

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