The Reconstruction of Moscow

It was not only a question of the subway. It was a question of what type of socialist cities would be built, of whether Soviet cities would be developed according to the pattern of capitalist cities, of whether the Soviet government would build according to the proposals of petty -bourgeois decriers of cities in general— or whether the path of the Soviet Union would be a new path, a special road, a road along which the proletarian state is moving and cannot but move, the road of the creation of socialist cities, of centres of socialist economy and culture. Thus, the final decision to build the subway was es- sentially a decision for the creation of a truly socialist city; the subway itself was the first step in the radical re- construction of Moscow. The first section of the subway was built in record time. In quality, the Moscow subway is far in advance of subways abroad It has, for instance, the biggest radii of curvature and the easiest gradients, allowing for maximum safety and speed. In Moscow the diameter of the tunnel is 5.5 metres, as against 3.7 in London and 5.2 in New York. This allows for subway carriages of the most com- fortable and convenient size. Each Moscow subway station is laid out in a straight line, which ensures the maximum safety for the passen- gers. The maximumwidth of the platforms of the Mos- cow subway stations is 4 metres, as against 1.5 in Paris and London and 3.5 in New York. The artificial ventila- tion in Moscow is the best— changing the atmosphere nine times ah hour, as against four times in Berlin, five times in London and six times in New York. The Moscow subway is by far the best in architectural treatment. The average speed of the subway (including stops) is twice that of a street-car (25-35 kilometres an hour as against 12-16 kilometres) ; itsi capacity is three times

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