Underground Moscow #1

The tremendous success of my End of the Line series has spurred me to dust off the archival photos from back when before I was blogging and start a new series - "Underground Moscow," photos from and of the city's ubiquitous pedestrian underpasses. The podzemnye perekhody, or podzemelki or just perekhody, as they are known in Russian, are the only way to cross many of Moscow's 8- and 10-lane major streets, but they also fulfill many other roles in the life of the metropolis. Underground, in many passageways (especially the ones which also provide entrance into the metro) one can buy just about anything imaginable, from bootleg CD's, cigarettes, and beer to clothing, all manner of gifts, and companionship for the evening. The podzemelki are used by the city's homeless and stray dogs to stay warm in the winter and dry the rest of the year, and they are a favorite venue for street musicians and beggars.

First up in the series is this ray of sunshine (or eyesore, as your taste might have it), which allows pedestrians to cross Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa at Ul. Yuliusa Fuchika:


Facing Ul. Yuliusa Fuchika, looking up at a just-completed office building

Facing 2nd Tverskoi-Yamskoi Pereulok and a convenience store

Looking from 2nd Tverskoi-Yamskoi Pereulok down at the woman
selling her paintings and across busy Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ul.
All photos from October 11, 2004

This one deserves to be #1, since it's 50 feet from the entrance to the building where Lorina and I stayed (temporary digs for about 3 weeks) when we first arrived in Moscow in November 2001. The underpass didn't look quite so yellow then, though.