More than 10,000 Russian workers built the first line of the Moscow Metro which opened in 1935 to great fanfare.

The spectacular stations were designed to show the world the power and possibility of Russian strength. Stalin wanted architects to design stations to be 'palaces for the people', with statues and structures built to make people look up and admire the marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers.

Now one of the busiest undergrounds in the world, Uma Doraiswamy goes through the archives and hears from Tatiana Fedorova, one of the workers who sometimes had to use her hands to dig the tunnels.

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(Photo: The Sokolniki Metro station in Moscow in 1935. Credit: Getty Images)

Building the Moscow Metro

Witness History