The very first post on this website, in May 2011, was about Tashkent's metro. In those days it was forbidden to take photographs of the glorious stations. Earlier this year, Uzbek President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev lifted that ban.
RFE/RL’s photographer, Amos Chapple, went underground to
reveal the art, architecture, and nuclear-blast protection in Central Asia’s oldest subway system. His photo-essay below is stunning.
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| Writhing figures in a relief at the exit to Buyuk Ipak Yuli (Great Silk Road) station. |
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| A moment between trains in Kosmonavtlar (Cosmonauts) station. The stop is famous for its dreamlike portraits of cosmonauts. | | |
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Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, immortalized in
Kosmonavtlar station. The ceramic wall panels fade from blue
to black in
imitation of Earth’s atmosphere. |
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| Passengers squeeze into a carriage in Pakhtakor (Cotton Worker) station. | | |
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Gafur Qulom station, named after an Uzbek intellectual. During the
Soviet period, planners required a city’s population
to top 1 million
before work would begin on a subway. Tashkent’s population reached the
milestone in the early 1960s. | | |
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| Commuters in Pakhtakor station. Tunneling for the underground system got under way in 1971, and the Metro opened in 1977. | | | | |
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A glistening corridor linking two stations. After an earthquake
devastated Tashkent in 1966, newly cautious planners reportedly reduced
the depth and increased the strength of the Metro, tunneling within a
few meters of the streets above. | | |
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| A late night commuter in Ming O’rik (Thousand Apricots) station. Metro trains run from 5 a.m. until midnight. | | |
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| A ceramic mural is revealed as a Metro car rolls out of Tashkent station. | | |
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Chandeliers in Chilonzor station, named after a region of Tashkent.
Artists were brought in from across the Soviet Union to work
on the
Tashkent Metro. These 5-meter chandeliers were designed by Latvian
artist Haim Rykhsin. | | |
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| A carefully monitored portrait of Alisher Navoi, considered one of the founders of the Uzbek poetic tradition. | | |
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| Mosque-like architecture inside Alisher Navoi station. | | | | |
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A Metro car rumbles into Novza station, named after a region of
Tashkent. The underground mostly operates similar cars to the
Moscow
Metro, a model known for its screeching roar when driving at speed. | | |
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A cashier at an entrance to the Metro. A trip costs 1,200 Uzbek soms,
the equivalent of $0.15, making it the cheapest
subway ride in the
former U.S.S.R. | | |
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Many of the Metro stations were “decommunized” and had their names
changed after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Amir Temur
Khiyoboni
(Amir Temur Square) station is the former October Revolution
station. | | |
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| A Red Army soldier waves a blank flag that apparently had its hammer and sickle removed. | | |
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| A ceramic panel depicting a woman playing a lute inside Alisher Navoi station. | | |
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| A mosaic of freshly puffed cotton bolls inside Pakhtakor station.
Uzbekistan is one of the world’s leading producers of cotton | | |
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Photography inside the the heavily policed Metro was forbidden until
June 2018 because of the military sensitivity of its
second role: as a
nuclear bomb shelter. | | |
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| This slab of steel is a blast door that would swing locked behind soldiers and civilians in the event of a nuclear attack. | | | | |
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While the threat of a nuclear strike on Uzbekistan has faded, the new
perceived menace of terrorism is reflected in signage
like this
declaring: “Awareness is a requirement of the modern era!” | | |
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While the threat of a nuclear strike on Uzbekistan has faded, the new
perceived menace of terrorism is reflected in signage
like this
declaring: “Awareness is a requirement of the modern era!” | | |
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| A decorative panel inside Alisher Navoi station. | | |
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| A portrait of Soviet cosmonaut Yuriy Gagarin, the first man in space, in Kosmonavtlar station. | | |
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| A wall relief shining in the glow of an approaching Metro car’s headlights in Milliy Bog (National Park) station. | | | | |
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| A mural celebrating 2,200 years since the founding of Tashkent, inside Tashkent station. | | |
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| Characters from an epic poem by Oybek in the station named after the Uzbek poet. | | |
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| Commuters peering out at the novel sight of a foreigner taking photos of their Metro. | | |
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| Most of the Metro stations have humble entrances, giving no hint of the
dazzling architecture below. Now that photography is permitted, however,
the fame of the Soviet-era spectacle is likely to spread quickly. |
Note: On an Uzbek Journeys tour, a visit to the loveliest metro stations in included. If you have free time, it is easy to spend an afternoon travelling on the metro admiring these underground works of art.
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Related posts: Tashkent's Open Air Railway Museum
Travelling by Rail in Uzbekistan
Azerbaijan: Baku's Metro
Almaty, Kazakhstan - Riding the New Metro
