Underground Moscow’s Hidden Tunnels: A Trip Into the Subterranean Sewers of Russia’s Capital
Mosvodostok experts are checking the city's underground tunnels. Assessing the structures' condition is only possible in the winter when the sewage level is minimal. It's also an opportunity to see the most closed off sights of the capital, more than century-old underground galleries. From Sivtsev Vrazhek and Neglinka to Yauza.
Fedor Chervyakov on what is hidden under Moscow.
- Won't The rats eat us?
- Mutant rats are nearby, but we won't go there.
We're not just bullied with jokes, but as newbies, we're lowered into the hatch in safety harnesses.
"You were confined in brickwork,
you were immured in a pipe.
But in your channel, I descend again
in a dank and suffocating mist".
In general, catacombs are inspiring. Alluring for the accustomed and scary darkness for beginners. It takes us a second to realize that we're at a crossroads.
- The Naprudnaya River merges with the Neglinka River.
-Where does it all go?
-To the Moskva River.
Naprudnaya, aka Sinichka, aka Rybnaya. Only there is no fish here anymore. But a lot of paving stones and other construction materials.
- This is probably just rubbish.
- The tram track is over there.
Same can be found in Neglinka. To put it underground, the longest collector in Moscow was built, measuring 7.5 kilometers. Neglinka is also the first river in the Capital to be put underground. In the olden days, it worked as a sewage drain. Because of the bad smell in the city center, they decided to remove it out of sight.
Daniil Davydov: Neglinka was lowered and enclosed in an underground tunnel. It happened in 1819 on the stretch of the Alexander Gardens.
The city grew, and the tunnel extended. This one was added in 1911. The brickwork is over a century old, but the pipe is considered to be one of the most durable. Moskva River, Yauza, Skhodnya are the rivers that we see. And more than a hundred others, including small streams, are imprisoned underground, in the tunnels. For example, the Sivets Stream, siviy means muddy.
Sergey Yartsev, Head of Moscow Underground Research Dept.: "We're in a unique place. Above ground is the crossing of Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane and the lower part of Gogol Boulevard. And below us, the Sivets Stream continues to flow, it joins the Chertaraye Stream underground, and all these rivers are still flowing".
In the 30s, the Soviet government decided to open up the underground rivers. They decided that the newly constructed sewerage system is dependable and the Capital center needs to be decorated with natural waters. But the War ruined the plans of returning the rivers back to the surface.
Nowadays, the tunnels network protects Moscow from flooding. Subway discharges groundwater into the large pipes. During the river flooding period or active rainfall, the system is absolutely indispensable.
Dmitry Ryabcev, Lead Engineer: "When there's heavy rainfall or what not, the water level rises to the very top and it's impossible to stay here".
Now is the Mosvodostok engineers' hot time for spring preparation. They inspect the tunnel's condition for cracks and leaks. A paradox, but water doesn't grind stone here.
Nikolai Krepak, District Operation Manager: "100 years later, the tunnel is in a condition that can easily compete with many other tunnels, although it's brickwork and eventually it's expected to deteriorate".
There's constant control over the underground rivers' condition. Moscow's landscape with the rivers on the surface can now only be seen in artists' painting.
Fedor Chervyakov, Ivan Kharitonov, Dmitry Timofeev, Ustiniya Lutskanova,Vesti