History
Yekaterinburg, formerly called Sverdlovsk, was always known as the informal capital of the Urals, a natural divide between Europe and Asia, between Siberia and the European Russia. The city grew very rapidly because it was an important industrial centre and a transport hub. Plans for a rapid-transit system began in the late 1970s, and in 1980 construction began.
The city's uneven landscape, as well as its layout with a very dense city centre, prompted to combine deep and shallow stations. On 26 April 1991, the sixth Metro of Russia and the thirteenth and last Metro of the Soviet Union, which had ceased to exist only a few months later, was finally opened to the public. However, the economic crisis of the early 1990s rocked the Metro very hard and the first stage encompassed only three stations. However, then Russian president Boris Yeltsin diverted funds to complete its construction and by 1995 the Metro was doubled in length. Since then, only two extensions have been built.
Read more about this topic: Yekaterinburg Metro
Famous quotes containing the word history:
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—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)
“It’s not the sentiments of men which make history but their actions.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)