Kievsky Rail Terminal

Kievsky Rail Terminal, on the square of the same name in Dorogomilovo, is a federally protected monument of architecture and engineering and one of Moscow’s ten railway stations. Until 1934 it was called Bryansky, after the terminus of its line, and the present building was constructed as a monumental memorial to the centenary of the Battle of Borodino, which shaped its entire artistic concept.

The decision to build a new station on the site of the previous one, erected in 1899, was made in 1912 — the jubilee year of the Patriotic War of 1812. Since the station stood at the start of the road to Borodino, the city authorities first required the construction of the Borodinsky Bridge, designed by architect Roman Klein, to relieve traffic flow. The building itself, together with its train shed, was erected between 1914 and 1918 to a design by architect Ivan Rerberg with the participation of Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky; the foundation stone was laid in May 1914, and the first train departed from the platform on 18 February 1918, although finishing work continued for several more years.

The building is executed in the neoclassical style with elements of Empire style, and its two grand portals recall triumphal arches alluding to the victory over Napoleon; the theme is reinforced by sculptures by Sergei Alyoshin and the murals of the halls by artists Fyodor Rerberg and Ignaty Nivinsky. The station’s engineering showpiece is the train shed designed by Vladimir Shukhov — a giant parabolic arched vault 321 meters long, with a span of nearly 48 meters and a height of 28 meters, covering the platforms with continuous glazing on three-hinged steel trusses.

Between 1940 and 1945 a building for suburban ticket offices was added on the north side, together with the Kievskaya metro station, designed by Dmitry Chechulin in the spirit of Venetian palazzos, although construction of the plinth had already been begun by architect Alexander Kulagin. In 2003–2004 the train shed was reconstructed according to a simplified scheme: of the original riveted arches only four were preserved, the rest were replaced with welded structures, and the glass was replaced with transparent polycarbonate. The station tower still retains its mechanical clock, which used to be adjusted by hand twice a year.

Today Kievsky Rail Terminal remains one of the capital’s busiest transport hubs, from which trains depart toward Kaluga, Bryansk, Tula and further to Ukraine and the southern regions of Russia; passenger flow exceeds 400 people per hour. The total area of the complex is more than 36,000 square meters, and the station still retains its historical architectural appearance despite reconstructions carried out in the 21st century.

The history of Kievsky Rail Terminal unites Shukhov’s engineering talent, Rerberg’s architectural mastery, and a memorial idea dedicated to the victory of 1812 — a combination of practical function and monumental symbolism rare for a transport structure. This is precisely why the building remains not only an operating railway station but also one of Moscow’s significant architectural monuments of the early 20th century.