History of the Metro

The idea to create an off-street system of railroad transportation in the northern capital of the Russian Empire goes back to the 19th century. As far back as 1820, an engineer by the name of Torgovanov appealed to Alexander I via Count M.A. Miloradovich with a proposal to set up a tunnel under the Neva. The monarch wrote on the petition: “Issue two hundred rubles from our funds to Torgovanov and make him sign an obligation not to come up with such projects any more. Let him do what he’s suited to do.” A famous self-taught inventor, I.P.Kulibin, also made similar requests, however also in  vain.

Several projects for St Petersburg, designed by the French born English engineer, Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, who is considered the father of tunnel construction, were also not implemented due to a number of reasons. Nikolaevskiy (Blagoveschenskiy) Bridge, completed in 1855,  somewhat eased the problem of connecting the two banks of the Neva and bringing passengers and cargo from the city center to Vasilyevskiy Island. However the problem very soon resurfaced again.
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