November 15, 1955 - the grand opening of the Leningrad Metro took place.
Already at the end of the 19th century, the prospects of building an underground railway were seriously discussed in the capital of the Russian Empire. Newspapers argued noisily about the plans for the metro in St. Petersburg, prominent engineers discussed the pros and cons of the projects. In total, a dozen pre-revolutionary projects are known. But there were not enough funds for construction at that time.
The question of planning an underground metro was raised again in 1938 at the initiative of the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council A. N. Kosigina. The work has begun. By April 1941, all 34 mine shafts had been laid.
During the Great Patriotic War, all work on the construction of the Leningrad metro was postponed and resumed only on September 3, 1947. On October 7, 1955, the first electric train was launched for testing. On November 5, 1955, the commissioning of the first phase of the Leningrad metro was signed.