Moscow Metro: Inside the Transit System Where Soviet-Era Style Lives On

— -- This past weekend marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Moscow subway. And it’s not your average metro system.

In fact, it’s more like a series of underground palaces and art galleries.

Almost every station has elaborate decorations, depicting historic Russian victories, famous literary figures and, of course, Soviet-era symbols.

The most impressive part of the 12-line metro were built under Stalin during the 1930s and 1950s, designed to celebrate Communist revolution and glorify the Soviet Union. The idea was to make public places -- and many of its 196 stations -- as lavish as palaces.

About 7 million people ride the Moscow Metro each day, making it one of the busiest in the world. The U.S.S.R. may be long gone, but the metro is a relic of that time -- and an example of how Russians’ Soviet past continues to somehow live on in their everyday lives.