In 2025, 31 stations of the Moscow Metro were removed from the register of cultural heritage sites, the preservation group Arkhnadzor noted. The list includes Sokolniki, Lubyanka, Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya, Dinamo, VDNKh, Novoslobodskaya, as well as several stations on the Circle Line.
These stations were built in 1935–1958, a period often described as the “golden age” of the Moscow Metro. The outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported that the stations are indeed no longer listed in the state register of cultural heritage sites published on the Culture Ministry’s website.
At the same time, 17 stations from the same era retained their status as regional heritage monuments. They include Chistye Prudy, Universitet, Kievskaya and Taganskaya.
Removal from the register means the stations can no longer be regarded as protected monuments. As a result, the city authorities are no longer obliged to carry out full restoration of their vestibules or preserve the sites’ historic appearance.
The legal basis was a set of amendments to Moscow’s law on cultural heritage sites. From July 1, 2025, all “identified” monuments lost protected status — that is, sites that had been under protection but had not yet completed final review. Metro stations had been awaiting such a decision since 2007.
Arkhnadzor’s attempt to challenge the amendments in court was unsuccessful. After the law was changed, more than 1,500 Moscow buildings lost state protection, while only 120 structures retained cultural heritage status. Among the sites that lost protection was the Elektrozavod complex, where demolition began in late June for the construction of a residential and business quarter.