What is the name of the circular line on the Moscow Metro?

The circular line on the Moscow Metro is the Koltsevaya Line. Its name means “Circle” or “Ring” line in Russian, and it is also known as Line 5 and the Brown Line on network maps.

The line was built between 1950 and 1954 to connect major railway terminals and relieve pressure on central transfer points. Its first section, between Park Kultury and Kurskaya, opened on 1 January 1950; the full circle was completed in 1954.

The Koltsevaya Line has 12 stations, all of which provide transfers to other Moscow Metro lines. Its stations include famous Stalinist-era interiors such as Komsomolskaya, Novoslobodskaya and Kiyevskaya.

A common mix-up is the newer Bolshaya Koltsevaya, or Big Circle Line. That is a separate, much larger outer circle; the traditional circular line is the Koltsevaya.