09.10 Olympic Flame Takes Trip on Moscow Subway
MOSCOW, October 9 (R-Sport) The Olympic flame took an excursion on Moscows renowned subway system Wednesday as part of the torch relay for next years Winter Games in the Russian city of Sochi.
The flame was carried in a lantern between two stations in western Moscow and later in the day will visit Moscows tallest building, the Ostankino TV tower, and venues from the 1980 Olympics held in the Soviet Union.
The Moscow subway, known locally as the Metro, was opened in 1935 and now boasts 12 lines with 188 stations.
The Sochi 2014 relay across Russia started Monday, a day after President Vladimir Putin welcomed the flame to Moscow in a lavish patriotism-infused ceremony. On Thursday, the flame leaves the Russian capital and heads for nearby cities, continuing its record 123-day, 65,000-kilometer (41,140 mile) journey.
The flame will later head to St. Petersburg before being flown to Russias Far East and eventually looping around the Kamchatka Peninsula, down to Vladivostok and back across southern Siberia via Lake Baikal, the worlds largest freshwater lake.
