Apparently really people just got cheaper, or were always cheap..
That said, from a national economic perspective, it is much cheaper to build a mass transit system with ornate stations than it is to provide everyone with automobiles, so a rubel saved is a rubel earned in this case..
Nope, just a major subway-bus transfer in the Toronto west-end. Materials used look like leftovers from a 1970s apartment complex construction site. I think even the worst NYC stations have at least some interesting tile or signage preserved from when the original station was built giving it some character even if it's not well-lit or feels too claustrophobic.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Praha%2C...
Apparently really people just got cheaper, or were always cheap..
That said, from a national economic perspective, it is much cheaper to build a mass transit system with ornate stations than it is to provide everyone with automobiles, so a rubel saved is a rubel earned in this case..