Stalin's Bunker (Бункер Сталина) (Moscow)

Stalin's Bunker (Бункер Сталина) (Moscow)

 

 

Description of the Stalin's Bunker

Command post of the Supreme Commander of the Red Army during period of the Great Patriotic 1941- 45 years or simply Stalin's Bunker as it is known is an underground structure that served both as a bomb shelter and command centre for Josef Stalin during World War II. This structure was constructed in the 30's as part of a government program to ensure the defence of the USSR against Western Capitalist countries. Stalin's bunker is connected to the Kremlin Stalin office via an underground road with a length of 17 km. Stalin's Bunker was dug at the depth of 37 meters below ground surface. It was protected from the air bomb raids by a 6- 8 meter reinforced concrete slabs laid over natural rock with a thickness of 4 meters. In order to disguise the location of a bunker Soviet government ordered a construction of a large stadium that could seat over 120,000 spectators over Stalin's Bunker. The location was chosen wisely. Three military airfields, including strategic airfield Monino, were located nearby. The whole underground complex of Stalin's Bunker consists of multiple room of different sizes. It included Conference Room, personal study room of Joseph Stalin, dining room, lounges, combat support and many others.  Even after the complex lost much of its military importance it was still considered a secret facility. Stalin's Bunker was opened for the first time to the public only in 1996.

 

Today Stalin's Bunker Museum is a brunch of Armed Forces Museums. The interior of the facility are well preserved since the last time it was used. This included original copies of Marx's writings that Joseph Stalin probably read himself. Other items included newspapers from the period of World War II, leaflets, military propaganda posters and etc.

 

 

History of the Stalinist bunker
The design of an underground bunker in the center of Moscow began in 1945 in connection with the development of the atomic bomb in the United States. At the personal request of Joseph Stalin, Soviet scientists began to develop their own nuclear weapons and means of protection against them.

In the fall of 1947, scientists from the Metrogiprotrans Institute prepared a technical design for the bunker. It was codenamed "Object 02" (CHZ-293) and was supposed to be located near the Kremlin (in the Tagansky hill area), so that in the event of a nuclear war with the United States, Stalin and the Soviet government could quickly get to the shelter and continue to manage the state and the army. When designing, the drawing indexes "CHZ-572" and "CHZ-293" were used, while in the "construction" column they wrote "Step-down substation of the 1st section".

After the first tests of the atomic bomb in the USSR, which took place in 1949, there were clear requirements for anti-nuclear bunkers: a depth of 60 meters, strong cast — iron tunnels, and a service life of 400 years. Construction of the facility in Moscow began in 1950. The underground complex was built using the same technology that was used in the construction of the Moscow metro. Its tunnels were connected by two tracks to the Taganskaya station on the Ring line. The first Walker, created to supply the object, led to the tunnel between "Kursk" and "Taganskaya", the second-directly to the technical premises of the metro.

In 1952, the construction of the main structures of the bunker was completed, and in the summer of 1953, the installation of life support systems was completed. In the spring of 1954, signalmen responsible for laying communications and installing equipment began working at the facility.

In 1956, the object was accepted by the state Commission and transferred to the Ministry of defense of the USSR. Its area was more than 7,000 m2. After Stalin's death, it was decided to convert it into a control point of the long-range aviation Headquarters. In the bunker, military and civilian specialists worked in shifts, supporting the operation of communication equipment and life support systems. In the event of a combat alert during the exercise, four shifts were sent down to the facility, capable of performing combat duty and ensuring the operation of the long-range aviation Headquarters.

In the mid-1950s, the bunker housed equipment and established communications with new regiments and divisions of strategic bombers throughout the country. The Ministry of communications of the USSR was responsible for transmitting secret government and military classified messages, as well as for communication with radio centers in the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries.

In the 1960s, the bunker was fully equipped in case of a possible nuclear attack: it stored food and fuel, and two artesian wells with drinking water were equipped. Air purification systems could ensure the combat duty of personnel for a long time. In 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, the facility was operating in Autonomous mode in anticipation of a nuclear strike on Moscow: at that time, up to 2,500 people were on duty on its territory.

At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, it was decided to reconstruct the bunker for technical reasons: damage to the waterproofing with subsequent flooding of the object with water, non-automatic drives of hermodvery, wear of diesel generators and ventilation systems. By the mid-1980s, the room was stripped of its equipment: it was going to be re-equipped for the needs of the Telegraph. After the end of the cold war and the normalization of relations between Russia and the West, the military purpose of the object lost its relevance, and in 2000 it was completely declassified.

The creation of the Museum
In 2006, the former bunker was purchased by Novik-Service. Began the restoration of the premises: from a former secret facility remained the reinforced genmodel and steel paneling. After the restoration, the exhibits for the future cold war Museum had to be collected in military units and warehouses. Only an old telephone and a portrait of Karl Marx have been preserved from the interior of the military facility. In some parts of the bunker, you can hear the hum of passing metro trains, although at present it does not have a direct connection with the metro, the tunnel is blocked and blocked with a reinforced concrete seal.

The first visitors to the Museum, which began its work in 2006, received a ticket in the form of a bright red pass of the Ministry of defense of the USSR with a photo of an unknown person in a gas mask and according to the rules of the tour had to put on a raincoat-tent.
 
In 2007, the Museum was shooting the Thriller directed by Rodion Nakhapetov "Infection", starring Hollywood actor Eric Roberts. In 2008, the Museum hosted the presentation of the post-apocalyptic novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky "Metro 2033" and the world premiere of the computer game Red Alert 3. Here were shooting the Thriller "SMERSH XXI" based on the novel by Russian writer Vasily Golovachev. So the bunker began to develop not only as a Museum, but also as a cultural center.

Exposition
The main element of the Museum's exposition is the underground bunker itself, which preserves the historical architecture of its corridors and halls. On the territory of the Museum there are engineering rooms, a cinema hall, a copy of the Central command post, an exhibition hall, a dining room, and an entertainment area.

The exhibition hall features Soviet radio stations of the mid-20th century, chemical protection suits, gas masks, Geiger counters, and Soviet propaganda posters. Each visitor receives a stylized bright red pass from the Soviet Ministry of defense with their name and a photo of an unknown person in a gas mask. The Museum also broadcasts documentaries on the history of the Soviet Union during the cold war.

The Museum participates in the national presidential program "Victory Routes". In addition to individual visitors and tour groups, it is visited by international delegations of politicians, students and youth at the invitation of the Ministry of defense, the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and other government departments.