Cold War Bunker
Sunday April 24th,
A few weeks ago, Josh from SRAS sent us an email regarding an excursion to a cold war bunker. I was exhausted from the day before, having gone to Vladimir, but since I didn't have class on Monday I felt that sleep wasn't important, and I could catch up on my Zzz time on Monday. My alarm woke me up at 8:30am. I quickly dressed, and was out the door by 9:20am. This was the first time I was traveling on the metro by myself, the funny thing was, I wasn't afraid at all. I realized that I had finally become accustomed to the way of life in Moscow. As I look back, I see myself 2 months ago, terrified of public transportation and the idea of traveling alone. Can it be that I have developed confidence in my speaking abilities? Perhaps, it is true that I am no longer afraid of not being able to ask for help in Russian. Or it can be that I have learned my way around Moscow, I've seen and been to a lot of different places.
I switched from the red line to the grey line, and at last to the brown line on the metro with ease. I would never have been able to do that a month ago. To give you an idea of what it looks like, here's a picture of the Moscow Metro system:
I live in the bottom left hand corner of the red line. It's the one called: университет (University).
After getting to the station Таганская, I met Josh from SRAS and a bunch of other students who I never met before. Rachel and Spencer were there as well. I found out that these other students were Americans studying at St. Peterburg's University. It turned out that Rachel knew them all, because they were all from her university back in Miami. I was almost surprised to hear what they had to say about St. Pete's. One of them begged me to switch places with her, she didn't want to go back! She said that Moscow is the real Russia. St. Pete's is simply a big European city where a lot more people are learning English. It was also warmer in Moscow, we had a beautiful almost 70 degrees day. It was perfect for Easter Sunday.
Anyway, on to the good stuff! The name of the cold war bunker is: Бункер - 42 на Таганке (Bunker - 42 in Tagank) If you find yourself with some free time while you are in Moscow, I recommend visiting this place, so here's the website: www.bunker42.com
The doors and soviet symbol you see here were not originally there. This place was a secret to the public, however 2,000 people - soldiers, knew about it, aside from government officials.
Our tour guide was a young man who spoke perfect English, I would have mistaken him as an American, if I didn't know better. I found out that he studied English in NY for a few years and that was how he became so fluent. Upon entering, the first thing he showed us was how the blast doors work. There were two of them, however, we were in a very cramped hallway that lead down to stairs. The first door weighed more than just a few tons, and it needed to be moved by gears. As it slide to a close, he explained that we would only be protected up to 60% from a nuclear explosion. With the second door closed which resembled the first one, it would be 110% guarantee protection from a nuclear bomb. The tour guide looked at the size of our group and said that there is an elevator, however it can only fit 5 people at a time, but the stairs were 160 meters under ground (that is 18 levels of stairs). Those with disabilities took the elevator while the rest of us young adults descended into the depths of the bunker.
After a really long time on the stairwell we came down to a tunnel. After walking along this path for a minute, we came across a desk. At this point, the tour guide explained that soldiers would stop here and show their ID to the guards on duty. He gave us a brief history of the place, and we continued walking down this tunnel for some time until we came across a room. In this room were benches and a movie projector screen. We watched a film about the arms race of the nuclear bombs. Some of the images were very sad, seeing the state Hiroshima was left in after the explosion. It was also very cool and interesting. A lot of people enjoyed this part of the tour. At the end of the film, he explained that in case of a nuclear threat, people could live down in the bunker for up to 90 days. They had enough food and supplies. There was also a way for the air to be purified and circulated throughout the bunker from above ground.
After we left that room, we headed onward to one of my favorite parts of the tour. The tour guide asked for two volunteers, and there were crickets. So he asked, "Who is from New York? New York is never afraid!" Well, that would be me, seeing as I study in the state, so I stepped up to the computer on the right, and one of the girls from Miami sat down at the one to the left. He gave us both a key, and a secret pass code. There were soviet hats sitting at the desks which we both promptly put on. We were enrolled in the Soviet army, and we were very important people. Because, it was her and I that held the knowledge and the key to launch a nuclear bomb onto the world. We had a mission, and were ordered to launch the bomb today. At his mark, we both entered our secret pass codes into the computer. I looked at my comrade, nodded, and counted down: Раз, Два, ТРИ! On три (three), we both turned our keys and pressed a button. Above us on the projection, we watched our missile launch, and explode on a country. I took off my soviet hat, and returned to reality, and was relieved to know that I actually did not kill thousands of innocent people.
This next room was also a lot of fun! First of all, there was a model of the Bunker:
As you can see, there are four main areas to the bunker, the one we were in was the farthest to the left. Above ground, is the building we entered through and an actual church that is still standing. At the bottom of the picture is the Таганская metro. There was a secret entrance from the bunker to that metro station. Only the top officials knew about it.
What made this room awesome, was the fact that they had all sorts of neat machines from the time of the Cold War like this one:
We were allowed to play with the machines, and press as many buttons as we wanted. Towards the
back of the room, we got to play dress up! They had rifles from the cold war, all sorts of ranking uniforms, hats, everything! I put on a blue uniform which was way too big for me, especially the hat. Russian officials have a very unique tradition when it comes to hats. The bigger, the more awesome...but really in my opinion, the bigger, the more ridiculous looking.
Before you think it, let me say, yes, I am aware that I am not holding that gun properly. Did I know it at the time? No.
If we had been a smaller group, we would have learned not only how to properly hold a gun, but how to dissemble and reassemble small and large arms.
Not only were there uniforms, but you could have pretended to be a journalist or a radio personnel like this:
After 30 minutes of free time playing dress up and playing with the machines, it was time to move on. The next room we visited was where they kept heavy machinery. The room is now completely cleaned out minus all the dust, but it was still pretty cool to look at.
After this part of the tour, it was time to leave, which also meant, it was time to climb up 160 meters of stairs. Ouch.
Before we left, however, the tour guide spoke about the main official of the bunker. His office was once beautiful, the walls were lined with Persian scarves and rugs. Once the soviet union fell, and people found out about the bunker, it was raided and everything was stolen.
After the tour, everyone was going to get lunch at McDonald's. McDonald's here in Russia is a nightmare. People love it, and it is always so busy that is is impossible to get a seat. The few times that I have ate at a McDonald's I found myself standing around with my tray waiting for someone to get up and leave before someone else could snag the free seat. Spencer and I decided, that because it was such a nice day, there was no way that we were going to waste the day by being indoors. So, we took off for Kremlin in Измайлово (Izmalova) which can only be described as the Russian version of Disney Land. It is so pretty and so fairy-tale like that it really can not be described any other way. Unfortunately, when we got off at the stop Измайловская the fairy-tale Kremlin was no where in site. We asked a local if they knew where the market was. So we headed in the direction the friendly local told us which ended up being straight after exiting the station. We ended up at an indoor shopping center. The bottom floor was all food, and the top was all clothing. There was a DVD/video game store at the top. The owner was selling them for 100 rubles each and some cheaper. They were not in a typical plastic case, but had the movie cover and the dvd slipped into a plastic sleeve to protect it. They are probably black-market, but I knew I wasn't going to get them cheaper anywhere else. Before we left, I found some Kulich, which I absolutely had to buy. Kulich is a Russian cake that Russians make for Pascha. It's a sweet cake with icing and sprinkles on top, and is made in the form of a cylinder which represents the church. Spencer decided to buy a ring of fresh kielbasi in honor of the occasion.
Since we were not at the outdoor market that we wanted to be in, Spencer opened up a little guide book that he had, and the stop before the one we got off, on the map above it's called : Измайловская Парк, but that map is a little outdated. The stop is now called Партизанская on the dark blue line to the far right of the circle. So we decided to try that, and when we arrived, we saw the Kremlin no problem.
Outside of the Kremlin there is an outdoor market where people go for their souvenirs. The market reminds me very much of the ones you may see in a medieval movie. All the people are out advertising their goods, showing how they work, people are bargaining. It's a good time, and this is definitely the place where you can get all and any of the Russian souvenirs you want. I bought myself a gorgeous Russian scarf that I started using as a shawl recently, and a hat that I probably should not have bought, but the price was really good. I want to go back and buy more things to bring home for friends and family, but I'm afraid that I may not have enough room in my suitcase! I'd have to throw out my clothes just to fit everything.
After shopping and haggling with the merchants, it was time to head back to the University. I had a great day, but I was also really sad. Today was Pascha, and I did not get to celebrate it with anyone. Even though I'm living in the heart of Orthodoxy, I have found it very difficult to find practicing Orthodox Christians. I did not feel comfortable just walking into a church by myself not knowing anyone. In Russian tradition Pascha (Easter) is a time for you to be with your family to celebrate, and typical Russians will tell you to leave if they do not know you. I did get in contact with a priest from the OCA church in Moscow, but I missed the nocturnal service and the liturgy because I got back from Vladimir much later than what I expected. There at least, I got to spend time in the churches, light candles, and venerate the icons and the grave. When I got home later that day, and I Skyped with my family, my father tortured me with the ham and kielbasi, and I wanted to cry, but what's the point in doing so, when it gets you no where?
A few weeks ago, Josh from SRAS sent us an email regarding an excursion to a cold war bunker. I was exhausted from the day before, having gone to Vladimir, but since I didn't have class on Monday I felt that sleep wasn't important, and I could catch up on my Zzz time on Monday. My alarm woke me up at 8:30am. I quickly dressed, and was out the door by 9:20am. This was the first time I was traveling on the metro by myself, the funny thing was, I wasn't afraid at all. I realized that I had finally become accustomed to the way of life in Moscow. As I look back, I see myself 2 months ago, terrified of public transportation and the idea of traveling alone. Can it be that I have developed confidence in my speaking abilities? Perhaps, it is true that I am no longer afraid of not being able to ask for help in Russian. Or it can be that I have learned my way around Moscow, I've seen and been to a lot of different places.
I switched from the red line to the grey line, and at last to the brown line on the metro with ease. I would never have been able to do that a month ago. To give you an idea of what it looks like, here's a picture of the Moscow Metro system:
After getting to the station Таганская, I met Josh from SRAS and a bunch of other students who I never met before. Rachel and Spencer were there as well. I found out that these other students were Americans studying at St. Peterburg's University. It turned out that Rachel knew them all, because they were all from her university back in Miami. I was almost surprised to hear what they had to say about St. Pete's. One of them begged me to switch places with her, she didn't want to go back! She said that Moscow is the real Russia. St. Pete's is simply a big European city where a lot more people are learning English. It was also warmer in Moscow, we had a beautiful almost 70 degrees day. It was perfect for Easter Sunday.
Anyway, on to the good stuff! The name of the cold war bunker is: Бункер - 42 на Таганке (Bunker - 42 in Tagank) If you find yourself with some free time while you are in Moscow, I recommend visiting this place, so here's the website: www.bunker42.com The doors and soviet symbol you see here were not originally there. This place was a secret to the public, however 2,000 people - soldiers, knew about it, aside from government officials.
Our tour guide was a young man who spoke perfect English, I would have mistaken him as an American, if I didn't know better. I found out that he studied English in NY for a few years and that was how he became so fluent. Upon entering, the first thing he showed us was how the blast doors work. There were two of them, however, we were in a very cramped hallway that lead down to stairs. The first door weighed more than just a few tons, and it needed to be moved by gears. As it slide to a close, he explained that we would only be protected up to 60% from a nuclear explosion. With the second door closed which resembled the first one, it would be 110% guarantee protection from a nuclear bomb. The tour guide looked at the size of our group and said that there is an elevator, however it can only fit 5 people at a time, but the stairs were 160 meters under ground (that is 18 levels of stairs). Those with disabilities took the elevator while the rest of us young adults descended into the depths of the bunker.
After a really long time on the stairwell we came down to a tunnel. After walking along this path for a minute, we came across a desk. At this point, the tour guide explained that soldiers would stop here and show their ID to the guards on duty. He gave us a brief history of the place, and we continued walking down this tunnel for some time until we came across a room. In this room were benches and a movie projector screen. We watched a film about the arms race of the nuclear bombs. Some of the images were very sad, seeing the state Hiroshima was left in after the explosion. It was also very cool and interesting. A lot of people enjoyed this part of the tour. At the end of the film, he explained that in case of a nuclear threat, people could live down in the bunker for up to 90 days. They had enough food and supplies. There was also a way for the air to be purified and circulated throughout the bunker from above ground.
After we left that room, we headed onward to one of my favorite parts of the tour. The tour guide asked for two volunteers, and there were crickets. So he asked, "Who is from New York? New York is never afraid!" Well, that would be me, seeing as I study in the state, so I stepped up to the computer on the right, and one of the girls from Miami sat down at the one to the left. He gave us both a key, and a secret pass code. There were soviet hats sitting at the desks which we both promptly put on. We were enrolled in the Soviet army, and we were very important people. Because, it was her and I that held the knowledge and the key to launch a nuclear bomb onto the world. We had a mission, and were ordered to launch the bomb today. At his mark, we both entered our secret pass codes into the computer. I looked at my comrade, nodded, and counted down: Раз, Два, ТРИ! On три (three), we both turned our keys and pressed a button. Above us on the projection, we watched our missile launch, and explode on a country. I took off my soviet hat, and returned to reality, and was relieved to know that I actually did not kill thousands of innocent people.
This next room was also a lot of fun! First of all, there was a model of the Bunker:
As you can see, there are four main areas to the bunker, the one we were in was the farthest to the left. Above ground, is the building we entered through and an actual church that is still standing. At the bottom of the picture is the Таганская metro. There was a secret entrance from the bunker to that metro station. Only the top officials knew about it.What made this room awesome, was the fact that they had all sorts of neat machines from the time of the Cold War like this one:
We were allowed to play with the machines, and press as many buttons as we wanted. Towards the back of the room, we got to play dress up! They had rifles from the cold war, all sorts of ranking uniforms, hats, everything! I put on a blue uniform which was way too big for me, especially the hat. Russian officials have a very unique tradition when it comes to hats. The bigger, the more awesome...but really in my opinion, the bigger, the more ridiculous looking.
Before you think it, let me say, yes, I am aware that I am not holding that gun properly. Did I know it at the time? No.
If we had been a smaller group, we would have learned not only how to properly hold a gun, but how to dissemble and reassemble small and large arms.
Not only were there uniforms, but you could have pretended to be a journalist or a radio personnel like this:
After 30 minutes of free time playing dress up and playing with the machines, it was time to move on. The next room we visited was where they kept heavy machinery. The room is now completely cleaned out minus all the dust, but it was still pretty cool to look at.
After this part of the tour, it was time to leave, which also meant, it was time to climb up 160 meters of stairs. Ouch.
Before we left, however, the tour guide spoke about the main official of the bunker. His office was once beautiful, the walls were lined with Persian scarves and rugs. Once the soviet union fell, and people found out about the bunker, it was raided and everything was stolen.
After the tour, everyone was going to get lunch at McDonald's. McDonald's here in Russia is a nightmare. People love it, and it is always so busy that is is impossible to get a seat. The few times that I have ate at a McDonald's I found myself standing around with my tray waiting for someone to get up and leave before someone else could snag the free seat. Spencer and I decided, that because it was such a nice day, there was no way that we were going to waste the day by being indoors. So, we took off for Kremlin in Измайлово (Izmalova) which can only be described as the Russian version of Disney Land. It is so pretty and so fairy-tale like that it really can not be described any other way. Unfortunately, when we got off at the stop Измайловская the fairy-tale Kremlin was no where in site. We asked a local if they knew where the market was. So we headed in the direction the friendly local told us which ended up being straight after exiting the station. We ended up at an indoor shopping center. The bottom floor was all food, and the top was all clothing. There was a DVD/video game store at the top. The owner was selling them for 100 rubles each and some cheaper. They were not in a typical plastic case, but had the movie cover and the dvd slipped into a plastic sleeve to protect it. They are probably black-market, but I knew I wasn't going to get them cheaper anywhere else. Before we left, I found some Kulich, which I absolutely had to buy. Kulich is a Russian cake that Russians make for Pascha. It's a sweet cake with icing and sprinkles on top, and is made in the form of a cylinder which represents the church. Spencer decided to buy a ring of fresh kielbasi in honor of the occasion.
Since we were not at the outdoor market that we wanted to be in, Spencer opened up a little guide book that he had, and the stop before the one we got off, on the map above it's called : Измайловская Парк, but that map is a little outdated. The stop is now called Партизанская on the dark blue line to the far right of the circle. So we decided to try that, and when we arrived, we saw the Kremlin no problem.
Outside of the Kremlin there is an outdoor market where people go for their souvenirs. The market reminds me very much of the ones you may see in a medieval movie. All the people are out advertising their goods, showing how they work, people are bargaining. It's a good time, and this is definitely the place where you can get all and any of the Russian souvenirs you want. I bought myself a gorgeous Russian scarf that I started using as a shawl recently, and a hat that I probably should not have bought, but the price was really good. I want to go back and buy more things to bring home for friends and family, but I'm afraid that I may not have enough room in my suitcase! I'd have to throw out my clothes just to fit everything.After shopping and haggling with the merchants, it was time to head back to the University. I had a great day, but I was also really sad. Today was Pascha, and I did not get to celebrate it with anyone. Even though I'm living in the heart of Orthodoxy, I have found it very difficult to find practicing Orthodox Christians. I did not feel comfortable just walking into a church by myself not knowing anyone. In Russian tradition Pascha (Easter) is a time for you to be with your family to celebrate, and typical Russians will tell you to leave if they do not know you. I did get in contact with a priest from the OCA church in Moscow, but I missed the nocturnal service and the liturgy because I got back from Vladimir much later than what I expected. There at least, I got to spend time in the churches, light candles, and venerate the icons and the grave. When I got home later that day, and I Skyped with my family, my father tortured me with the ham and kielbasi, and I wanted to cry, but what's the point in doing so, when it gets you no where?
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