Governments of most countries care about their security in case of war. Just in case, quite comfortable conditions are created underground, to which high leaders are accustomed. Shelters are also being built for ordinary citizens, but they are much simpler, and there are not enough of them for everyone.
The desire to keep the structures of military and political control in place in the event of a threat of air attack is quite rational and justified. Headquarters and communication centers become the main target of any aggressor, military and industrial facilities are hit secondarily.
The construction of underground government residences began in many countries long before the advent of nuclear weapons, but the design features of most of them make it possible to withstand atomic bombing. Hitler's bunker in Berlin (now defunct) built in the 1930s near the Imperial Chancellery was striking in its excessive strength.
Stalin's bunker in Samara (then Kuibyshev) was cut into the rocks, the work was carried out in the strictest secrecy. To disguise such a massiveconstruction, they even built a hydroelectric power station, which, however, came in handy too. The margin of safety would allow today to use this facility for its intended purpose.
But there was not one such object, there were several of them. It is known about the mysterious underground headquarters of Hitler near Vinnitsa, allegedly built by the Germans in record time, in just a few months. Its dimensions are so impressive that one can only assume that in fact it was Stalin's secret bunker, dug before the war and used by the enemy. It is almost impossible to carry out such large-scale work in the occupied territory and at the same time keep a secret, not to mention calculations and design.
The fact that in the secret branch of the Moscow metro a situation was created in advance, completely repeating the Kremlin interior, how carefully the preparations for the war were carried out. When visiting Stalin's bunker, a general, marshal, chief designer or other guest was sure that he was not underground, but in the "owner's" office, this was very important psychologically and gave confidence in the final victory.
In the post-war years, there was a very real threat of a nuclear strike. It would be strange if those who were responsible for the security of the Soviet leadership did not react to it. The requirements for facilities have become even stricter, in particular, the problem of providing people in the shelter with air that is not contaminated with radiological contamination has become an urgent problem. Stalin's new bunker in Moscow was conceived as a placewhere will the troops be commanded in the event of a conflict with the use of atomic weapons.
The builders of the forties could not take into account the total, during the years of the Cold War the building was repeatedly modernized. The size of the underground facility is huge, so it takes at least an hour and a half to inspect it briefly. Its depth reaches 70 meters. In those days, the maintenance of communications and encryption equipment was much more labor intensive than today, and only about six hundred electronics specialists were required, while the total staff consisted of 2500 military personnel.
Today, Stalin's bunker at Taganka has been turned into a museum. There are many who want to visit the "Object 42", the mere mention of which six decades ago could cost a life. Today the price is more modest - only 700 rubles. For this money, you can see everything, get acquainted with thematic video materials, and even launch a nuclear strike on the United States, of course, for fun. This exercise, by the way, was repeated many times by officers on duty in the 50s and 60s, and each time no one told them whether it was a training launch or a combat one.
It is known that in Moscow there is another Stalin's bunker, in the Izmailovo district, however, the "father of the peoples" himself never honored him with his presence. Apparently, it was built as a backup, and it is possible that its purpose was completely distracting. In any case, the quality of work and materials is so high that any of these objects is quite suitable for use today. And how many of them were built is a mystery to this day.
