Nuclear facilities in the Crimea and Sevastopol

Nuclear facilities in the Crimea were actively built during the Soviet era. But after the collapse of the Union, many of them were closed down, and later they were dismantled by looters. The Soviet legacy is a huge number of inactive objects in Russia and in the former union republics. Abandoned objects of the Crimea attract diggers, tourists and just fans to tickle their nerves.

The reasons for building a large number of nuclear facilities

Because of its border location, Crimea has always been at the center of military developments. In Soviet times, after the start of the Cold War, the country's leadership tried to protect the state.

Since the world political arena was in a very tense situation and there was a real threat of a nuclear strike by America, large-scale construction projects for various purposes began in the Crimea: from bomb shelters to the storage of nuclear weapons. Also, the industry of the Crimea began to develop.

Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of these facilities were abandoned for various reasons. Russia's nuclear facilities are in a better condition.

Crimean nuclear power plant

The Crimean nuclear power plant was never completed. It is located on the Kerch peninsula, near the town of Shchelkino, on the shore of the salty Aktash reservoir. It was planned to use it as a cooling pond.

With the help of this NPP, the authorities wanted to supply electricity to the entire peninsula of the Crimea, and to initiate further development of industry. In our time, a working nuclear power plant would be very useful when Zaporizhzhya NPP is on the other side of the border of a not very friendly state.

Construction began here in 1975, together with the construction of the satellite city of Shelkino. The settlement was decided to be named in honor of Shchelkin Kirill Ivanovich, who was an outstanding nuclear physicist. The young city was inhabited by young specialists - nuclear engineers and experienced workers of operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

The construction of the station itself began only in 1982. Construction was carried out on a strict schedule, the first start-up was planned in 1989, but the station did not work. In 1987, the project was frozen. There are many reasons for this, the most important of them is the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The media began to report that all nuclear power plants - nuclear hazardous facilities, which is dangerous to use such fuel, it is unacceptable to build new stations, in particular, the Crimean. In addition to these arguments, there was one more - an unfavorable location from the geological point of view.

In the year of the projected launch, the project was completely closed. It was a matter of the collapse of the Soviet Union, so the almost ready-made Crimean nuclear power plant remained unattended, which was used by looters of all stripes.

The nuclear station was steal and take away for black and non-ferrous metals. Today, from her there is only one frame, and it attracts only tourists and filmmakers. However, like all abandoned nuclear facilities in the Crimea and Sevastopol, the nuclear power plant is destroyed not only because of marauders, but also under the influence of the environment and time.

Bunker "Alsu"

"Object 221" is the largest bunker in the territory of the Crimea. It was planned to place the command of the Black Sea Fleet in the event of a nuclear attack. In total it has four underground floors, the depth of which is two hundred meters, three of which are accessible only with the availability of climbing equipment.

Inside the bunker, images of the radiation sign are everywhere in the eye . Here - metal hatches that cover the passages, kilometers of mines and a huge room for a nuclear reactor.

The entrance to the bunker is located in the Mishen mountain and disguised as an apartment building. Even the windows are drawn for believability. At the top of the mountain are the outlets of ventilation and waveguide shafts. Looking at him, you understand that the Soviet leadership was very serious about the possible aggression on the part of its enemies.

A visit to the bunker is not recommended because of the many technical moves in which it is easy to get lost, abandoned and dangerous elevator shafts. Also inside the object is high humidity, which creates a favorable microclimate for the development of microorganisms, for example mold, which can lead to necrosis of the lungs.

Underground Sevastopol

The underground city began to be developed long before he became interested in the military. They showed interest in it only in the 30s of the XX century. In general, underground premises were used as a warehouse for food and ammunition.

When there was a nuclear threat, the government conceived a grandiose project in its scope. Still not recovered from World War II, the country began to prepare for a new war. According to the plan I.V. Stalin, every building on the surface had to have its own double under the ground. And in the event of an atomic war, people would simply descend a few tens of meters down and continue to live and work as usual.

The plan was very difficult, and by 1953 underground Sevastopol was not built even half. At this time, Khrushchev comes to power and throws all the forces and resources on the development of missile developments and nuclear submarines. As a result, the project with the underground city is frozen and never returned to it.

Only a few rooms were suitable as shelters and put into operation. Little is known about the remaining structures. Especially secret ones disappeared, as if they were not: the entrances were immured, and the drawings were burned. Other rooms are simply abandoned.

It was assumed that all the premises would be connected to each other, but since the city was not completed, many remained autonomous.

Nuclear weapons storage facility

Nuclear facilities in the Crimea in the middle of the XX century were built very actively and according to the latest technologies. The repository of nuclear weapons was built in 1955 near Krasnokamenka. This is one of the first central nuclear weapons storage facilities. The place was not chosen by chance: the valley, hidden from prying eyes by mountain spurs. The repository is a tunnel more than two kilometers long, pierced in the Kiziltash mountain. According to the calculations of specialists, ammunition will remain intact even with a close explosion of the nuclear warhead.

The first atomic bombs in this storage were collected manually, without any protection for workers, except for alcohol.

Secrecy is very strictly observed. The object 76 could only be reached by a special pass. Everywhere there were warning signs, and the perimeter of the vault was enclosed by barbed wire. But, on the one hand, the name Krasnokamenka could be found on the map, and in the passport of local residents could be listed "Feodosiya-13".

In the year 94, after signing agreements with the United States and Ukraine, Russia transported the entire contents of the object to its territory.

Balaclava ("Object 825")

Until 1957 it was a city, and now - part of Sevastopol. After the end of the Great Patriotic War this object was absent on maps. In its place was a closed base of submarines, an arsenal of nuclear weapons. She was in a rocky shelter, which is an adit and is capable of withstanding a nuclear strike. For conspiracy, the facility was called a repair and technical base.

It was not only a repository of nuclear supplies, but an underground plant for the repair of submarines.

The construction of this base took only four years: from 1957 to 1961. In the canal of this underground harbor there were seven diesel submarines at once, and several thousand people could be accommodated if necessary.

Now the "Object 825" is open to all comers and turned into a museum of submarines and ships.

«Object 100»

Between Cape Aya and Balaklava was a secret coastal missile system. Since the 1950s and before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was he who controlled the entire Black Sea area.

The underground complex was completely autonomous in case of prolonged military operations and had an additional protective skeleton from atomic weapons.

The construction of the facility was carried out from 1954 to 1957. The artillery of the underground missile complex knocked down any target within a radius of 100 meters. During the construction it was meant that the enemy would attack from Turkey. While the complex was hitting the enemy, the command of the Black Sea Fleet could gather and deploy its forces.

For that time Sotka was equipped with the most modern technology. In 1964 and 1982, reconstruction and rearmament were carried out for new types of missiles.

In 1996 Sotka was transferred to Ukraine, as well as many nuclear facilities in the Crimea. His government was conserved. At first the object was protected, but by 2005 there was no one left, and the whole complex was dismantled for scrap.

Nuclear Air Base

The polygon No. 71, or the Bagerovo airfield, is an object that can be used by all types of aircraft. It is also a spare runway for the space shuttle Buran, which is still in good condition.

The main functions of the range were bombing from fighters in the regime of air nuclear explosions, "non-nuclear" tests of bombs together with fighters. Dangerous wastes were buried in the steppe, between the villages of Bagerovo and Chistopol. The burial ground, which is called Bageovsky, exists to this day, gathering a lot of rumors and omissions.

The airfield is located not far from Kerch - 14 kilometers away. Construction was conducted from 1947 to 1949.

Now in the village live four and a half thousand people. Most of them are ex-servicemen and members of their families.

In the 70's and 80's, the air regiment in Bagerovo was the training base for the school navigators. Later he played the role of training and retraining of pilots from all over the USSR. The last graduates left for Russia in 1994. Since 1996, the aerodrome is not operated. And in 1998 the military unit was disbanded. The polygon came to desolation, like almost all nuclear facilities in the Crimea.

Range "Thread"

Located at the airfield Novofedorivka. It was built in the 80s of the XX century for training and testing of new aircraft carrier models and for training pilots before landing and take-off on an aircraft carrier.

The range completely reproduces a three-deck aircraft carrier with all necessary devices like a springboard, a retarding network and other things. And the basic simulators are underground.

Training nuclear reactor in Sevastopol

The nuclear industry of Crimea is represented by only one reactor, which is located on the territory of the Sevastopol State University of Nuclear Energy and Industry. It was stopped in 2014 due to the annexation of the Crimea to Russia. To use the training reactor, a license is required, which the university has only in the territory of Ukraine, and has not been received for work in Russia. Therefore, at the moment the reactor does not function. The facility was built and put into operation in 1967.