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7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union: Deserted Cities, Buildings, Bases and More

Russian and Soviet Urban Abandonments [Note on the above: Just a screenshot, not for real!]

There are amazing abandonments in America but the former Soviet Union has some of the most interesting, unique and strange abandoned buildings. The complex political, military and social history of the country has led to everything from almost-finished buildings abandoned before actual use and entire abandoned cities to chilling gulags in which tens of millions of prisoners met their end. Check here for some creatively adapted British military sea forts and also be sure to check out part two in this series of amazing Russian abandonments.

Deserted Rural Russian City Buildings

Abandoned City: Promyshlennyi, Russia was abandoned with the fall of the Soviet Union, cut off from communication with and support from the government. When utilities and electricity stopped working, people simply left to find a home and work elsewhere, leaving buildings behind and many belongings in the wreckage. Today, the remnants of the things they owned and buildings they inhabited remain relatively untouched.

Abandoned Russian Underground Submarine Base

Abandoned Submarine Base: Balakava is a small town on the Black Sea Coast that was once the secret home to a Soviet nuclear submarine base. People with resident family members were not even allowed to visit the town without special dispensation from the government. Today, all of the submarines are gone but the base remains remarkably intact and can be visited by urban explorers from around the world.

Russian Gulag Abandoned Historical Buildings

Abandoned Prison: Like concentration camps in Europe, the gulags are unique to Russian history. Abandoned gulag buildings are the physical evidence of mass imprisonment, forced labor and tacitly approved extermination. “Roosevelt observed that capitalism is unequally divided riches while socialism is equally divided poverty. Gulag prison life meant an equal distribution of death among the rich and poor, old and young.”

Unfinished Russian Structures Under Construction

Abandoned (Never Used) Buildings: In most countries, abandonments remain in the wake of long-deserted structures that once saw heavy use. In Russia, some industrial, medical and administrative abandonments are merely the remnants of failed projects that were nearly completed but never put to use. In a way, these tell a unique kind of history – a history of corrupt and confused leadership, a history absent of the normal metaphorical ghosts that haunt the halls of once-used structures. In short: a history of could-have-beens.

Abandoned Russian Nuclear Missile Silo

Abandoned Missile Silo Complex: Of course, the breakup of the Soviet Union was followed by a significant nuclear disarmament leaving deserted silos scattered about the Russian countryside. The particular complex shown in the image above is located in Latvia and contains four silos as well as a central command and technical support bunker. Now decommissioned, some such silos are open for public tourist visitation.

Abandoned Russian Military Fortress Structures

Abandoned Oceanside Fortress: Water fortifications were deemed necessary on the east coast of the Soviet Union to protect against possible attacks from Japan. In the southeast of Russia, Vladivostok is the largest port city on the Pacific Ocean. The fort and miles of tunnels featured in the photographs above have since fallen in disarray, but were once a highly prized (and extravagantly expensive) Russian defense construction project. Today it is a destination for Russian and other visitors complete with antiquated bombs and guided tours.

Abandoned Communications and Mining Equipment

Abandoned Heavy Equipment: It is somewhat hard to imagine how incredibly costly and complex industrial and communications machines could ever be worth abandoning, yet in Russia one finds giant mining contraptions and satellite arrays left largely to succumb to the elements. The giant communications dish above is the size of a soccer field yet sits essentially idle today.

Want More? Check out These Other Amazing Wonders of the World:
7 More Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 Abandoned Wonders of America
7 Abandoned Wonders of the World
7 Deserted Wonders of the World
7 Underwater Wonders of the World
7 Underground Wonders of the World
7 More Underground Wonders of the World
7 Island Wonders of the World
7 Engineering Wonders of the World

Want More? Check Out These Great Related Articles:

Posted by Urbanist January 27th, 2008
7 Wonders, Abandonments, Architecture, Urban Images, Urbex
Comments: 80

Comments

Comment from DailyWebb
Time: January 28, 2008, 3:24 am

well done .. thanks

Comment from mrx
Time: January 28, 2008, 5:13 am

Is the first one a screen-shot from the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ?

Comment from Edward
Time: January 28, 2008, 8:14 am

Actually you are wrong in stating:
“The complex political, military and social history of the country has led to everything from almost-finished buildings abandoned before actual use and entire abandoned cities”

The reason these things are abandoned are an intrinsic feature of communism, specifically command economies, and why they never work. You can be as well intentioned as you like, but without the capitalist system of profit and loss, there is no feedback mechanism for the people managing capital to know whether they are doing the right thing. Thus, with finite resources, your economy central planner does not know whether to make 10,000 winter coats, or build a gulag. This is the reason communist countries are littered with abandoned capital.

Comment from C-Lo
Time: January 28, 2008, 9:37 am

talk about awesome places to play paint-ball.

And please tell me they didn’t leave a missile in the abandoned silo

Comment from Denis
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:28 am

very interesting page. I passed in Balaklava and enjoyed a nice sunset. I remember seeing some concrete around, but I never suspected there could be a submarine base there. All former USSR countries surely have plenty of such places. Your collection is very interesting, thanks for putting it together.

Denis

Comment from Good but inaccurate at parts
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:56 am

Seeing these photos brings back memories, but I do think you slander us too much. My grandfather went to a GULAG, and of course I do not support them but THEY WERE NOT “mass extermination facilities” like concentration camps that is just fing stupid. If you think it is like that I think you should look at William Hearst( Nazi who wrote about them to deviate attention from Holocaust) thats where the statistics of “tens of millions” comes from. That bastard stalin was the only person to use them in a malicious manner and he didnt kill more then 500,000

Comment from UpStart
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:59 am

What an amazing article. I was never much interested in russian history as a tourist attraction before, but your artile makes me feel stupid for not considering the possibilities.

Cuba was very interesting… but of course we couldn’t get into the most controversial parts. Maybe that isn’t true in the former USSR… areas that are meaningless to modern day Russia.

Comment from Rigley
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:05 am

The first picture, the one with the truck, is actually a screenshot from the videogame S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl.

Just found that a bit humorous. :)

Comment from G2D2
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:06 am

Edward, your comment is spot on and it makes me wonder (assuming you are an American) if you are supporting Ron Paul for President. Please look up some information if you are unfamiliar with him.
To “Good but inaccurate at parts”: what about Stalin’s artificially-enforced famines of the early 1930’s? These easily make him the greatest mass-killer in history. The horrors of that deprivation of humanity are documented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

Comment from pipo
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:20 am

Cool stuff!

Comment from Brian
Time: January 28, 2008, 11:26 am

G2D2: why does he have to be an RP supporter? I strongly believe in market principles but RP is totally disgusting to me. Has something to do with having too many anti-semetic connections and being totally clueless about anything having to do with foreign policy.

Also getting rid of the income tax is beyond utterly idiotic. Pretty much the world out there has shown that a VAT is effectively a way to implement regional tariffs. Also it punishes people who’ve actually saved money in their lives. If I took $75k of earnings over the past few years with RP’s plan it would end up being double taxed to under $35k worth of money. No thanks.

Comment from G2D2
Time: January 28, 2008, 12:04 pm

Brian, he should be a RP supporter because RP is the candidate who most fervidly supports free market economics, private property, and individual rights. Your comment about “anti-semitic connections” is silly and to say that a statesman like Paul is “clueless” about foreign policy is even more ridiculous; you may not like his proposals, but that does not make him “clueless”.

He foreign policy goals may strike you as “silly” and “clueless” if you believe that the US has the right to intervene in other countries’ affairs and spread democracy at gunpoint and to engage in economic bullying with sanctions and the like. You may be a believer in the neoconservative “clash of civilization” ideology in which the USA and the West should actively confront “rogue states”, particularly those in the Middle East. If you fit these descriptions, there isn’t much that I can say to you.

Ron Paul believes in peace and commerce with all nations, entangling alliances with none. He believes that the military should be sent into action only when we are realistically threatened. He sees no reason why we need to maintain an excessively costly empire abroad (currently there are over 700 military bases on non-American soil). Why are we the only country that does this? No other nation’s troops routinely inhabit and patrol foreign soil, yet we still have soldiers in Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc. Why is this? Why is America the world’s policeman?

As for economics, you are simply wrong on all counts. Under a Ron Paul administration, no American would be paying more taxes than before. Ron Paul is an enemy of taxes and has always voted against them in Congress. Always.

If you want to discuss economics and learn what RP’s theories are really about, visit: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=53df253188472ba5b887b2171d7aa8b2&f=204

Comment from freedom
Time: January 28, 2008, 12:21 pm

‘That bastard stalin was the only person to use them in a malicious manner and he didnt kill more then 500,000′

Right, Krushchev never used the gulags and neither did his successors.

Stalin killed millions of people via his policies.

Stop being an apologist for that paranoid lunatic dictator.

Comment from Chicagrafo
Time: January 28, 2008, 12:50 pm

Hi there.

I wish you would have mentioned “Oil Rocks”, the semi-abandoned off-shore oil platform/city of 2000 inhabitants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Rocks
http://images.google.com/images?q=Neft+Dashlari&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Comment from jordan
Time: January 28, 2008, 1:13 pm

are there high resolution pictures of all these pics?

Comment from Uhm Hi
Time: January 28, 2008, 1:14 pm

S.T.A.L.K.E.R takes place in Ukraine, NOT Russia =P

Comment from Ben
Time: January 28, 2008, 1:44 pm

I remember seeing a lot of this kind of stuff when I toured Eastern Europe; it’s all quite eerie.

Comment from Tauno
Time: January 28, 2008, 2:52 pm

Abandoned excavator, claimed to be worlds largest of its kind. In Estonia:
http://www.vanakoolimehed.ee/pildid/2001/011124sakidas/46.JPG

Comment from Anonymous
Time: January 28, 2008, 3:59 pm

paint ball anyone????? sweet pics

Comment from Edward
Time: January 28, 2008, 5:03 pm

G2D2,

I am indeed, and I am a Ron Paul supporter :)

Comment from Marilyn Terrell
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:19 pm

Some lovely photos of North Dakota ghost towns on National Geographic magazine’s website:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-01/emptied-north-dakota/richards-photography.html

Comment from fair exchange of views
Time: January 28, 2008, 10:27 pm

Hey, what you take for missle silo site in Latvia is in fact radar station south of Tallinn, Estonia.

Comment from Nicola
Time: January 29, 2008, 12:58 am

nell’estate 2006 sono andato in moto dall’Italia fino alla Bulgaria. Appena entrati in quel paese abbiamo trovato veramente un altro mondo, soprattutto tra i paesi sperduti nel centro della nazione. Alcune sembravano vere e proprie città fantasma.

Comment from peleken
Time: January 29, 2008, 6:04 am

“That bastard stalin was the only person to use them in a malicious manner and he didnt kill more then 500,000.” As a Ukrainian, I don’t know weather to laugh or cry at that comment. It’s ironic that your pointing out inaccuracies

Comment from seriously?
Time: January 29, 2008, 2:44 pm

THEY WERE NOT “mass extermination facilities”…That bastard stalin was the only person to use them in a malicious manner and he didnt kill more then 500,000

At what point do you reach the level of “mass extermination?” Apparently killing 500,000 people isn’t a big deal…

Comment from Teri
Time: January 29, 2008, 3:45 pm

No mention of Pripyat? Very good reason to abandon a city though.

Comment from Al Ebaster
Time: January 29, 2008, 8:28 pm

Teri, Weburbanist has featured Pripyat before — quite well, I might add.

And really, when most urbexers think about Soviet abandonments, does anything but Pripyat come to mind? It’s really cool to see the other ruins out there, and like US abandonments, they each tell a little about the region’s history.

Comment from Tony Davis
Time: January 29, 2008, 10:09 pm

I can understand the abandoned buildings and other things but the satellite dish arrays? Why would someone want to abandon them? Can’t they still be used for telecommunications or the people from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intellegence (SETI @ Home) could use them for their search for signals from deep space couldn’t they?

Comment from Anonymous
Time: January 30, 2008, 3:04 am

Поверьте, и в Европе и в Штатах полно такого, отчего у трезвомыслящего человека волосы дыбом встают…
Накинулись, блин. Смотрите широко окрытыми глазами вокруг себя, и не пытайтесь лезть на развесистую клюкву..
но если честно, фото сделаны талантливо…

Comment from vommbat
Time: January 30, 2008, 3:28 am

Cool! But “…Balakava is a small town on the Black Sea Coast..” - it not Russia, it Ukraine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaklava

Comment from George
Time: January 30, 2008, 3:15 pm

It’s a pity they are abandoned.

Comment from Joe
Time: January 31, 2008, 8:14 am

The last remnants of a dying civilization. USSR sucks.

JESUS ENDED THEM.

Comment from Arty
Time: January 31, 2008, 3:16 pm

The missile silo in Latvia… WHAT TOWN?!?! WHERE?!?!!? I need to see this!!!!

Comment from Flammar
Time: February 2, 2008, 5:02 am

United States turned to be not the only country to have a lot of cities like Detroit… After 1992 economy crush Russia joined this company too. A lot of half-ready buildings became abandoned because nobody planned to use them in future anymore - any possible agent of any long-term strategy in Russia disappears. This was new to Russians but having been no wonder to inhabitants of market economy countries.

Comment from Flammar
Time: February 2, 2008, 5:23 am

Some fools in Saint-Petersburg City Government recently claimed the aim to turn in into the Russian Detroit… (holding in mind car industry ;-) )

Comment from Flammar
Time: February 2, 2008, 5:34 am

to Tony Davis:
Without electric power supply and proper equipment, satellite dish are useless.

Comment from Hillary Short
Time: February 2, 2008, 6:47 am

Quite interesting why no one bought the mentioned sea fortress in Vladivostok.
I heard the leaving space is very hard to get there.

Comment from Andy
Time: February 2, 2008, 1:41 pm

Absolutely amazing pics. To see the decay and ruin here is sad, the USSR could have been a rich country with all its space and natural resources. Shame…

Comment from Nick
Time: February 5, 2008, 5:07 am

Magical post, many many thanks. Russia is such a fascinating continet for all it’s hidden cities. Beautiful to see this.
Kind regards,

Comment from max Cadenhead
Time: February 6, 2008, 7:53 am

What a silly concept! Blaming the ruins of the Soviet Empire on Socialism is like blaming the ruins of the Parthenon and the end of ancient Greek Hegemony on tha idiotic, foolish experiment with Democracy. (As indeed, the Romans did so lay blame. It took centuries for Mankind to make Democracy work. It will take decades to make the people realize that Socialist cooperative democracy is better than dog-eat-dog capitalism. As for the Libertarians in general…a bunch of Feudalists who appeal to a consistant 5 or 6 percent of the populace…and by that I mean Libertarianism in its present, warped incarnation. Remember, Socialism gave birth to Libertarianism as a means of preserving individual freedoms that did not enterfere with the collective planning of the people. So, quit the childish games. A world of 20 billion people, (in the very near future), will need all the “planning” it can get, and it is a shame that the childish modern incarnation of ivory-towered “Libertarianism” won’t be there with its unique mission, not to thwart planning, but to guarantee the freedoms of Mankind that should be maintained regardless of the direction of “central Planning”.
Oh, did I mentioned that the “failure” of democracy in Athens inspired the “Republican” form of government, which, being subject to pressure groups, degenerated into dictatorship because it lacked the “freedoms” of a democracy….amazing how, even after two thousand years, these questions are as relavent as tomorrow.

Comment from max Cadenhead
Time: February 6, 2008, 8:00 am

I should have stressed in the previous letter that it is Republican Rome to which I refer, and not modern Republicanism. The Romans saw, or thought they saw, the “fatal” weakness of democracy in Athens and tried to avoid it by removing governance one or two steps from the popular Will. A good Idea, for awhile, but it did not and does not destroy democracy..it was simply to ameliorate the dangers of an unwise addiction to “Popular” but dangerous leaders with a gift of gab, and dangerous plans.

Comment from to Max
Time: February 6, 2008, 10:23 am

Democracy works?!? “Planning” (dictating) economies works?!?

Someone isn’t paying attention.

Also, that someone is no classical scholar.

Comment from meeple
Time: February 6, 2008, 3:31 pm

Max Cadenhead,

spewing a rant doesn’t make an arguement. you’ve not said anything of substance.

Comment from minemule
Time: February 6, 2008, 6:36 pm

There are several partially completed and abandoned nuclear power plants in the USA. I have wondered around inside one such abandoned power plant near Cleveland, Ohio, and can assure you that it gave me a very wierd to be inside those massive concrete rooms where nothing other than thick concrete walls and dust exist.

Comment from Tom
Time: February 6, 2008, 8:18 pm

Looks like some American cities after the Liberals got done with them. The South is full of Northeast economic refugies.

Comment from Chad N.
Time: February 6, 2008, 8:23 pm

Greece, Rome and Amerika were destroyed by Democracy… You won’t realize this if you went to publik Skewl.

Comment from Jannie
Time: February 6, 2008, 8:27 pm

Elitist Socialist Parasites ruin everything they touch.

Comment from Sesek
Time: February 7, 2008, 5:30 am

Ale pieprzycie o czymś czego nie znacie

Comment from Titan II Missile Commander
Time: February 13, 2008, 8:42 pm

There is a picture of a US Titan II missile in the photos claimed to be an abandoned Soviet missile complex; I’m certain of this because I was a Titan II missile crew commander in the USAF. This is obviously wrong and casts doubt on all of the material shown here.

Comment from Feckineejit
Time: February 21, 2008, 10:21 am

That first shot on the front page is very HALF LIFE 2.

Comment from Jonn
Time: February 28, 2008, 12:22 pm

Here a link to Google Map of the location.

Comment from pmp
Time: March 1, 2008, 5:08 pm

I’ve been to that abandoned submarine base in Crimea. You can now go there with the excursion. The place is really impressive

Comment from Wren
Time: March 21, 2008, 3:13 am

Is Promyshlennyi completely abandoned? Is it monitored or anything?

Where can I find more information about this place?
Please contact me if you know, I’m extremely curious.

Comment from Kristal D. Rosebrook
Time: March 22, 2008, 12:55 am

I agree with pmp, “I’ve been to that abandoned submarine base in Crimea. You can now go there with the excursion. The place is really impressive.”
Kristal D

Comment from Jme
Time: April 13, 2008, 9:33 pm

this is an amazing article… very well written with complete photographs… I couldn’t stop reading and even read some of the other articles… very good… I really like the added information about Russia… makes me want to go there and see these places for myself…

Comment from nomeus
Time: April 22, 2008, 3:06 pm

may i add that flurbex.com is just as rawsome?

Comment from ryan
Time: April 22, 2008, 4:01 pm

Im pretty sure there isn’t a publicly open missile silo in Latvia, I’ve spent months in Latvia and Russia and have seen a whole lot of stuff. I would recommend the abandoned Tzarist (and later Soviet) fortress in Daugavpils.

- Ryan

Comment from ANARCHY-TV.COM
Time: April 23, 2008, 5:56 am

Looks like Detroit or Gary, Indiana.