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vintage film of soviet dancers break-dancing to run dmc's "it's like that"
soviets attempt to explain the nazi's to there population.
in america, fire extinguisher's save lives. in soviet russia, fire extinguisher's end them.
the cold war was a clash of ideologies and battles for influence ranging all over the world. in late 1961 matters became very heated in berlin, east germany. berlin was located in the soviet controlled part of germany but was divided into four sectors: us, uk, french, and soviet. "the wall separated east germany from west germany for more than a quarter-century, from the day construction began on august 13, 1961 until the wall was opened on november 9, 1989."
throughout russia and the former soviet union one can find a vast number of abandoned air, sea and land vehicles that have simply been left to rust rather than repurposed or recycled. in other parts of the world one would imagine they could find other uses for giant ships, disused fighter jets and entire train networks but here these things seem to fall through the cracks. figures next to the planes and boats shown above bring home the enormous scale of these abandoned relics of soviet transportation.
abandoned wonders of the former soviet union: from mining towns to oil rig cities there are abandonments all over the world, 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. a huge thank you to carni parti for sharing these images with us.
unlike other soviet mines in the kyshtym region the ones in the photographs at least aren’t radioactive. the ones shown here date back to the days of the gulags and have been abandoned since the 1960s. a cooling tank explosion around that time contaminated almost 20 square miles around this and other local mines and caused the evacuation of nearly 300,000 residents. this incident was long hidden by the soviet government before a scientist leaked the information in 1980. other intrepid urban explorers, however, have braved even the nearby radioactive mines at their own risk.
pyramiden is a classic model soviet small blue-collar coal-mining town with a long history that was quickly and suddenly snuffed out. in the early 1990s it was concluded that pyramiden was no longer profitable and its citizens were given a few short hours to pack and leave. much like chernobyl the result has been sad but fascinating: virtually everything was left behind from house plants to books on library shelves. though there are plans to potentially renovate this ghost town for now it provides a picture of local life two decades ago.
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.
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.
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.
cold war drama from the 1970s. if you enjoy modern history (like i do) then this video provides some understanding to the timewarp-trapped afghanistan. this country has seem many outsiders try to exert their control. the british fought the anglo-afghan wars - 1839–42, 1878–80, and lastly in 1919; the soviets invaded from 1979-89; and most recently some members of nato have been around from 2001 battling against the elusive taliban.
fort alexander sits abandoned on a man-made island off the shore of st. petersburg. constructed in the 1800s, the fort has over 100 cannon ports providing 360-degree defense. after the crimean war it was initially used as a military storehouse before being converted by the soviets into a dangerous plague research center due to its physical isolation from the mainland. the fort is now deserted and most of its interior objects have been stripped and metal has been melted down for other uses. even now, however, visitors coming by boat (or snowmobile) are advised to wear a respirator and rubber boots.
the region known as abkhazia is a semi-independent zone within georgia in which a great deal of transportation and other infrastructure has been deserted in recent decades due to a lack of funds. shortly before the collapse of the soviet union the region came into conflict with the rest of georgia as georgians pushed toward independence from russia. today, russia issues passports for abkhazians, pays their retirement pensions and provides citizenship to many of the people. nonetheless, since the fall of the ussr the local budgets have not been enough to maintain many buildings and train networks as illustrated by the images above.
courtesy of actiontrip.com
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.
in 1949 the world changed forever as oil was struck for the first time in the sea off the coast of azerbaijan. before long the first oil platform was built around this site but that wasn’t all: dorms, schools, stores and other structures were all built up around this rig forming a virtual city on the water. ships were brought out and sunk to form the basis of a series of man-made islands. connected by a network of bridges and other structures this community has dwindled and is now all but deserted with buildings falling back into the sea.
there are many abandoned estates scattered throughout russia that are simply too remote to warrant restoration. as photographer jason grant points out, though, these are provide in many ways a more real experience of history for those who visit and photograph them. this particular estate in belogorka survived the revolution and was only moderately damaged by a bomb in wwii. it was subsequently used as a scientific research institute and is now strewn with bottles and chemicals from these last tenants.
fun animation.
slithering commies.
developed in kalininsky carriage-building factory in 1970. based on the train model er22, it was able to move by means of two engines from the passenger jet yak-40, installed at the front. the americans tried something similar in 1966 and recently tried to rrevive the idea in florida to transport passengers between tampa and orlando.
one of the greatest anti-war cartoons. knowlege of russian not required.
