RAMENKI 43 - An underground city built by Stalin in case of a nuclear catastrophe?

Last week I had to make a trip to Kiev, Ukraine and I read an interesting article in english on the plane. It was reporting about students from Kiev who are exploring the underground of the metro in their spare time in search of secret bunkers, treasures and lost trains. They were calling themselves diggers.

To get an impression read this:

Pictures and Videos of the Kiev underground

The article spoke further about their role models, the diggers in Moscow, who allegedly discovered Metro-2, a secret underground train system which is supposed to be larger than the official one.

Metro-2 in Moscow, Russia, is the informal name for a purported secret underground metro system which parallels the public Moscow Metro. The system was supposedly built, or at least started, during the time of Stalin and was codenamed D-6 by the KGB. It is supposedly still operated by the Presidential General Directorate of Special Programmes (ru) and Ministry of Defence.[1][2][3] The length of Metro-2 is rumored to exceed that of the public Metro. It is said to have four lines, and to lie 50 to 200m deep. It is said to connect the Kremlin with the FSB headquarters, the government airport at Vnukovo-2, and an underground town at Ramenki, in addition to other locations of national importance. In 1994, the leader of an urban exploration group, the Diggers of the Underground Planet, claimed to have found an entrance to this underground system.[4] The Metro-2 rumors have been dismissed by one source as "a parody excursion by public transport into the murky world of 'intelligence'".[5] This source describes virtually all available information as "speculative, unsupported by documentation such as photographs. There are narratives told by people who said they helped build Metro-2, and urban spelunkers claim to have 'seen' Metro-2, but there are no explicit 'firsthand' accounts."[5]

more on wikipedia

Why should Stalin need a secret metro besides the official one you ask?

Well the story isn't finished yet: Stalin's and later Khrushchev's fear of a nuclear strike was well known and it is said that the Soviet Union built an underground city called Ramenki 43 which should give shelter in case of a nuclear strike to 15.000 people for 30 years.

Ramenki bunker Rumour has it that Moscow's biggest underground bunker is located some 10 km from the city centre, in the Ramenki neighbourhood, not far from the main building of the Moscow State University. In the early 1990s, a Soviet newspaper quoted an anonymous KGB officer who claimed to have taken part in the construction of the Ramenki bunker, describing it as a fully functional underground city with an area of about 2 sq. km. Allegedly, the construction of the bunker began in the late 1960s and was completed in the mid-1970s. The underground city was said to accommodate up to 15,000 people at the depth of between 180 and 200 metres and was connected by underground metro tunnels to the Kremlin and other key buildings. The bunker reportedly had food supplies for 30 years and entertainment facilities, including movie theatres. The Ramenki bunker caused some international resonance when a story on it appeared in Time magazine in 1992. Russian officials, however, never admitted the existence of the bunker, nor have they provided any comments. So, it remains unclear whether the bunker actually existed and if so, what is happening there at present. One argument in favour of the idea that the bunker actually exists was information made public about a fire in some underground structures near Prospekt Vernadskogo in December 2002 - no further details were available, however.

source

Sounds like science fiction... has anyone more on this?

The Russians are not to be underestimated.

They have more secrets than we think.

I bet they have...

btw I found the mentioned article in TIME Magazine from 1992. But it's not much really...

Unlike in the U.S., preparations for nuclear conflict during the cold war remain tightly held secrets in Russia, a reflection of the military's continued suspicion of the West. But some information can be pieced together. According to several sources, including former KGB officers, the Kremlin and other key buildings in Moscow are still linked by underground rail tunnels to an area about six miles outside the city center called Ramenki, site of a vast subterranean bunker designed for the country's leaders and their families. ( Responsibility for protection of top Kremlin officials rested with the KGB's Ninth Directorate, which delegated tasks to the Defense Ministry. A KGB officer who claimed to have taken part in constructing the Ramenki bunker described it to a Soviet newspaper last year as an underground city about 500 acres in size, built at several levels ranging in depth from 230 ft. to 395 ft. He said the bunker was begun in the second half of the 1960s and completed by the mid-'70s, could shelter as many as 120,000 people, and included food supplies that could last up to 30 years. Quarters for top leaders were comfortably appointed, and movie theaters were built for entertainment. Some 30 miles outside Moscow in Sofrino, an underground broadcast-communications installation built during Nikita Khrushchev's tenure is now outdated and inoperative, according to Igor Malashenko, deputy director of state television and radio. "Because we don't need it anymore, it's been slowly stripped of spare parts," he says. A similar fate befell many of the tens of thousands of civilian bomb shelters built as part of the massive Soviet civil defense program. At a shelter 40 ft. below the main building of Moscow State University, water has flooded some of the rooms, and thieves have stripped the three-tiered bunks of more than half the wooden plank beds, leaving only useless steel frames. Read more: www.time.com...

reply to post by emaildogs


So have The Chinese.

I have seen a lot of video's about those tunnels in Russia, but I didn't know they had a complex for 120.000 people, that's a lot.

Well it's apparent it was a Cold War, USA and USSR were rubbing the weapons, or even for future Nazi attempts against Russia. They could be used for hiding but I doubt they have what USA allegedly has a whole system of tunnels and housing aliens.

- first I should say... I've had a lot of time on my hands today...

I was speaking to a colleage (an architect) a few months ago about the regeneration of the Rossiya Hotel and the fact that some of the contractors had been restricted from working in certian areas (surveying, digging etc) by KGB-ish people. He agreed with a few articles I have found that there are 'secret' tunnels and things under there which the government didn't want damaged yet were unwilling to allow access to for surveying. This led me to read a few internet pieces about the Metro 2 system which supposedly exists, and the Ramenki bunker complex beneath the park between Vernadskogo Prospekt and Michurinskiy Prospekt.

I've noticed some small buildings

maps.google.com...,37.471806&spn=0.000962,0.003066&sll=55.183885,37.625084&sspn=0.003865,0.012263&t=h&z=19

maps.google.com...,37.479494&spn=0.000962,0.003066&sll=55.183885,37.625084&sspn=0.003865,0.012263&t=h&z=19

which look exactly in the right place to be vents or access shafts for a large underground thing of some kind. There are some panaramio pics of the second ones if you drag the street view man. There are similar buildings along other areas where the Metro is know to go, but there is no official metro line passing near these buildings.

anyway, i'd be interested to hear what people think

here is the map of the supposed bunker that I mentioned above forum.globalsecurity.org...

also, have a look at Yandex.ru and click on maps 'карты' for a good streetview of Moscow (google street view doesnt work in russia). The streetview is the binoculars with 'Панорамы' or 'panoramas' next to it.

Interesting topic, thanks for shareing with the rest of us. looks pretty clean considering the location haha

Honestly the Russian's and in particluar Stalin were/are paranoid to have built something like this. I've been interested in the possibilty of the existance of D-6 aka Metro 2. I over layed on google earth a map of the russian metro from the central ring, to 2 lines that happen to extend out almost to 4 53T6 missile silos that surround Moscow. The actual lines stop before reaching the edge of the city, but its not a stretch to assume that, during the construction of the line (which I feel would have been when D-6 was built, how better to hide the construction of another metro by doing it when the "public" system is been built) when the public system stopped, the D-6 lines continued.

These "finger" lines also happen to pass under/close to the Kremlin and Parliment house...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/26dd1f00db14.jpg[/atsimg]

I have a theory about a portion of this metro rail. If you draw a straight line from the Main MSU Building to the Kremlin, following the decorative path down the center of campus, that line will place you directly beneath the A.R.C.E.C. Kremlin Military School.

I believe this to be the path of the Metro-2 between the Kremlin and Ramenki bunker.

THE MSU Main Building is located at:
55°42'10.20"N
37°31'50.10"E

The ARCEC Kremlin Military School is located at:
55°45'7.48"N
37°37'13.68"E

The ARCEC Military School was built between 1932-1934. In the 1950's, it was turned over to the USSR Supreme Council. Most importantly, in 1958 it was extensively remodeled. Currently, the building houses various administrative departments of the Russian President’s Office and the Kremlin Commandant’s Office.

The entrance to the Ramenki bunker may exist under the main building of Moscow State University which was built in the 1950's. It's construction involved extensive excavation, tons of concrete, brick and steel, and several elevator shafts. Over 7 million cubic meters of material was excavated and 480,000 cubic meters of concrete was laid. This would have been a perfect opportunity to build an underground bunker.

Alternatively, The MSU Library may also be the entrance. It is the oldest library in Russia. It has existed at that location since 1755. Over the years it has been continually updated and rebuilt. It got it's current look in the 1950's and 1960's.

The MSU Library is located at:
55°41'56.29"N
37°31'25.28"E

they talked about metro 2 on 'citys of the underworld' on history channel.
dont know exactly what it is but they talked about what u covered showed some maps
they did also went to the russian public metro and supposedly there are stairs that go down to doors that are locked behind gates... no public access they said.

reply to post by BalderAsir


Nice one! Thanks for sharing!

the head of the group of diggers that discovered Metro 2 (aka diggers of the underground) is a guy named Vadim Mikhailov. He used to be a celebrity in russia in the 90s (maybe he still is) and was a guest in many tv shows. He starred in some documentaries about the russian underground. Google him. If you transcribe his name into russian Вадим Михайлов you get even more hits on google and can watch a lot of videos on youtube.

A very interesting article written about him and his studies of the underground is this one:

Myste ries under Moscow

There is definitely something going on down there...

Btw if we dig hard enough maybe we'll find the lost medieval library of tsar ivan the terrible which is allegedly to be found somewhere down there...

Originally posted by beltemps
Btw if we dig hard enough maybe we'll find the lost medieval library of tsar ivan the terrible which is allegedly to be found somewhere down there...

Sounds like this library might deserve its own thread.

Bumped the thread, it deserves a little more attention...s&f

something to add to my previous post, if you have a good look in GE, you can see that in the vacinity of each of my "extensions" to the existing metro and in the vacinity of the 53T6 launchers, there is an airfield each one holding military aircraft. Seems convienient that in the event of attack or need to utilise the D6 system that you could get to your launch sites and evacuate points quickly and easily

reply to post by P-M-H


Actually thank you for bringing my attention to that show... It's Cities of the Underground Season two episode 10 (moscow) and 13 (kiev) and it was very interesting... not the revelations I was hoping for but some hints and background informations... if you can get your hands on that show grab it...

Firstly, OP your avatar is going to give me a seizure. lol

That is pretty cool. I would love to visit Russia and poke about. I've been to Poland and seeing the remnants of the Cold War was an amazing culture shock.

reply to post by beltemps


Ugh I think I just saw that one somewhere but am having trouble digging it up again. Thanks for this thread by the way, been very interested in underground stuff lately.

reply to post by elrey72011


yeah elrey, you are right... my avatar was giving me the creeps too... changed it to something more eye pleasing... lol...

btw if you wanna see more war or postwar sites don't forget to visit czech republic, germany and ukraine too... some amazing places there...

a reply to: getoutmore

dude, you are absolutely right. when my mom was growing up (in the '70s) she saw the entire bunker being built right outside her window! there is even a boarded up stairway and some manholes for ventilating and access to the place, and there is a thicket of trees where most of the people would come in through a stairway. this bunker stretches all the way underneath the university complex! there are also a few other places around the complex that look really similar. she even says it herself that her parents told her (who were teachers at the university) that it was a nuclear bunker. I'm not very sure if its connected to metro 2 but the evidence seems to be pointing towards that.