Stalin's bunker, Underground military shelter at Academy of Culture and Art, Samara, Russia.
This shelter sits beneath the Academy of Culture and Art building and reaches several floors into the ground. Narrow staircases and reinforced doors connect the rooms.
Construction began in February 1942 as German troops approached Moscow and an alternative command post became necessary. Work finished by October that year, though the facility never needed to be used.
This underground command center bears the name of the Soviet leader for whom it was intended as a potential retreat. Visitors today can walk through former bunker corridors and see the spare wartime furnishings.
Tours run in Russian only and must be booked ahead through the cultural department. Rooms stay cool and sometimes damp, so bring a light jacket.
Workers secretly excavated soil at night and transported it to the Volga so no one in the city would notice the construction. Around 25,000 cubic meters (nearly 33,000 cubic yards) of earth were removed in total.
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