Stalin’s Bunker

Location: 167 Frunze Str., Samara.

Tel.: 007(846) 333–35–71. www.bunkerstalina.com

Hours: Monday to Friday: 11am to 3pm; Lunch break: 1pm to 2pm. Closed: weekend.

Samara (aka Kuybyshev City was meant to become a reserve capital of USSR and host not only industrial facilities strategically important for the country defense, yet in case of a threat, the entire government and Supreme Commander were to be evacuated to Samara and control the military operation out of there. It was the reason why one of the most enigmatic facilities of the region appeared — the secret bunker of Stalin, and now, it is available for visiting. Its construction was top secret, soil was taken away in closed trucks only at night, and not a single dweller of the city was aware of the large-scale construction project. Only fifty years later, the bunker was declassified. One can visit one of the most impressive bunker of those days; its thoroughly elaborated structure was designed to withstand a direct hit of a two-ton bomb. The bunker is still an operating civil defense facility.