100 Places You Will Never Visit (21 page)

From its formation in 1954, the KGB was responsible for internal security, intelligence gathering and the secret police in the Soviet Union. In short, it bred the climate of fear and paranoia that sullied the USSR for the greater part of the 20th century. The Lubyanka building with its accompanying prison was a potent symbol of that terror. Anyone unfortunate enough to be taken there against their wishes knew that the future was bleak. Indeed, a bitter old Russian joke described it as the tallest building in the city, since you could see Siberia from its basement. Since the collapse of the USSR, much has been done to make Lubyanka Square seem a friendlier place. Not least, the statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky (founder of the Cheka) has been taken down, while a monument to those who suffered in the Gulag has been erected.

Yet, while perhaps not having quite the reputation of its Soviet predecessor, the FSB remains a feared and closed organization. Established in its current guise in 1995, the FSB is involved in border control, counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism, with a reputation for “targeted killings.” When Alexander Litvinenko was murdered with radioactive polonium in London in 2006, there were those who pointed to his past as an FSB agent and his subsequent criticisms of the Russian secret services (though any links remain unproven in a court of law).

The Soviet era may be an ever more distant memory, but it is safe to assume that the Lubyanka building still holds many secrets.

1 HOUSE OF FEAR The imposing Lubyanka Building was built in 1898 on the designs of Aleksandr V. Ivanov and significantly added to by Aleksey Shchusev some five decades later. Many of those who found their way inside its walls were never heard from again.

2 POWER BASE A bird’s-eye view of Lubyanka Square. From 1926 to 1990 it was known as Dzerzhinsky Square, after Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the feared Cheka and godfather of the Soviet secret police in all its various guises.

72 Moscow Metro-2

LOCATION Beneath Moscow, Russia

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Moscow

SECRECY OVERVIEW Existence unacknowledged: a secret underground metro system created in the Soviet era.

The Cold War was littered with tales of ingenious subterfuges and outrageous hoodwinking, but few stories can better that which tells of an entire underground secret transport system for use by government officials, built beneath the streets of Moscow and entirely separate from the official Metro. The Kremlin and FSB (Russia’s security service) refuse to confirm or deny its existence to this day.

It is often claimed that the Metro-2 project was instigated during the rule of Josef Stalin, during the early Cold War era characterized by paranoia on all sides. A variety of dates for the beginning of its construction have been suggested, the earliest of which is 1947, when a narrow-gauge line was supposedly built to connect the Kremlin and one of Stalin’s dachas (a second home in the countryside near Moscow).

The name Metro-2 gained common coinage after it was featured in a novel, The Nether World, written by Vladimir Gonik and published in 1992. According to Gonik, he had been researching the possibility of a secret underground system connecting government bunkers since the 1970s. The system, he suggested, was put in place so that the Soviet hierarchy would be able to continue to exert their command in the event of war. The KGB is alleged to have given the system the codename D-6.

Advocates of Metro-2 contend that it has up to four lines, the longest stretching for some 60 kilometers (37 miles), at a depth of between 50 and 200 meters (165 and 660 ft) below the city. The tunnels are said to be virtually the same size as the official Metro, but there is no third rail, suggesting that its trains were diesel powered. Rails are recessed into concrete, perhaps to allow the possibility of other vehicles (cars, trucks or tanks, for instance) using the tunnels.

Metro-2 is said to connect a number of important locations including the Kremlin, the headquarters of the FSB and Vnukovo airport, southwest of the city. Some sources have also claimed that it runs to Ramenki, the supposed site of a vast underground bunker capable of housing 15,000 or more people for up to 30 years in the event of a nuclear strike. Indeed, for some the word bunker does not begin to describe Ramenki, and it is actually an entire underground town that could serve as a command post in an emergency.

MYSTERY TRAIN Moscow’s Metro system is famous for its elaborate stations—but did a clandestine second network once run alongside the public one, and might some of its trains still run today?

Of course, there are plenty of cynics ready to pour cold water on the idea of such an elaborate network. Firstly, they argue, the creation of such a system would require huge amounts of manpower and the excavation of unimaginable amounts of rubble—so where did all the rubble go, never to be spotted by a passing spy satellite? Then there is the question of heat—the deeper you dig, the hotter it gets, and if Metro-2 lies at the higher end of the depth estimates, it is difficult to imagine how dangerous overheating could not be a problem for passengers. Moscow also has a shallow water table, with groundwater an ongoing problem for the official Metro lines, let alone the even deeper Metro-2. Furthermore, it is claimed that ventilation shafts in the tunnels are relatively few and far between. If it is accepted that the system used diesel trains, then the lack of ventilation would not only render the air unpleasant but potentially noxious.

However, there is significant evidence to suggest that a second underground system was indeed built, and still exists in some form. For instance, in 1991 the US Department of Defense published a report on the changing global political climate that concluded: “The Soviets have constructed deep-underground both in urban Moscow and outside the city. These facilities are interconnected by a network of deep interconnected subway lines that provide a quick and secure means of evacuation for the leadership.” In addition, in recent years several former Soviet officials have all but confirmed the existence of something resembling Metro-2. Many, though, have pointed out that if the system does actually exist, it is likely to need significant repairs and upgrading to turn it into a practically useful system today.

Ultimately, the odds seem in favor of a secret underground system of some sort, though its exact composition remains open to debate. And that is perhaps how the Soviets would have wanted it, for what is the use of building a secret underground world if not to occupy the minds of your enemy as to just what is down there?

1 GOING UNDERGROUND This satellite view of Moscow has been overlaid with details from a map that claims to be an accurate rendering of the Metro-2 system in 1991. With the Kremlin at its center, the network leads to secret command posts and the Vnukovo airport.

73 Mount Yamantau

LOCATION Southern Urals, Bashkortostan, Russia

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast

SECRECY OVERVIEW Operations classified: underground complex near a “closed” city.

Mount Yamantau in the Southern Urals has an elevation of some 1,640 meters (5,380 ft), and the military complex it contains is believed to be located around 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) below the summit. It first came to the attention of the wider world thanks to US spy photographs released in the 1990s, but the international community remains in the dark as to its intended purpose.

Yamantau lies within an area sprinkled with Russian defense establishments. Nearby, for instance, is the town of Mezhgorye, a closed military settlement founded around 1995 from two former garrisons, Beloretsk 15 and 16, which had hosted military populations since the late 1970s. While there is scant official data concerning Mezhgorye, it is believed to have a population of up to 30,000.

Work on Yamantau is generally thought to have begun during the tenure of communist supremo Leonid Brezhnev (1964–82). Some observers suggest that the entire facility may cover 1,000 square kilometers (385 sq miles). It has been speculated that there is sufficient room to house a population of 60,000 for a period of several months, and that the vast bunker is capable of resisting virtually any form of modern attack, whether nuclear, chemical or biological.

Building was still going on throughout the 1990s, and possibly into the new century. Billions were pumped into the project at a time when post-communist Russia was receiving international aid to support its nuclear decommissioning program. There was understandable consternation in Washington when Russia acknowledged that Yamantau was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence in Moscow. The Kremlin has so far refused to make further disclosures about its purpose, though it has stressed it offers no threat to the US.

Well served by road and rail links, it has been variously described as the center of a mining operation, a vault for state treasures, a repository for emergency food and clothing stocks, and a nuclear bunker. Other defense observers have suggested that it serves instead as a nuclear weapons storage area and alternative command center. Some have even speculated that it forms part of Russia’s fabled “Dead Hand” system, capable of automatically triggering a retaliatory nuclear attack. With journalists and international observers banned entirely from the area, positive confirmation of any of these theories remains far off.

74 Hobyo

LOCATION Galmudug region, central Somalia

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Galkayo

SECRECY OVERVIEW Access restricted: a pirate-controlled enclave in war-torn Somalia.

A small coastal town on Somalia’s east coast, in recent years Hobyo has become synonymous with the endemic piracy problem around the Horn of Africa. As well as being home to a large number of the pirates themselves, it has been used as a dock in which to harbor hijacked vessels. Civil war has rendered the surrounding region lawless, leaving Hobyo essentially off-limits to outsiders.

Situated in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Galmudug region, Hobyo was once capital of a prosperous Sultanate, but went into decline after it came under the jurisdiction of Italian East Africa in 1936. Today, it boasts a population of around 12,000. The small town has a scattering of run-down buildings, fighting an everlasting battle against the sands of the receding coastline. Its water supply is compromised, there are no hospitals or schools in operation, agriculture has all but died and tourism is out of the question. For some, piracy seems the only answer (though few locals seem to reap the benefits from the vast revenues it raises). Some estimates suggest the illicit business employs 10 percent of the population.

Instances of piracy in Somali waters and beyond have rocketed in the 21st century as Somalia’s civil war left the country stripped of stable government and unable to develop its economy. Many pirates are former fishermen, with several organizations highlighting the impact of international fishing and waste dumping on their traditional means of earning a living. The economic impact of the pirates on global trade has been measured in billions of dollars, with targeted vessels ranging from small private yachts to huge tankers.

Hobyo’s pirates are not so much Jack Sparrows as modern militiamen, though most claim an interest only in money, not in harming their victims. That, however, is scant consolation for those who have suffered at their hands. It has also been suggested that the pirates serve as a sort of defense against encroachment by the feared militant Islamists of the Al-Shabaab group. Whatever the motivation, Hobyo’s streets are often patrolled by Kalashnikov-wielding children as young as ten.

Many international navies now send vessels to patrol the waters around Somalia and keep them safe for commercial ships. This has had some impact on the pirates’ ability to hijack vessels, but piracy remains the only viable trade for many.

1 ALL AT SEA These suspected pirates were apprehended by the USS Vella Gulf in the Gulf of Aden in 2009. Vella Gulf is part of an international fleet charged with countering the pirates and maintaining order across a vast swathe of ocean.

2 TREASURE ISLAND Somalia’s pirates have been responsible for hundreds of attacks on international shipping in recent years. Hobyo is just one of several coastal towns living in fear not only of these modern-day buccaneers but also of potential military action by frustrated foreign powers.

75 Chapel of the Ark of the Covenant

LOCATION Northern Ethiopia

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Axum

SECRECY OVERVIEW Access restricted: the purported home of the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant is described in the biblical Book of Exodus as the chest that contained the tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. The Ark disappeared from Jerusalem long ago under mysterious circumstances and believers claim it came to Axum in Ethiopia during the reign of Menelik I in the mid-tenth century BC.

The Ark is of immense symbolic value, documented not only in the Bible but featuring also in Judaic and Islamic scripture. While its fate has long been argued over, Ethiopia’s authorities say it has resided at Axum for centuries, and now lies in a specially built treasury next to the Church of St. Mary of Zion. The treasury is kept under heavy guard and surrounded by fencing, all under the watchful eye of a High Priest who is the only man permitted to enter the chapel.

This virtuous elderly monk is given the post for life, and is expected to name a successor on his deathbed. The Ark used to be released for a public procession once a year, but in more recent times the unstable geopolitical climate (not least Ethiopia’s strained relations with neighboring Eritrea) has seen it locked permanently in its shrine, which contains other treasures including Ethiopia’s royal crowns.

The Book of Exodus tells how the Ark was built in accordance with instructions from God. Measuring a little over 1 meter (40 in) long and 70 centimeters (28 in) wide and high, it was constructed from acacia wood and covered with gold. Two long rods of acacia and gold were used to carry it, and two sculptures of winged cherubim surmounted on the lid were said to keep guard over it.

According to the Bible, the Ark was carried (covered in skins and cloths so that no one could set eyes on it) out of Egypt during the exodus of the Israelites. The Book of Joshua also describes its key role in the fall of Jericho. It was later said to have been captured by the Philistines (who returned it to the Israelites after being smitten with a series of plagues), while Solomon worshipped in front of it after he had his dream in which God promised him wisdom.