One of the command posts of the Supreme Command of the South-Western Forces was hidden away in Moldova. Object 1180 was on the list of fortifications built under the Warsaw Pact; it was the USSR’s response to Germany joining NATO. Similar structures were scattered across Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
This is how it looks today
A Look at the History
A similar structure, numbered 1161, once stood in the forests of Belarus. The two even shared a similar design: two cylindrical blocks. Each block was about 36 meters in diameter and around 60 meters deep, divided into 10 to 12 floors. There was also a special compartment beneath the refrigeration center. At the time of construction (the mid-1980s), it cost the state almost 32 million rubles — an astronomical sum that exceeded the combined cost of the most significant buildings of those years. When the USSR collapsed, construction stopped, and Object 1180 was frozen in time, its story left untold.
Corridors of the abandoned bunker
This is where the cables came out
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Ghost from the Underground
Today, this colossal structure is flooded below the sixth floor. The command block is striking in size, and one can hardly imagine its full scale. The visible part is enormous, and it rests on a strong foundation dug deep into the ground. On almost every floor there are two large rooms, about 4 to 5 meters high, with walls made of steel.
Ice remains at the bottom even in summer
The bunker blocks are connected by a postern used for communication and for routing cables and pipes. It had to supply the command unit with everything it needed.
Stairs between the floors
Exit to the communication point
From the side block, you can enter the communication loop located between the blocks. It is about 20 meters long, made entirely of metal, and fitted with openings for hermetic seals.
This is what the path to the support unit looks like
Today you can enter the command block through the top floor. Even though looters have been here, about 80% of the bunker still keeps its metal insulation — although the staircase between the floors ended up lining someone’s pocket at the scrapyard. Object 1180 has its own microclimate and atmosphere; you could easily film a new Indiana Jones movie here. A tangled, sprawling network of corridors leads down into the depths of Object 1180, a place with a rather rich historical background.
Remnants of past glory