Balaklava Underground Museum Complex

fromSalekhard · July 18, 2026, 6:57am

It seems everyone enjoyed the report on the Soviet underground shelter. So I suggest you develop the topic: how about a story about a Soviet underground submarine shelter located in Crimea?

Entrance.

Beginning.

Transport passage.

Continuation of the route.

To the Knights of the Black Sea Depths.Entrance.**

Underground Dock.

Torpedo Route

Preface

I lived in Sevastopol, Crimea, for several months. I’d never been there before and had long wanted to. Plus, as someone who’s spent half my life in a place with subzero average annual temperatures, I was interested to see how people live in a place with above-zero average January temperatures.

Upon arriving in Sevastopol, even before I’d settled all my housing and living arrangements, the first thing I did was head to the Balaklava Underground Museum Complex. It’s not far—a half-hour drive.

In the Russian version of the report, I explain in detail how to get there, as there’s major construction going on in that area, making it quite challenging. This won’t bother foreign visitors, as by the time any of you get there, the construction will be long gone. And it’s not because foreigners aren’t allowed in. Everyone is. I’ll give you a shortened version of this information.

Entrance.

We can’t get to the museum itself on our own. They won’t let us through the barrier.

Text on poster: “ATTENTION! Due to construction work, vehicle and pedestrian traffic along Tavricheskaya Embankment is CLOSED!”

You have to walk a little to the free shuttle bus stop.

The text on the bus reads: “Underground Museum Complex Balaklava“.

It doesn’t run every 5 minutes, but it runs more often than once every half hour—I haven’t specifically timed it. It leaves on schedule, regardless of how full it is.

They take you to the construction site (red arrow on the right)

The entrance to the complex is the purple arrow on the left. And on the left (if viewed from the observer’s side) bank of this bay, they are building a yacht marina – the same as on the right bank.

The people’s prosperity is growing, and there’s no longer room for new yachts. I’ll tell you where I got the distant photos at the end.

Immediately upon exiting the bus, you can admire the Yak-38 vertical takeoff aircraft.

Here you can also admire the autonomous underwater vehicle AC-22, also tucked away to the side.

From this platform, we go through a temporary passage to the entrance to the underground complex.

and to the ticket office.

Tickets are in the mid-price range, closer to the top: adult tickets cost 700 rubles, children’s tickets are half that. There are no discounts for pensioners – I go at full price.

There are no tour guides or other accompanying persons; everyone is given an audio guide.

A wonderful thing that allows you to choose your own viewing pace. And you don’t have to manually control it—the text switches automatically as you move from one location to another.

Well, let’s go in!

They knocked out the exact coordinates at the entrance: like, we’re open, we’ve declassified?

Collie · July 18, 2026, 7:02am

That is one odd way to enter the museum.

wasthere · July 18, 2026, 12:53pm

Thanks for the photos I know I’ll never get there

fromSalekhard · July 19, 2026, 4:29am

Beginning.

Even if objects on the ground and underground are similar, the latter have greater attractiveness.
It’s like walking on a plank lying on the ground, and then placing the same plank at a great height. The board is the same, but there is a nuance!

After the entrance tunnel, we enter the complex’s enormous “anteroom.”

In the far corner there is a model that makes it clear where we are and where we are going.

In another corner, the tools used to build it all are on display.

including stresses mining loader.

In the opposite corner, the period of operation is already concerned.

With a map of USSR submarine bases,

samples of anti-submarine weapons

and ship communications equipment.

Next, we will become acquainted with a key element of the anti-nuclear infrastructure – the protective gates.

And there is something to marvel at: starting from the weight (the entire structure is 10 tons and one gate leaf is 2.4 tons) and to the size of the structure itself (height 4 meters, thickness of the “door” is 0.4 m).

Behind them, in the airlock space, a standard set of fallout shelter systems is briefly demonstrated: food and drink supplies, ventilation, warning and signaling, etc.

It was not for nothing that I called the room a gateway, because further on there is another similar gate,

behind which the dosimetric control post is located.

Everything is as it should be: guys in special protective suits and a crackling Geiger counter (simulation).

And then, behind a rather “ordinary” door, a very long corridor awaits us.

Text: “20 m high mountain“.

Please note the height indication of the cliff on the right. Normal underground structures are forced to go deeper to build up the earth above them. This structure is marine and tied to sea level, so it’s limited from below. The increase in the protective thickness is achieved by increasing the height of the mountain from above.

To give you an idea of where we are and where we’ll be going, the entrance is marked with a red arrow on the evacuation plan, and the area shown in this post is marked with an ellipse.

We still have a long way to go through these underground tunnels!

fromSalekhard · July 25, 2026, 4:34am

Transport passage.

So, we have a long corridor ahead of us. By the way, notice how much deeper we’ve gone.

With very long exhibition stands on both walls.

As you can see, glare on the glass from the lighting and the reflection of the stand on the opposite wall are detrimental to image quality.

Let’s look back at the path we’ve taken

and we’ll continue moving.

We come to the expansion called the transport hub of the torpedo section,

In which we are shown the cutaway models of torpedoes

Behind them is a transparent display (I don’t like that!) with a visual depiction of the evolution of Soviet torpedo weapons. And another “depth” cutoff.

One of the torpedoes appears to be emerging from the transport passageway.

which I also dropped into.

Those who are particularly attentive may have noticed a rail turntable and a naval mine in the corner.

Actually, there are two identical ones there.

A film is being shown on the end wall next to one of them, one frame of which will give a better understanding of the structure of the complex than fragmentary evacuation plans.

By the way, we are in a square room under the point “1964”.

Let’s move on.

Between the torpedoes on the wall hang photographs of 5 separate consecutive frames from a training film about the force of a nuclear strike,

where a perfectly normal house is reduced to dust.

It is quite possible that this could be a more visual illustration of this rather unclear stand.

Along the left wall there is a series of stands that refresh the memory for those who, like me, studied this in school, or demonstrate it for those who did not know it. We are in a fallout shelter after all!

Continuing on the topic – a small collection of gas masks.

There are also small-caliber anti-doat missiles, but since they were there before, I will skip them.

And only at the end of the journey do we learn that all this time we were moving along a transport tunnel!

A special window was made in the floor to display hidden communications.

That’s why I thought the cables were there and visible, but the pipes weren’t visible. And here they are!

Here we have come to the end of another section.

Congratulations on another depth record!

By the way, it is precisely these doors that ensure the progressive movement of visitors: they open there, but not back. You can walk around within a single section until you get bored.

BootsDMS · July 25, 2026, 10:54am

Absolutely breath-taking! Thank you so much for showing us this.

fromSalekhard · July 26, 2026, 4:33am

Continuation of the route.

So, we broke out of the narrow, crooked corridors into a spacious tunnel.

If you get lost, there is a mark on the map showing where we are.

The baby submarine immediately attracts attention.

Text on the beam:
Do not stand under the load
Continue the route.

and a group of comrades in “bathing” suits next to this

and opposite to this.

Let’s see what is on display at the stands.

Among other well-known items, an underwater assault rifle and an underwater pistol are on display, along with very specific ammunition for them.

Even at this underground depth you are not left without the benefits of civilization.

Along the way, in a very dark corner, there is a cut-out model of a bottom mine

and, in a rather dissonant move, the model and descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft, donated to the museum in 2019.

I told you, these landers are handing them out left and right!

Another interesting thing here is that we’ve reached the water. It’s right ahead of us.

and in the opposite direction.

By the way, notice that the channel is rounded. And we already know the purpose of this.

According to the logic of visiting the museum, we should go through that door

There is an important establishment on the way

Photo captions:
Submarine SS-11 in Balaklava, 1985
Surface at anchor, 1980
Submarine basing, Balaklava, 1980
Submarine at anchor, Balaklava, 1980s
Submarine S-157, 1982
Submarine S-164 leaving Balaklava Bay, 1980s

fromSalekhard · August 1, 2026, 4:52am

To the Knights of the Black Sea Depths.

And we have another, non-returnable stop on the route with such a romantic name, which gave the name to the entire report.

Behind the automatic door, a huge exhibition space awaits us.

There is a mine-clearing trawl hanging from the ceiling, and since few people know what it is and how it works, a diagram of it is provided nearby.

The corner on the right is entirely dedicated to deep-sea diving.

Some of the smaller exhibits are hidden behind the glass stand. My attention was drawn to the porthole of the manned submersible “Reef.”

More precisely, its thickness.

And you can’t pass by the full-scale model of the cabin of the autonomous working projectile (ARS), produced by Krasnoye Sormovo.

Around the corner, in a niche, there is a very attractive composition on the theme of underwater rescue,

Here we stop huddling in the nooks and crannies and emerge into the operational space, the right side of which is a full-size, cutaway model of the submarine’s conning tower.

I believe this is the diesel-electric submarine B-59, Project 641, decommissioned in 1990.

Since the compartments are quite large and don’t fit into a photo frame, I’ll provide a panoramic photo with further details.

Torpedo compartment.

Fighting compartment.

Radio room and chart room.

The wardroom and the commander’s cabin.

In the center is a model with a cross-section of an unnamed, but very long torpedo.

And along the other wall there are display cases dedicated to the ships and people of the modern submarine fleet, including, or rather starting with, the tragic nuclear-powered missile submarine Kursk.

barkingdigger · August 1, 2026, 11:27am

Looks interesting! Maybe some day when all the agro in the region stops.

Of course the Crimea was a boon to knitwear - Lords Raglan & Cardigan, and Balaclava itself all lending names to clothing…

KoSprueone · August 1, 2026, 2:55pm

Thanks for sharing your photos. I would need several visits to take it all in.

fromSalekhard · August 2, 2026, 3:50am

Underground Dock.

We come out into the same canal-tunnel, but here we can already see the light at its end.

On the walls, so that it would not be boring to walk, there are historical photographs hanging,

Photo captions:
View of Balaklava Bay, 1994.
Loading a toreda into the bow torpedo tube. 1980-1990.

while looking at them, we approached the exit, or rather, the swim out, of the complex. As you can see, you can’t get close there,

but there is an opportunity to see what it looks like from the outside.

As you can see, there’s construction going on there too. Once it’s finished, we’ll be able to peer into the tunnel from the outside.

In the meantime, we cross the bridge to the other side and head back on a parallel course.

On the walls is a continuation of the photo exhibition.

Photo captions:
Loading torpedoes onto a Project 641 submarine. 1980-1990.
Loading a torpedo into the aft torpedo tube. 1980-1990.

We pass by, but on the other bank, already familiar places.

and over there on that little bridge,

We return to the previous shore again to the next location.

And there the highlight of the program awaits us: a real submarine!

A submarine is always a fascinating sight in any place and position, but up close like this, it’s simply impossible to take your eyes off it.

Here the route allows for variability: you can go down or walk along the top.

I chose the second one.

Reached the stern,

went down,

walked in the opposite direction,

rose again.

There you can walk in circles without restrictions.

VK Album: Project 633 RV Diesel-Electric Submarine (35 photos)

A little further on there is an information corner.

with a description of this project and

a visual layout with explanations.

Then we cross again to the other side of the canal.

leaving a number of interesting exhibits unexamined at a distance because they cannot be approached,

and, once again, the approach to the door separating the stages of the route.

Sign: “Continuation of the route”.

barkingdigger · August 2, 2026, 10:23am

I’m surprised to see so many signs in English - is that common? That whole museum looks fantastic!

fromSalekhard · August 2, 2026, 1:49pm

Oh, no!
If the signs are bilingual—in Russian and English—then they are the real signs; we have many of those on our streets and in museums. If it’s only English, then it’s my machine translation. I think that’s better for you than looking at the Russian text in the picture and reading the translation next to it.

barkingdigger · August 2, 2026, 2:07pm

Hang on - so those “watch your step” signs are your machine editing them? They look like the real thing!

fromSalekhard · August 2, 2026, 3:23pm

It’s more like YOUR machine, because I translate the pictures and text using Google Translate. And only in difficult cases do I connect Russian AI - it’s simply easier for me to communicate with it.

fromSalekhard · August 8, 2026, 3:48am

Torpedo Route

We’re making another turn, passing another cutoff door, and the surroundings change. Before you turn, don’t forget to look up,

Otherwise, the meaning of this set of posters on the wall will not be very clear.

You will not come back and look at it later, because there is no return behind this door.

Behind it there is a long winding corridor with some exhibits along the wall.

Sign on the wall: Entry strictly prohibited!

A little further on we come across doors – twins of the entrance ones,

but here they are reinforced by others, already hermetically sealed.

with the possibility of opening/closing both mechanically and manually.

After these gates, the corridor widened significantly and became straight, and on the side another gate of a different design and color was discovered.

behind which was hidden an interesting nook with a film showing on the end.

and already from the film it became clear what kind of room this was.

I’m sure you’ve already guessed that a special warhead is a nuclear warhead.

In the same film, the exhibits of this room were designated.

Inscription on a red background: Do not service without protective clothing!

Further on, a very long tunnel awaited us, in which signal flags and stands stretched beyond the horizon.

On the installed interactive pedestals, you can find out what each of them means by simply pointing your finger at them.

Large models of warships for various purposes are on display at the stands.

I’m not really into models, but I’m very into the missiles behind them.

The emergency exit is implemented in a very original way: it’s there, but blocked by a thin brick wall. The logic is simple: if you’re in a tight spot, you’ll break through the walls and run for your life.

Text on the wall: Emergency exit.

And if you haven’t broken through the wall, then it’s too early to save yourself. Although there is a log prepared for the ram.

Personal comment: This sounds like complete nonsense both in Russian and according to Russian logic, but that’s exactly how the audio guide told it.

And we have the last turn before reaching the finish line.

BootsDMS · August 8, 2026, 7:01am

Simply fantastic - in the true sense of the word. Thank you so much for showing us all this. And also thanks to those museum designers who had the prescience to curate all of this; I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I find it hard to take the sheer scope of all this in!

srmalloy · August 8, 2026, 5:37pm

That reminds me of the docent’s commentary aboard the HMS Surprise (the ship used to film “Master and Commander”) at the San Diego Maritime Museum about how the capstan was much larger than a ship that size would have needed, but the director wanted it to be more visible, and that you could tell whether a ship was built by the British or the Americans by the holes for the capstan poles – British-built ships had square holes, while American-built ships had round holes to reduce the number of decisions the American sailors had to make when inserting the poles.

fromSalekhard · August 9, 2026, 4:00am

Nuclear Arsenal Zone.

We have another irreversible door ahead, its red mouth invitingly gaping.

The tunnel differs from all previous ones by the presence of a casing made of corrugated slate,

according to the audio guide, this was done to eliminate echoes. Because if you misheard something while working with a nuclear charge, the consequences would be significant.

So we have reached the place where the carrier (torpedo) meets the special, i.e. nuclear, charge.