Based on the fact that about twelve million people permanently live in the capital of our Motherland, plus the megalopolis is replenished daily with three million visiting tourists, a logical question arises about the safety of being in it. Indeed, in the event of the outbreak of war, people must be sure that the bomb shelters of Moscow are ready to accept so many people. Despite the assurances of the Ministry of Emergencies that the safety of the residents of Moscow and its guests is fully consistent with the provision of shelter places for everyone, many still want to receive up-to-date information on the degree of their compliance with modern standards.
As every resident of the capital can understand, the Moscow Metro is the largest refuge in a metropolis. After all, fourteen of its lines and more than three hundred kilometers of underground tunnels have large capacity and accessibility. The first phase of the metro was put into operation in 1935, and two years later special shelters were equipped for the leadership of the country. One of them was near the Kirovskaya station, and the other on Sovetskaya Square.
An interesting fact is that on October 16, 1941, when Moscow was preparing for a large-scale evacuation, Stalin almost gave the order to undermine the subway. Only at the last moment did the supreme commander change his mind, which is very grateful to contemporaries. During the war, underground metro communications turned into a full-fledged city during the period of air attacks, in which even shops and hairdressers functioned.
The history of Moscow's air defense and the availability of shelters
The Great Patriotic War became that historical moment when the metro of the capital began to fulfill the function of asylum. Noteworthy statistics: about twenty-five and a half million people housed the country's bomb shelters.
The headquarters of the civil defense of the capital, created on the basis of the MPVO, was founded in 1961. From that moment, the construction of Moscow shelters took on a large-scale and organized character. New technical conditions for the construction of protective structures began to focus on weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear threat. And the global defense system itself included the continuous improvement of mobilization plans and communication systems to alert the population.
In 1967 special GO schools (civil defense) were founded, which were located in seventeen districts of Moscow. And already in 1969, civil defense courses on chemical, radiation protection and engineering and operational training began to function in the capital.
Since 2005, the capital’s department of the Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation took over the duties of the headquarters of the Civil Defense Department of Moscow, and the mayor of the city became the head of this department. Currently, within the framework of the Safe City program (2012-2018), comprehensive measures have been taken to strengthen the capabilities of the capital’s civil defense.
Despite the secret nature of the full list of defense structures of Moscow Civil Defense, each resident of the capital and its guests should clearly understand that information about the nearest shelter points is available on the Internet and special consulting points, which will be reported below. In addition, more than one hundred and seventy metro stations are fully suitable for carrying out the functions of bomb shelters, which indicates the full accessibility of underground communications for all who need protection if necessary.
How many places in shelters correspond to the number of people in Moscow?
According to the assurance of the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, at present the corresponding shelters are fully prepared to protect the population and visitors of Moscow. Interestingly, in 2017, bloggers studied, for example, the readiness of a bomb shelter located in the Altufevskoye Shosse area. According to them, this building is fully consistent with its tasks of protecting the population during the war.
According to some estimates, the metro can take about two million people. In addition, only in the center of Moscow there are about 1, 200 bunkers. According to the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, at the present time the Civil Defense Department decides to resolve the whole range of functions to protect people and objects of the capital from various threats during the conduct of hostilities. In this context, it is said that today the emphasis is on the use of precision weapons, the damaging factors of which have been studied in sufficient detail during the participation of our troops in military operations in Syria. Therefore, comprehensive protection is focused not only on WMD (weapons of mass destruction), but also on threats from the destruction of various building structures.
Protective shelters of Moscow are classified as follows: shelters, anti-radiation shelters and shelters. And since 2016, construction activities have been carried out as part of the Moscow City Government, which are aimed at increasing the number of premises suitable for these functions. Today, at the design stage of construction projects, requirements are being laid for protecting the population. For example, modern underground parking in apartment buildings fully comply with the defense requirements of the capital city.
Modern shelters are primarily designed to protect against high-explosive and fragmentation weapons, as well as damaging factors from the collapse of buildings and structures. According to the requirements for the protection of the population in shelters, they are designed for people to stay in them for two days, while shelters and anti-radiation shelters correspond only to a daily stay in them. In Moscow, basements of residential, commercial and industrial buildings are used as protective objects. Moreover, there are no conserved protective objects in the city.
How to find the nearest bomb shelter and rules of conduct in it
The addresses of the nearest bomb shelters in Moscow are required for all who wish to receive such information at the district GO points. In addition, this information is contained on the websites of prefectures and administrations, on the portal of the Moscow government (section "Services") and in the district administrations of the Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation.
It is important to know that from the time of the Second World War the rules for the use of protective objects have been in force, which clearly define the following standards:
- protective shelters are intended exclusively for people (no pets!);
- they are forbidden to drink alcohol, smoke and behave aggressively;
- everyone is obliged to provide all possible assistance to the disabled, children and people of retirement age;
- Additional rules prohibit the use of modern gadgets equipped with video cameras and telephone communications.
