Moscow Prepares Bunkers for Nuclear War
Kevin Felts 07.23.18
Do Russian leaders know something we don’t? A spokesperson for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) let it be know bunkers across Moscow have been prepped for a nuclear conflict. Not only are the bunkers prepped, but people are being reminded where to find the bunkers.
While this is nothing new, as Russia was prepping for nuclear war during the Cold War, the timing is rather strange. The United States and Russia have nuclear agreements dating back decades; there are no current conflicts which pose a of risk of escalating to a nuclear war. So why is there “We are prepared for nuclear war” rhetoric coming out of Russia?
Reports suggest after the fall of the Soviet Union some of the bunkers fell into disarray. However, starting in 2015 a renovation program started to breath life back onto Moscow’s bunker system.
Moscow Is Ready for a Nuclear War (As in Lots of Bunkers for the Population)
According to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, in the event of a nuclear attack on Moscow, there is space in underground facilities for all of the population . While this is a very bold claim, Moscow is famous for the massive amount of bunkers it has available for Civil Defense (гражданской обороны) and the military.
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In addition to the metro, various other civil bomb shelters are dotted around Moscow . These shelters are usually fairly shallow and feature limited protection from the overpressure of a blast.
Opinion
If we look at the timing when Russia started working on the bunkers, it would seem they were worried about the 2016 Presidential Elections. Putin stated, “I wanted Trump to win.” The reason for favoring Trump, so Russian-American relations could be brought back to normal.
Let’s repeat the question, “What does Putin know that the American people do not?”
What was so worrying about the 2016 Presidential Elections that caused Russia leaders to renovate nuclear bunkers?
Remembering The Cold War
As I was reading through the article at National Interest, I was reminded of the Cold War. When this article was written I am 50 years old and remember the propaganda during the Cold War. Russia made it clear if there was a nuclear exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States, the people of Russia had plenty of bomb shelters.
Hearing about bomb shelters in Moscow is nothing new, as I heard about them when I was a child in the 1970s.
What is new however, is the rhetoric. The world superpowers have celebrated an era of prolonged peace like the world has never witnessed before. So why renovate the bomb shelters now?
