The Cold War Museum , Žemaitija National Park, Lithuania.
The missile base was built in a remote and sparsely populated corner in northern Lithuania at the time, close to the edge of the territory of the USSR and the Baltic Sea in 1960. It was one of the first underground launch silo facilities in the Soviet Union, remaining operational until 1978, it housed four R-12 intermediate-range nuclear missiles, with a range of 1,300 miles each capable of delivering a two megaton warhead to more or less anywhere in Europe.
The base consisted of four silos all inter-connected by underground tunnels to the central command centre. In the event of war the whole base could be hermetically sealed off and the crews could have held out underground for two weeks.
There was also a small military town, Plokstine was part of the 179th rocket regiment which also included a set of eight surface missiles. A nearby storage bunker held eight nuclear warheads as well as extra rockets.
The R-12 missile stood 70 ft tall, the 2 megaton thermonuclear warhead alone measured 13ft high. The missiles that were stored here were in fact secretly dispatched by ship to Cuba. Though their journey was aborted en-route the ground crew from the base had already prepared the bases to be on the island.
In 1978 the base was closed and the missiles removed, the R-12s were withdrawn from the soviet arsenal and replaced with the superior mobile launched SS-20. A treaty between the USSR and the USA in 1987, resulted in the banning of land mased nuclear missiles. The last R-12 was destroyed in the 1990's
From it's closure until the break up of the Soviet Union the Plokstine base lay silent, eventually, it was saved and turned into a heritage site. First opening its doors as a museum in 2011.
Since I first visited the Soviet Union in the 1970's I have been fascinated by all things east of the iron curtain, my god this bunker did not disappoint, underground we went to wander the tunnels soak up the history of the Soviet war machine. My kind of museum, relevant and not full of broken cups and bowls allegedly from 1,000's of years ago.
Boring!
An informational panel detailing various ICBM's , aircraft, and strategies used by the U.S. Air Force and Navy. it covers various types of weaponry, with key specifications, range, speed, payload, and operational details, including B52's and air-to-air refuelling capabilities of the KC-97 and KC-135 tankers.
It was a full on history of the Cold War
What really got me orgasmic, was the serious amount of, now much collected and sought after, Soviet propaganda posters and literature. Surely worthy of the term "Fine Art".
The first two MY HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON YOUR SUCCESS! and DON'T BE NAUGHTY
The black smudge on the statue of liberty is actually a depiction of a lynching, with the words THE SHAMEFUL STIGMA OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, next to it a poster extolling Glory to Soviet science! Glory to the Soviet man, the first cosmonaut!
STRICTLY KEEP STATE AND MILITARY SECRETS!
There was also numerous examples of Civil Defence posters, Public Information, about what to do in the event of
A nuclear attack
I mean lets be honest in the event of a nuclear attack just go outside and stand in the open, better a quick vaporising death than a slow painful one through radiation poisoning.
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it seems like only yesterday 1978 , time flies .
But then before you know it humanity manage to get the wrong people in power again , and the war machine starts again.
I think we need to realise that we as humans are not very nice creatures
Humanity unfortunately goes through these situations, the supposed rationality of the human species comes into question. Right now my country, Cuba, is senselessly threatened with a military intervention by one of the great powers. The resistance and victory of the Russian people against German fascism was heroic. My country may have internal problems that we Cubans must resolve ourselves without external interference. No country deserves to be threatened by another, much less by a power with false arguments that we represent a threat. Precisely this May 9th the victory of the Red Army against fascism was commemorated. I believe and hope that peace will return to the world, but Cubans will know how to defend ourselves fully against aggression and we will fight even though the difference is overwhelming. It is our duty to die standing and fighting, a pitched battle without quarter if we are attacked.
It is good that these museums remain as reminders of what is ultimately the fate of arrogant and hegemonic countries that take on prepotent and genocidal attitudes. Perhaps my comment will not be to everyone’s liking, but it is good to defend our right to peace and to manage our internal affairs sovereignly.
I have a lot of sympathy for the Cuban cause and tye sanctions placed upon you are ridiculous and unwarranted.
That looks very UFO rather than a bunker. Did you go there by yourself or on a tour? Thinking of going to Lithuania sometime
Yeah this was a tour trough the Baltics tallin to Vilnius, very enjoyable indeed
Hiya, @gabrielatravels here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Travel Digest #2913.
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Now that is bloody great cheers @gabrielatravels @worldmappin
You are most welcome! :)
You are very welcome @grindle! it was well deserved. ☀️
We are already looking forward to reading more about your adventures!