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What's under the great City of Moscow?

The following article was written after reading the following article: Mysteries under Moscow, which was written by Andrei Ilnitsky and published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in the following edition: May/June 1997 pp. 11-14 (vol. 53, no. 03) © 1997 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

When Vadim Mikhailov was a young boy in the early 1970s, his father took him for a ride in the subway train that runs under the City of Moscow. When he learned of the elaborate network of tunnels under the City, it created a lifetime of exploration in the many caverns and levels beneath the most famous city in Russia. Few people would guess that there are at least six levels of tunnels under Moscow, and even fewer would know that in some areas there are as many as twelve layers of civilization hidden just under the everyday world of about 10 million people.

So, what's the big deal about a few extra tunnels under a massive City when everyone knows there's a city-wide subway plus plenty of huge buildings that could concievably be connected with underground walkways going basement to basement? Here's what might be news to you. Vadim, who we met at the beginning of this article, and his friends spent their childhood and teenage years exploring as many levels as they could discover by entering the system through manhole covers and through the basements of buildings. At some point they began mapping what they found so they could find their way around even better.

"In 1990, the underworld travelers formed a group called "Diggers of the Underground Planet," whose aim was to study the historical, ecological, and social aspects of the Moscow underground."

Last year, the Diggers registered the "Center of Underground Research" with the Moscow municipal government. The center has departments of security, ecology, and history; eventually an analytical and archive department will be added. Their activities have also acquired a commercial character. They have signed agreements with the Moscow government, the Vityaz organization, which represents veterans, and with other organizations interested in underground research. For the 850th anniversary of Moscow, to be celebrated this year, the Diggers plan to issue an underground map. City officials want to develop underground sightseeing tours.

The Diggers have organized two exhibitions on the Moscow underground: one in the main city administration building and another in the Ostrovsky house/museum. They plan eventually to exhibit their underground findings in their own building.

But the Diggers have not hurried to tell all they know about the underground world. They are now working on a series of TV shows that they say will deliver sensational news. The programs will air during the 850th anniversary celebration, allowing Muscovites to peer into the mysteries lurking beneath the old Russian capital.

If you have interest in some of the things found beneath the City of Moscow, you'll want to check back here from time to time as we delve further into what the boys who grew up to become "Diggers of the Underground Planet" have found underneath Moscow.