LAND ON THE BRINK OF ANNIHILATION -- FROM WORLD WAR II, WHEN THE NAZI WAR MACHINE LAUNCHED THE LARGEST MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN WORLD HISTORY, THROUGH NEARLY 50 YEARS OF THE COLD WAR, WHEN NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST WAS AN EVERYDAY THREAT. FOR THE SOVIET UNION, THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE WAS TO GO UNDERGROUND. OH, MY GOODNESS. WE GOT TO DO SOME RUBBLE CLIMBING HERE. FROM A SUBTERRANEAN FORT WHERE SOVIET TROOPS FENDED OFF HITLER'S OFFENSIVE... THIS IS LIVE AMMUNITION. ...AND PAID WITH THEIR LIVES... THOUSANDS DIED IN HERE? AND ARE UNDERNEATH THIS RUBBLE HERE? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: WOW. ...TO A TOP-SECRET SUBMARINE BASE SHOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME ON AMERICAN TV. THIS IS WHAT IT'S DELIVERING. THIS IS THE WARHEAD, THE NUCLEAR WARHEAD ON THE TIP. AND A HIGHLY CLASSIFIED, STATE-OF-THE-ART BUNKER BUILT TO HOUSE SOVIET DICTATORS AND WITHSTAND NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON. WE'RE PEELING BACK THE LAYERS OF TIME ON "CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD: SECRET SOVIET BASES." --<font color="#FFFF00"> Captions by VITAC --</font><font color="#00FFFF">
www.vitac.com</font> CLOSED CAPTIONING FUNDED BY
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS FOR THE SOVIET UNION, THE REPUBLIC OF UKRAINE HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE HEART OF ITS MILITARY MACHINE. FROM BLOODY BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II TO THE NUCLEAR AGE, IT WOULD BECOME A NERVE CENTER FOR THE SOVIETS' MOST TOP-SECRET BASES. I'M DON WILDMAN. I'M IN UKRAINE, THE ECONOMIC AND MILITARY POWERHOUSE OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION. THIS WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THE COLD WAR. FOR 46 YEARS, FROM THE END OF WORLD WAR II, THE U.S. AND SOVIET UNION WERE LOCKED IN A BITTER STRUGGLE -- A BATTLE BETWEEN COMMUNISM AND CAPITALISM -- AND THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS AT STAKE. BEHIND A WALL OF SECRECY, THE SOVIETS AMASSED A WEAPONS ARSENAL AND TOP-SECRET NUCLEAR BASES UNLIKE ANY ON THE PLANET, ALL HIDDEN UNDERGROUND. THE U.S. COULD ONLY IMAGINE WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE. BUT NOW THAT THE IRON CURTAIN HAS BEEN LIFTED, WE CAN FINALLY SEE HOW CLOSE WE TRULY CAME TO NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, TO THE END OF THE WORLD. UKRAINE'S PORT CITY OF SEVASTOPOL WAS AT THE FRONT LINES OF THE COLD WAR FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS. BUT BECAUSE OF ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION ON THE BLACK SEA, IT HAD BEEN A VIRTUAL FORTRESS CITY FOR OVER 800 YEARS. SEVASTOPOL'S DEFENSES HAD ITS GREATEST TEST IN 1941, WHEN NAZI GERMANY STORMED INTO THE SOVIET UNION. THE COLD WAR WAS ACTUALLY THE SECOND BATTLE THE SOVIETS FOUGHT FROM THEIR UNDERGROUND BASES IN SEVASTOPOL. THE FIRST ONE WAS DURING WORLD WAR II, AND PREPARATIONS FOR THAT TRANSFORMED SEVASTOPOL INTO THE STRONGEST FORTRESS IN THE WORLD. WHERE I'M WALKING HERE, RIGHT BENEATH MY FEET, IS A HIDDEN SOVIET BATTERY. IT'S PART OF A MASSIVE DEFENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, 220 MILES OF TRENCHES, 19 LARGER FORTS, 3,000 PILLBOXES, ALL USED TO FIGHT THE NAZIS. BUT WHAT MAKES THIS PLACE TRULY UNIQUE IS THAT IT WAS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE MOST HEROIC LAST STANDS OF WORLD WAR II, AND IT WAS A STORY THE SOVIETS COVERED UP FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS. IN 1941, AT THE HEIGHT OF WORLD WAR II, NAZI GERMANY HAD CONQUERED MUCH OF EUROPE. ITS NEXT MOVE WAS TO TAKE THE SOVIET UNION. WITH ITS ENDLESS NATURAL RESOURCES -- OIL, COAL, MINERALS, LAND -- AND A POTENTIAL LABOR FORCE OF MILLIONS, IT WAS THE BIGGEST PRIZE IN ALL THE WAR. IN JUNE OF THAT YEAR, THE NAZIS LAUNCHED OPERATION BARBAROSSA, SENDING 3 MILLION TROOPS TO CONQUER MOSCOW, LENINGRAD, AND UKRAINE. IT WAS THE LARGEST MILITARY OPERATION IN WORLD HISTORY, AND IF THEY SUCCEEDED, IT WOULD MEAN HITLER'S FASCIST REGIME WOULD BE VIRTUALLY UNSTOPPABLE. AFTER MONTHS OF FIERCE FIGHTING, THE GERMANS REACHED SEVASTOPOL. OUR GUIDE, UNDERGROUND EXPLORER EDUARD ROCOVSKY, IS GOING TO SHOW ME HOW THE HEAVILY OVERPOWERED SOVIETS HELD OFF THE NAZIS' MILITARY MACHINE FROM 30 FEET UNDERGROUND. OUT HERE ON THE BLACK SEA, HUH? SO, THIS WAS THE LAST STAND AGAINST THE NAZIS HERE ON THIS BEACHHEAD. SO, 170,000 SOVIETS MADE THEIR LAST STAND ON THIS CLIFF. SINCE 1912, THE RUSSIANS HAD FORTIFIED THIS AREA WITH PILLBOXES, MINEFIELDS, AND ANTI-TANK BARRIERS. WOW. SO, THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE ENTRANCE HERE. TWO HEAVILY ARMED SUBTERRANEAN BATTERIES, NUMBERS 30 AND 35, WERE THE LINCHPINS OF THAT DEFENSE AGAINST HITLER. AH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IS IT DANGEROUS IN THERE? OH, REALLY? ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO. AFTER YOU. GO AHEAD. >> OH, THANK YOU. >> Wildman: SURROUNDED BY ONE OF THE LARGEST MILITARY FORCES THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN, THE SOVIET TROOPS INSIDE BATTERY 35 KNEW THEY MAY NOT BE COMING OUT ALIVE. CHECK IT OUT. LOOK HERE. YOU CAN SEE DOWN INTO THE FURTHER REACH DOWN THERE. OH, YEAH, LOOK AT THESE CORRIDORS. THEY GO DOWN FOREVER ON BOTH SIDES. OH, YEAH. LOOK AT THIS PLACE. AT THE ONSET OF WORLD WAR II, HITLER HAD DECLARED ALL SLAVIC PEOPLES, INCLUDING UKRAINIANS, <i> UNTERMENSCH,</i> OR SUBHUMAN. LIKE THE JEWS IN EUROPE, THEY WERE DESTINED FOR THE SAME GENOCIDAL TREATMENT. SO FOR THE SOLDIERS INSIDE THIS BUNKER, SURRENDER WAS NOT AN OPTION. BUILT OF STEEL-REINFORCED CONCRETE, BATTERY 35 IS DIVIDED INTO MORE THAN 70 DIFFERENT ROOMS -- COMMAND CENTERS, BARRACKS, KITCHENS, AN ARTESIAN WELL, STORAGE, AND A MEDICAL CENTER -- ALL STRETCHING DOWN TWO LEVELS BELOW THE SURFACE. OF ALL THESE FACILITIES, THE MOST CRUCIAL WERE THE TWO MASSIVE GUN EMPLACEMENTS. EACH TURRET WEIGHED 1,360 TONS, WAS PROTECTED BY 15-INCH-THICK STEEL PLATING, AND HAD TWO BARRELS. THE TURRETS COULD SWIVEL 360 DEGREES AND FIRE OFF A SHOT EVERY 40 SECONDS. THE GUNS WERE LOADED WITH A DOUBLE SHOT OF GUNPOWDER TO GIVE THEM A RANGE OF NEARLY 30 MILES. BUT THE NAZIS HAD AN EVEN BIGGER, MOST POWERFUL GUN -- THE HEAVIEST ARTILLERY GUN IN THE WORLD. IT WAS CALLED DORA. IT WAS TALLER THAN A 3-STORY BUILDING AND COULD LOB SHELLS WEIGHING UP TO 7 TONS. BUT AS POWERFUL AS DORA WAS, IT WAS INCREDIBLY INACCURATE. SO IT WAS VIRTUALLY NO THREAT TO THE UNDERGROUND BATTERIES. BATTERY 35 WAS BUILT TO LAST. IT EVEN HAD A PRIMITIVE TARGETING COMPUTER CALLED THE "BRAIN" OF THE BATTERY THAT COLLECTED AND ANALYZED DATA ELECTRONICALLY. THIS WAS A TOP-SECRET, STATE-OF-THE-ART MILITARY FACILITY WITH ELECTRONICS AND ENGINEERING THAT, YOU KNOW, NO ONE HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE. >> FIRE! >> Wildman: BUT BRILLIANT ENGINEERING AND BRAVERY WEREN'T ENOUGH TO HOLD OFF THE GERMANS FOREVER. ON JULY 1, 1942, THE NAZIS BEGAN TO BREAK THROUGH THE LINE OF DEFENSE. THE SOVIET COMMAND ISSUED A GENERAL RETREAT, BUT THE MEN OF THE 35th BATTERY STAYED, DEFYING THE ORDER FROM ABOVE. BECAUSE OF HITLER'S RACIST POLICIES TOWARD SLAVS, THESE SOLDIERS KNEW HE WOULD TAKE NO PRISONERS. SO THEY MOVED DOWN TO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE FORT TO MAKE THEIR LAST STAND. WOW, YOU CAN REALLY SEE DOWN HERE. LOOK AT THIS. THAT'S THE LEVEL BELOW THAT WE'RE GOING DOWN TO. OH, MY GOODNESS. WE GOT TO DO SOME RUBBLE CLIMBING HERE. ALL RIGHT, I'M COMING DOWN. FOR OVER TWO WEEKS, GERMAN BOMBERS HAD SWARMED OVERHEAD, DROPPING FIREBOMBS AND POISON GAS INTO THE BUNKERS' VENTILATION SHAFTS, TRYING TO WIPE OUT THE MEN CORNERED INSIDE. LOOK, THIS IS THE OLD VENTILATION SYSTEM HERE, ALL RUSTED OUT. WELL...LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS LIKE A CROSS-SECTION OF THE WHOLE PLACE. YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH CONCRETE THEY HAVE POURED AROUND A METAL FRAMEWORK. THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD A FORT IN WORLD WAR II. WHAT WAS THE FIGHTING LIKE? >> IT WAS LIKE HELL. IT WAS FIRING EVERYWHERE FROM THE AVIATION -- FROM AIR -- FROM SEA, FROM ALL THE SIDES. SO, JUST PEOPLE, LIKE ANIMALS, THEY WANTED TO GO IN THE EARTH, DEEPER AND DEEPER. >> Wildman: DESPITE THEIR BEST EFFORTS, THE NAZIS SURROUNDED BATTERY 35. DEFEAT SEEMED INEVITABLE. THE LAST THING SOVIET HIGH COMMAND WANTED WAS TO LET THIS VALUABLE, HIGH-TECH INSTALLATION FALL INTO ENEMY HANDS. SO THEY WERE FORCED TO MAKE A TRAGIC DECISION. THEY ORDERED THEIR MEN TO BLOW UP THE BUNKER... WHILE THEY WERE STILL INSIDE IT. WOW. LOOK AT THIS SPACE. WHAT HAPPENED HERE? >> IT WAS THE HEART OF THE EXPLOSION THAT WE WERE SPEAKING ABOUT. >> Wildman: THIS WAS WHERE THEY PLANTED THE BOMB THAT BLEW THIS PLACE UP? >> YEAH. AND BENEATH JUST THE LEVEL BELOW, IT WAS THE PLACE WHERE THE SOLDIERS LIVED. >> Wildman: THOUSANDS DIED IN HERE AND ARE UNDERNEATH THIS RUBBLE HERE? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: WOW. THE FORCE OF THE BLOW DID WHAT THE NAZIS' BIG GUN, DORA, COULDN'T. BATTERY 35 WAS DEMOLISHED FROM THE INSIDE OUT. >> DO YOU SEE THESE? >> Wildman: THE STEEL FRAMEWORK HERE. >> SOONER OR LATER, IT WILL... >> Wildman: COLLAPSE. EACH ONE OF THESE STEEL RIMS ARE COMING DOWN, ONE BY ONE. EVENTUALLY, THIS ENTIRE PLACE WILL COME DOWN. HOPEFULLY NOT TODAY. >> [ GASPS ] LOOK AT THESE. >> Wildman: OH, YEAH. >> HERE WAS THE -- >> Wildman: WAIT, THIS IS LIVE AMMUNITION, RIGHT? >> YEAH, THIS IS STILL LIVE AMMUNITION. >> Wildman: THAT STEEL FRAMEWORK, WHICH COLLAPSED IN ON ITSELF, CAME TO REST ON THIS SHELL, RIGHT ON THE NOSE. INSIDE THIS SHELL -- 60 KILOS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVE. YOU'RE LOOKING HERE AT A REMNANT OF SUMMER OF 1942, THE DAY THAT THOUSANDS OF SOVIET SOLDIERS DIED INSIDE THIS BUNKER RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET. THEIR BONES, THEIR BODIES MAY STILL BE THERE -- INCREDIBLE. ON JULY 19, 1942, THE BATTLE FOR SEVASTOPOL ENDED WHEN THE REMAINING SOLDIERS WERE KILLED. 80,000 SOLDIERS ON BOTH SIDES HAD DIED. BUT THE SACRIFICE WAS NOT IN VAIN. THE NAZIS WERE NEVER ABLE TO OCCUPY THE SOVIET DEFENSES, AND THE LONG, BRUTAL BATTLE HAD LEFT THEM BADLY WEAKENED. THEY WERE FORCED INTO A DOGFIGHT. BY DECEMBER, THEY HAD REACHED THE OUTSKIRTS OF MOSCOW, BUT THE RUSSIAN WINTER WAS CLOSING IN ON THEM. HITLER'S ARMY WAS DOOMED. >> [ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] >> Wildman: UP NEXT... WHILE SEVASTOPOL WAS FENDING OFF THE NAZI WAR MACHINE, UKRAINE'S CAPITAL, KIEV, WAS DIGGING IN FOR THE LARGEST ENCIRCLEMENT BATTLE IN HISTORY FROM A 45-MILE-LONG BUNKER SYSTEM 30 FEET UNDERGROUND. OH, MAN, LOOK AT THAT. THIS IS HOW YOU FIGHT THE NAZIS UNDERGROUND. AND LATER... IN THE COLD WAR ERA, THIS TINY TOWN CONCEALED A TOP-SECRET SUBMARINE BASE, A VITAL WEAPON IN THE SOVIETS' NUCLEAR ARSENAL. THIS CHANNEL WOULD HAVE BEEN GUARDED BY KGB OFFICERS WHO WERE UNDER ORDERS TO SHOOT ON SUSPICION. >> Wildman: SINCE THE SOVIET UNION WAS FOUNDED IN 1922, UKRAINE WAS THE NATION'S AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING GIANT. SO IF THE NAZIS COULD SEIZE KIEV QUICKLY, THEY COULD FUEL THEIR WAR MACHINE INDEFINITELY. IN THE SUMMER OF 1941, HITLER AND HIS NAZI ARMY HAD LAUNCHED THE LARGEST MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN HISTORY. THEIR GOAL -- TAKE MOSCOW AND TAP THE SOVIET UNION'S ENDLESS RESOURCES, A HUGE STEP TOWARD GLOBAL DOMINATION. BUT BEFORE HITLER'S FORCES ATTACKED THE SOVIET CAPITAL, THEY TURNED THEIR POWERFUL ARMY SOUTH TO CONQUER THE RICHES OF UKRAINE. WHILE THE TOWN OF SEVASTOPOL WAS PUTTING UP A HEROIC RESISTANCE ALONG THE BLACK SEA, 650 MILES NORTH, UKRAINE'S CAPITAL, KIEV, WAS FACED WITH ITS GREATEST CHALLENGE. BY THE SUMMER OF 1941, HITLER HAD STORMED ACROSS MOST OF EUROPE AND FOCUSED HIS MILITARY MIGHT ON KIEV. IN AUGUST, THE NAZIS SURROUNDED THE CITY. THE BATTLE OF KIEV WOULD BECOME THE LARGEST ENCIRCLEMENT BATTLE IN HISTORY. NOW, TO PROTECT THE CITY AND THE FREE WORLD FROM HITLER, STALIN HAD CONSTRUCTED A 45-MILE-LONG LINE OF DEFENSE LACED WITH 250 BUNKERS ALL BURIED BENEATH A FORTIFICATION RIGHT HERE OUTSIDE OF TOWN THAT WAS BUILT 800 YEARS EARLIER. JUST HALF AN HOUR'S DRIVE OUTSIDE THE CITY, I MET UP WITH MY GUIDE, ROSTISLAV KARPENKO... NICE TRUCK. >> THANKS. >> Wildman: ...WHO TOOK ME TO THE SPOT WHERE THE BATTLE FOR KIEV BEGAN. SO, THIS IS A -- THIS IS A BLOWN-UP BUNKER. >> YES, THIS IS ONLY CONCRETE BUNKER. >> Wildman: 800 YEARS BEFORE THESE BUNKERS WERE BUILT, THERE WAS ANOTHER LINE OF DEFENSE ON THIS VERY SPOT -- A LONG EARTHEN RAMPART THAT FOLLOWED THE CURVE OF THE IRPIN RIVER. IT WAS A VAIN ATTEMPT TO KEEP OUT THE MONGOL ARMY. WHEN JOSEPH STALIN COMMISSIONED NEW DEFENSES FOR KIEV IN 1928, THEY FOLLOWED THE SAME PATH AS THE OLD WALL -- 250 BUNKERS FORMING A 45-MILE ARCH AROUND THE CITY, ALL CONNECTED BY A VAST UNDERGROUND OF TUNNELS. A DECADE LATER, THESE BUNKERS WERE ALL THAT STOOD BETWEEN 3 MILLION NAZI TROOPS AND KIEV. NOW, THROUGH THIS FOREST, A HALF AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM HERE IS KIEV, THE TARGET OF THEIR ATTACK. THE GERMANS, THE ROMANIAN, ITALIAN ARMIES ARE ALL COMING THROUGH THESE FIELDS, ACROSS THIS RIVER. LUFTWAFFE IS ATTACKING, AS WELL. THESE BUNKERS ARE HERE TO DEFEND, BUT THE DEFENSE LINE WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD THAT ARMY OFF FOR TWO MONTHS. WHEN THE GERMANS COULDN'T PUNCH THROUGH THE LINE QUICKLY, THEY ENCIRCLED THE ENTIRE CITY, TRAPPING ALL 660,000 SOVIET TROOPS. CUT OFF FROM SUPPLIES, THE MEN HERE KNEW THEIR SITUATION WAS HOPELESS. BUT THEY FOUGHT ON AS LONG AS THEY COULD. >> THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BIGGEST BUNKERS... >> Wildman: UH-HUH. >> ...IN ALL THE LINE. METAL, CONCRETE. >> Wildman: AH, THIS IS THE ENTRANCE. OKAY. >> AND HERE WE HAVE TO SQUEEZE. >> Wildman: I SEE. >> HERE WAS A MACHINE GUN STANDING. >> Wildman: HERE AND HERE -- ALL RIGHT, SO THEY'RE FIRING THEIR MACHINE GUNS. RIGHT OUT THIS WAY, I CAN SEE THE RIVER FROM HERE. >> LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS METAL ROOF. >> Wildman: YEP. SO, THIS IS REALLY BUILT SOLID, BOTH OUT OF CONCRETE AND METAL. >> YES. >> Wildman: AFTER SEVERAL BUNKERS WERE EASILY DESTROYED BY INCOMING SHELLS, THE SOVIETS ADDED METAL PLATES TO REINFORCE THE ROOFS. THE UPPERMOST PART OF THE BUNKER WAS USED TO SCOUT AND FIRE ON ENEMY POSITIONS. BUT WHEN HEAVY ARTILLERY CAME FLYING IN, SOLDIERS HERE HEADED 32 FEET BELOW. OH, MAN. THIS IS HOW YOU FIGHT THE NAZIS UNDERGROUND. LOOK AT THIS. THERE'S -- THERE'S RUNGS MISSING HERE. THIS IS ALL DETERIORATING, AND YOU GOT TO BE REALLY CAREFUL NOT TO FALL THROUGH. LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS INCREDIBLE. AND IT JUST KEEPS ON GOING, HUH? THE SOVIETS WOULD FIGHT FROM THE FIRST LEVEL UNTIL NAZI AIR RAIDS BUZZED OVERHEAD. AS THE BOMBS CAME CRASHING DOWN, SOLDIERS MOVED DOWN TO THE TWO LOWER LEVELS OF THE BUNKER. THE LOWEST LEVEL WAS 98 FEET DEEP, THE ONLY PLACE TO SURVIVE THE HEAVY BOMBARDMENT OF THE GERMANS. THE LOWER LEVELS WERE A MAZE OF TUNNELS WHERE THE SOLDIERS SLEPT, STORED THEIR AMMO, AND HID OUT DURING AIR RAIDS. EACH BUNKER HAD UP TO 600 FEET OF PASSAGEWAYS BENEATH IT, AND EACH OF THOSE SYSTEMS LINKED UP TO THE NEXT BUNKERS IN THE LINE. HOW ARE THESE DUG, LITERALLY? DID THEY DIG THEM BY HAND? >> YES, ONLY BY HANDS, BY PRISONERS -- STALIN'S PRISONERS. >> Wildman: STALIN WAS A BRUTAL DICTATOR. IN THE 1930s, HIS ECONOMIC POLICIES CAUSED A FAMINE THAT STARVED MILLIONS TO DEATH. ANYONE EVEN SUSPECTED OF OPPOSING HIM WAS EITHER EXECUTED OR SHIPPED OFF TO HARD-LABOR CAMPS. IT TOOK 7 YEARS FOR STARVING, ABUSED POLITICAL PRISONERS TO DIG OUT THESE TUNNELS. AN ARMY OF SLAVES BUILDING TUNNELS UNDERGROUND. AMAZING. FOR STALIN, USING SLAVE LABOR TO DEFEND THE UNION WAS A NECESSARY EVIL. BUT NOW HIS OWN SOLDIERS WERE IMPRISONED INSIDE THESE ROOMS. THE MONTH-LONG BATTLE THAT HAD RAGED OUTSIDE HAD COST 3/4 OF A MILLION LIVES, VIRTUALLY DESTROYING 43 DIVISIONS OF THE SOVIET ARMY. IN THE FINAL DAYS OF THE BATTLE, THE 16 SURVIVING DEFENDERS CAME DOWN TO THIS ROOM, LOCKED A HEAVY METAL DOOR BEHIND THEM, AND FOUGHT TO THE DEATH. SO, THEY BASICALLY SEALED THEMSELVES OFF WITHOUT, NECESSARILY, FOOD AND WATER. >> ONLY WITH THE WATER. >> Wildman: THAT THEY HAD HERE. AND MANAGED TO SURVIVE FOR UP TO A MONTH AND HELD OFF THE GERMANS THAT FAR. >> AND THEN THEY DID. >> Wildman: WHAT A GRAVE. THE DEFENDERS OF KIEV -- FROM THE SOLDIERS INSIDE THIS BUNKER TO THE SMALL VILLAGE MILITIAS ABOVE -- ALL PITCHED IN TO HOLD OFF THE NAZI ARMY LONG ENOUGH TO DESTROY HITLER'S BATTLE PLAN AND COST HIM THE WAR. BUT LIKE THE SOLDIERS IN SEVASTOPOL, THE DEFENDERS OF KIEV ALSO PAID A TERRIBLE PRICE. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GERMANS WON THE BATTLE OF KIEV, THERE WAS A FAMOUS MASSACRE. OVER 30,000 JEWS WERE KILLED AT BABI YAR RAVINE, NOT FAR FROM HERE AT ALL. ALONG WITH THAT, THOSE 600,000-PLUS PRISONERS OF WAR ALSO STARVED TO DEATH IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS OR KILLED. SO, THESE GUYS WERE HEROES. THEY WERE TRYING TO SURVIVE. AFTER THIS, THE GERMAN EFFORT WAS DOWNHILL. THEY NEVER WON AGAIN IN RUSSIA. SO, IN A SENSE, THESE GUYS SAVED THE WORLD. CAN WE GO THROUGH HERE? UP NEXT... LESS THAN 20 YEARS AFTER THE COLD WAR ENDED, THE WEST IS FINALLY SEEING THE REAL HORROR BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN. IN THE '60s AND '70s, IF I DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT SECURITY PERMIT, I WOULD HAVE BEEN HISTORY. AND LATER... FOR THE FIRST TIME ON NATIONAL TV, A HIGHLY CLASSIFIED UNDERGROUND SUBMARINE BASE THAT HID A TERRIBLE SECRET. NICE. WHAT HAPPENED IN -- OH. >> Wildman: AFTER THE DEVASTATION OF WORLD WAR II, TWO SUPERPOWERS EMERGED ON THE WORLD STAGE -- THE U.S. AND THE SOVIET UNION. IN A STRUGGLE FOR WORLD DOMINATION, THESE FORMER ALLIES WOULD SOON BECOME BITTER ENEMIES, BEGINNING A STRUGGLE THAT LASTED NEARLY 50 YEARS -- THE COLD WAR. IT WAS A HIGH-STAKES GAME OF NUCLEAR CHESS. THE SOVIET UNION BEGAN BUILDING COUNTLESS TOP-SECRET BASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BUT WHEN TURKEY, OVER 200 MILES ACROSS THE BLACK SEA, JOINED NATO IN 1952, THE COAST OF UKRAINE BECAME THE FRONT LINE OF THE COLD WAR. AND THE TOWN OF BALAKLAVA DUG OUT A MASSIVE BASE DIRECTLY BENEATH IT. I'M ABOUT 20 MINUTES OUTSIDE OF SEVASTOPOL, IN THE ANCIENT FISHING TOWN OF BALAKLAVA. NOW, IMAGINE YOU'RE A VILLAGER HERE. YOUR FAMILY HAS LIVED AND WORKED HERE FOR CENTURIES. THEN, SUDDENLY, ONE DAY, THE RED ARMY SHOWS UP AND TELLS YOU YOUR TOWN IS NO LONGER ON THE MAP. YOU CAN NO LONGER LIVE THE LIFE YOU'RE LIVING, WORK THE SAME JOB, ESSENTIALLY, YOU WON'T EVEN EXIST. YOUR LIFE, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR TOWN NOW BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE. FOR OVER 150 VILLAGERS HERE, THAT'S EXACTLY HOW IT WENT DOWN. AND WHETHER THEY KNEW IT OR NOT, THEY WERE NOW THE LABOR FORCE BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY FORTIFIED AND HIGHLY SECRETIVE MILITARY BASES IN THE WORLD. NOT ONLY WERE THE U.S. AND ITS NATO ALLIES OBLIVIOUS TO THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT, MOST SOVIETS WERE UNAWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD. THERE WAS A WALL THAT RAN RIGHT THROUGH HERE ALL THE WAY AROUND TOWN THAT NOT ONLY KEPT PEOPLE FROM LEAVING, IT ALSO KEPT THEM FROM LOOKING IN. YOU COULD BE THROWN IN JAIL JUST FOR TAKING A PHOTOGRAPH. THE SMALL TOWN HAD TRANSFORMED INTO AN ARMY CAMP, AND ITS CITIZENS WERE NOW PART OF THE SOVIET MILITARY MACHINE. DURING THE COLD WAR, THE TOWNSPEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE USED HIDDEN ENTRANCES INTO THE UNDERGROUND BASE, AND THE SUBMARINES CAME THROUGH HERE. THIS BOAT IS ONE OF THE FEW WAYS INTO THE BALAKLAVA NUCLEAR SUBMARINE BASE. BUT FIRST, LOOK OVER THIS WALL AT THE SHEER ROCK FACE. IT CONCEALS THIS ENTIRE SECRET BASE INSIDE. IT'S DUG RIGHT INTO THE MOUNTAIN, 400 FEET BELOWGROUND. IN 1993, THIS BASE WAS DECOMMISSIONED, AND THE SUBMARINES AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS WERE REMOVED. BUT DEEP INSIDE ARE REMNANTS FROM AN AGE WHEN NUCLEAR WAR WAS A GLOOMY REALITY. IN THE '60s AND '70s, THIS CHANNEL WOULD HAVE BEEN GUARDED BY KGB OFFICERS WHO WERE UNDER ORDERS TO SHOOT ON SUSPICION. AND IF I DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT SECURITY PERMIT, I WOULD HAVE BEEN HISTORY. LUCKILY, TIMES HAVE CHANGED. AFTER THEIR CLASSIFIED MISSIONS, SOVIET SUBMARINERS WOULD DOCK IN THIS CHANNEL FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR. DURING THE COLD WAR, THERE WERE 50 SOVIET SUBMARINES STALKING AMERICAN AND NATO SHIPS IN THE AREA. THOSE SUBS, CAPABLE OF STARTING WORLD WAR III, QUIETLY CRUISED INTO THIS MAN-MADE CHANNEL AND DISAPPEARED FROM THE EYES OF THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES. OH, LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS WHOLE STRUCTURE. THIS 2,000-FOOT-LONG CHANNEL WAS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. HELLO, THERE. WITHOUT AN EXPERT, IT'S HARD TO NAVIGATE THE SUBMARINE BASE, SO I ARRANGED TO MEET A CAPTAIN IN THE UKRAINIAN ARMY, OLEG HARIVSKY, AND HIS TRANSLATOR, YULIA KOUPKINA. HOW ARE YOU? >> HI. >> Wildman: THANKS FOR MEETING ME. THE MAIN CHANNEL IS 26 FEET DEEP, RUNNING 400 FEET UNDERGROUND. IT'S BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD 9 SUBS AT A TIME. THE BASE COVERS ALMOST 4 ACRES. A CENTRAL CHANNEL ABOUT A THIRD OF A MILE LONG ARCS AROUND FROM THE HARBOR ENTRANCE TO ANOTHER OPENING THAT SPILLS DIRECTLY INTO THE BLACK SEA. FROM THE SUBMARINE CHANNEL, A CORRIDOR LEADS BACK ALMOST 1,000 FEET INTO THE MOUNTAIN. THE INNER CHAMBER WAS PROTECTED BY MASSIVE AIRTIGHT DOORS. WOW, THESE ARE HUGE. THE DOORS MAINTAINED CLIMATE CONTROL IN THE NUCLEAR ARSENAL AND, IN THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO, WOULD HELP CONTAIN A RADIATION LEAK OR AN ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION. LOOK AT THE HARDWARE ON THIS THING. THE HINGES ALONE ARE ENORMOUS, BUT THE DOOR IS 2 FEET THICK, AT LEAST. 10-TON DOOR HERE. ONE HERE, AS WELL. AND THAT'S ONLY HALF OF IT. HERE IS ANOTHER HUGE DOOR THAT CLOSES. THIS WOULD BE THE EXIT DOOR IF YOU WERE WORKING INSIDE THE NUCLEAR CHAMBER THERE. ALL RIGHT, LET'S HEAD DOWN. 150 MEN AND WOMEN FROM THE TOWN ABOVE WERE HIDDEN INSIDE THIS SECRET SOVIET BASE. OVERNIGHT, THEIR LIVES HAD CHANGED, AND THEIR WORLD WAS NOW UNDERGROUND, ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE COLD WAR. THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR WAS SIMMERING THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY ON AMERICAN SHORES. AND INSIDE THE BALAKLAVA SUBMARINE BASE, IT'S APPARENT THOSE FEARS WERE ALL TOO REAL. FOR CIVILIAN WORKERS INSIDE THE BASE, THERE WERE DANGERS AROUND EVERY CORNER. THEY WERE CAREFUL TO STAY AWAY FROM CERTAIN RESTRICTED AREAS. GOING DOWN THE WRONG CORRIDOR COULD BE CONSIDERED AN ACT OF TREASON, WARRANTING A SEVERE PUNISHMENT. LET'S GO IN HERE. LOOK. YOU START TO GET THE IDEA OF JUST HOW MASSIVE THIS WHOLE PLANT IS WHEN YOU START POKING AROUND IN ALL THESE ROOMS. IT'S ONLY, YOU KNOW, IN OUR LIFETIMES THAT THIS WAS ALL FUNCTIONAL. DEEP INSIDE THE CLASSIFIED SUBMARINE BASE, PAST THE MAIN CHANNEL AND THROUGH THE ENTRANCE TO THE INNER CHAMBER, THE BASE HAD ITS OWN ARMS FACTORY. >> [ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] >> SO, THESE ROOMS WERE NEEDED IN ORDER TO TEST AND PREPARE THE TORPEDOS. THEN THEY WERE LOADED ONTO THE SPECIAL HAND TRUCK. THERE WAS A TURNTABLE HERE IN THAT PLACE. AND THE TORPEDOS WERE DELIVERED INTO THE WATER CHANNEL. >> Wildman: GOT YOU. SO, THIS IS THE MAIN ROOM DOWN HERE? THE ARMS FACTORY PRODUCED ENOUGH FIREPOWER TO WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE FLEET OF THE U.S. NAVY. BUT THERE WERE DEADLY SIDE EFFECTS OF BUILDING THEIR ARSENAL. NICE. WHAT HAPPENED IN -- OH. SO, RADIOACTIVE IN HERE. SO, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT NOT JUST A MAINTENANCE CENTER FOR SUBMARINES, BUT THIS IS ALSO A FACTORY -- A WEAPONS FACTORY, ESSENTIALLY. >> THERE WERE SEVERAL SUBMARINES WHICH WERE ARMED AND READY TO STRIKE BACK. THERE WERE SPECIAL WEAPONS, INCLUDING THE NUCLEAR ONES. ABOUT 50 WARHEADS WERE KEPT HERE. >> Wildman: VILLAGERS WHO WORKED IN THIS RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS FACTORY HAD VIRTUALLY NO MILITARY EXPERIENCE, SO SCHEMATICS WERE DRAWN AS GUIDEBOOKS FOR ASSEMBLING THE TORPEDOES. AND WHAT IS THIS? >> IT'S A SPECIAL SCHEME, HOW THE TORPEDO WAS PREPARED, FOR THE WORKERS. >> Wildman: SO, THIS WHOLE THING IS BASICALLY A CROSS-SECTION OF A TORPEDO. THIS IS WHAT IT'S DELIVERING. THIS IS THE WARHEAD, THE NUCLEAR WARHEAD ON THE TIP. SO, IT'S BASICALLY AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL. ONCE ASSEMBLED, THE TORPEDOES WERE PUT ONTO HANDCARTS AND BROUGHT DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR, WHERE THEY WERE LOADED INTO THE SUBS. >> [ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] >> THIS TUNNEL WAS NEEDED IN ORDER TO DELIVER THE NUCLEAR WEAPON TO THE WATER CHANNEL. THEN THIS WEAPON WAS LOADED ONTO THE SUBMARINE. >> Wildman: SO, THESE RAILROAD TRACKS THAT ARE AT MY FEET HERE -- THESE WERE HANDCARTS, ESSENTIALLY. >> THEY WERE HANDCARTS. >> Wildman: PUSHING DOWN THE NUCLEAR WARHEADS. THE EARLIEST SOVIET TORPEDOES CAPABLE OF CARRYING A NUCLEAR WARHEAD HAD NO BUILT-IN HOMING DEVICE, JUST A SMALL BATTERY-POWERED ENGINE AT THE REAR AND A 675-POUND WARHEAD AT THE FRONT. DURING A SEA BATTLE, THE TORPEDOES WOULD HAVE BEEN LOADED INTO FIRING TUBES THROUGH THE BREECH DOOR, WHICH WERE THEN LOCKED BEHIND THEM. A VALVE WAS OPENED TO LET WATER INTO THE TUBE, EQUALIZING THE PRESSURE WITH THE SEA OUTSIDE. WHEN THE TORPEDO WAS FIRED, IT COULD TRAVEL FOR 11 MILES BEFORE RUNNING OUT OF MOMENTUM AND POWER. IF IT HIT THE TARGET, THE FORCE OF THE BLOW WOULD DETONATE THE WARHEAD. SIX TORPEDOES COULD SINK A 75,000-TON AIRCRAFT CARRIER. THE WORKERS IN THIS TOP-SECRET SUB BASE HAVE BEEN DRILLING FOR THIS VERY SCENARIO, BUT LAUNCHING A TORPEDO AT A U.S. OR NATO SHIP WOULD MEAN WORLD WAR III, AND THEY HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR PAYBACK. UP NEXT... WORKERS INSIDE THIS TOP-SECRET BASE WERE PREPARING FOR NUCLEAR WAR, BUT LIVING THROUGH IT IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY. SO, ENOUGH TO PUT 3,000 PEOPLE IN HERE FOR 30 DAYS WHILE A NUCLEAR WAR RAGED OUTSIDE. AND LATER, THIS ENTIRE APARTMENT BLOCK IS A DECOY FOR TOP-SECRET MILITARY HEADQUARTERS 600 FEET BELOW. BENEATH THE TOWN OF BALAKLAVA, UKRAINE, ARE THE REMAINS OF A TOP-SECRET SOVIET SUBMARINE BASE. DURING THE COLD WAR, THE SOVIET UNION AND THE U.S. WERE PERCHED ON THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST. SO FOR 50 YEARS, THE SUBS BENEATH THIS MOUNTAIN WERE POISED TO RESPOND TO THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO. CAPTAIN OLEG HARIVSKY AND HIS TRANSLATOR, YULIA KOUPKINA, HAD ALREADY TAKEN ME THROUGH THE TUNNEL WHERE WORKERS ASSEMBLED TORPEDOES CAPPED WITH NUCLEAR WARHEADS AND LOADED THEM ONTO SUBMARINES, WHICH COULD BE SENT ON MISSIONS THAT WOULD BEGIN WORLD WAR III. THIS WOULD BE THE EXIT DOOR IF YOU WERE WORKING INSIDE THE NUCLEAR CHAMBER THERE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE DRILLS AND EXERCISES THEY'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR YEARS FINALLY BECOME REALITY? IN THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO, THE BASE SUFFERS A DIRECT HIT FROM A NUCLEAR BOMB. WORLD WAR III HAS BEGUN. WASTING NO TIME, WORKERS WOULD RUSH BACK TO THE DEEPEST PART OF THE SUBMARINE BASE, ALMOST 1,000 FEET INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN, TO A NUCLEAR-PROOF BOMB SHELTER. THIS IS HUGE, THIS PLACE. >> SO, IN CASE OF A NUCLEAR ATTACK, IN CASE OF THE WAR, PEOPLE COULD LIVE HERE. >> Wildman: OKAY, HOW MANY PEOPLE IN HERE? >> ABOUT 3,000. THE BOMB SHELTER LAY TO THE WEST OF THE DRY DOCK, PROTECTED BY 400 FEET OF MOUNTAIN ABOVE AND TWO SETS OF BLAST-PROOF DOORS. THIS ROOM WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY PLACE FOR THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS TO SURVIVE. WE'RE BASICALLY -- IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE IN A FOOTBALL STADIUM, YOU KNOW? IT'S JUST AN ENORMOUS SPACE. SO, HOW LONG WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO KEEP PEOPLE HERE? >> 30 DAYS. >> Wildman: 30 DAYS, OKAY. SO, ENOUGH TO PUT 3,000 PEOPLE IN HERE FOR 30 DAYS WHILE A NUCLEAR WAR RAGED OUTSIDE. BUT ONCE THEY WERE CLEARED TO LEAVE, THEY WOULD GET BACK TO WORK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, ASSEMBLING THE NUCLEAR TORPEDOES AND LOADING THEM ONTO SUBMARINES. BUT THIS TIME, IT'S NOT A DRILL. THESE WOULD BE RETALIATORY STRIKES, AN ESCALATION OF GLOBAL NUCLEAR WAR. BALAKLAVA'S MAIN RIVAL WAS THE U.S.'s 6th FLEET. SINCE 1967, THE 6th HAD BEEN STATIONED IN ITALY, READY TO COMBAT THE SOVIETS. IT'S STILL ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE NAVAL FLEETS IN THE WORLD, WITH 40 BATTLESHIPS, 175 AIRCRAFT, AND 21,000 MILITARY PERSONNEL. IF THE SOVIETS WANTED TO COMBAT THE POWERFUL 6th FLEET, THIS UNDERGROUND BASE HAD TO KEEP RUNNING, EVEN DURING A NUCLEAR WAR. WHEN WORLD WAR III BROKE OUT, SOVIET SUBS LOADED WITH NUCLEAR BOMBS WOULD HAVE TO BE SENT OUT FROM THIS CHANNEL. THE MAIN SUBMARINE CHANNEL WAS 1/3 OF A MILE LONG WITH ONE ENTRANCE INTO THE HARBOR AND ANOTHER INTO THE BLACK SEA. RUNNING CONSTANT MISSIONS DURING THE BATTLE WOULD CAUSE INCREDIBLE WEAR AND TEAR ON THE SOVIET SUBS, SO WHEN THEY RETURNED, THEY WOULD ENTER FROM BALAKLAVA BAY AND THEN WOULD BE TOWED INTO THE DRY-DOCK REPAIR AREA. SO, I'M STANDING HERE NEXT TO A HUGE SOVIET SUBMARINE IN DRY DOCK, AND THE SUPPORT MECHANISMS -- I CAN SEE JUST THROUGH THE WATER -- ARE SUBMERGED, STILL DOWN HERE. AND THERE'S JUST TEEMING HUMANITY AROUND HERE DOING MAINTENANCE, WELDING TORCHES, ET CETERA. WITH NUCLEAR WAR RAGING ABOVE THE BASE, THIS DESOLATE CAVERN WOULD HAVE BEEN SWARMING WITH CREWS REPAIRING SUBMARINES AS OFFICERS LOADED THEM WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS 24 HOURS A DAY. THROUGHOUT THE COLD WAR, COUNTLESS SECRET MISSIONS WERE SUPPLIED AND STOCKED FROM THIS CHANNEL. ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THIS PLACE WAS JUST WORKING ALL THE TIME. >> YEAH, IT WAS WORKING ALL OF THE TIME. >> Wildman: ANY SUBMARINE THAT NEEDED A PIT STOP CAME HERE. THE MAIN CHANNEL WAS U-SHAPED, SO THE SUBS COULD ENTER FROM THE SOUTH, GET SERVICED INSIDE, AND THEN EXIT WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO TURN AROUND. THE BLACK SEA. OH, LOOK AT THAT. I GET IT. SO, THIS WHOLE THING, THIS WHOLE CANAL, THIS CHANNEL RUNS FROM THE MOUNTAIN OPENING OVER THERE ALL THE WAY THROUGH HERE RIGHT OUT TO THE SEA. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: I UNDERSTAND. AT THE ENTRANCES TO BOTH CHANNELS ARE MASSIVE SEA GATES AND BLAST-PROOF DOORS, A NECESSARY PART OF THIS INCREDIBLE UNDERGROUND COMPLEX GIVEN THE FEAR OF NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, ONE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN STARTED BY ANY OF THE SUBS LEAVING THIS BASE. THE TWO MARINE ENTRANCES PROTECT THE MAIN CHANNEL ON BOTH SIDES FROM STORMS OR FROM A NUCLEAR BLAST. ONCE THE SUBMARINES HAVE BEEN LOADED WITH THEIR DEADLY TORPEDOES, THE BLAST-PROOF DOORS WOULD OPEN, AND THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR WAY OUT TO SEA, READY TO STRIKE ENEMY TARGETS. IT'S A CHILLING PICTURE OF NUCLEAR WAR THAT WAS NARROWLY AVERTED, BUT THE THREAT ISN'T ENTIRELY GONE. TODAY, A SINGLE U.S. NUCLEAR SUBMARINE CARRIES 192 WARHEADS CAPABLE OF KILLING 50 MILLION PEOPLE, A THIRD OF RUSSIA'S POPULATION. THERE ARE 18 OF THOSE SUBS AND 550 MORE INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES HIDDEN IN SILOS IN THE WESTERN U.S. SO, HERE YOU GO. FROM HERE, RUSSIAN SUBMARINES -- NEWLY SUPPLIED, REFUELED, NEW WEAPONS -- HEAD RIGHT OUT THIS CHANNEL, OUT THIS EXIT, AND STRAIGHT OUT INTO THE BLACK SEA TO PATROL THE OCEANS WITH THEIR DEADLY WEAPONS. THERE ARE STILL NUCLEAR SUBMARINES FROM RUSSIA, FROM AMERICA, ALL NEEDING FACILITIES SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD. THIS WAS TOP-SECRET IN 1963 TO 1995. SOMEWHERE ELSE IS TOP-SECRET RIGHT NOW. THOSE SUBMARINES ARE STILL OUT THERE, BEING SERVICED, BEING LOADED UP WITH WEAPONS. THERE'S SOMEPLACE ELSE JUST LIKE THIS SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD. UP NEXT... WHEN NUCLEAR WARFARE LOOMED OVER THE WORLD, THE SOVIET ELITE BUILT AN IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS DEEP UNDERGROUND. IT'S NOT VERY WELL EXPLORED. EVERYWHERE UP HERE THERE ARE HOLES. YOU COULD FALL STRAIGHT FROM HERE FROM THE FIFTH LEVEL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FIRST LEVEL. OH, YEAH. >> OH! >> Wildman: WHOA. WOW. >> Wildman: BY THE END OF THE 1970s, AMERICA AND THE SOVIET UNION WERE SITTING ON STOCKPILES OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS -- OVER 50,000 OF THEM. AND WHILE THE TWO SUPERPOWERS TRIED TO NEGOTIATE A WAY BACK FROM THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION, BOTH PREPARED FOR THE WORST. AS BOMBS GOT BIGGER AND TECHNOLOGY JUMPED INTO THE SPACE AGE, THE POSSIBILITY OF GLOBAL NUCLEAR WARFARE HUNG OVER THE WORLD LIKE A DARK CLOUD. THE SOVIETS HAD DEVELOPED ICBMs, INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES THAT COULD REACH U.S. SHORES. THEY COULD OBLITERATE NEW YORK CITY. AND THEY KNEW THE U.S. COULD DO THE SAME. BUT TECHNOLOGY WASN'T JUST FIXED ON GETTING ROCKETS UP INTO THE AIR. NEW DRILLING AND MINING MACHINES MADE IT POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT MASSIVE MILITARY BASES DEEP UNDERGROUND. THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY, THE U.S. MILITARY HAD BUILT TOP-SECRET BUNKERS WHERE IT COULD WAGE NUCLEAR WAR UNDERGROUND. 22 MILES OUTSIDE SEVASTOPOL, THE SOVIET NAVY HAD ITS OWN TOP-SECRET HEADQUARTERS, DEEP BENEATH THIS DERELICT BUILDING. IN THE EARLY 1970s, THE SOVIETS CONSTRUCTED THIS BUILDING RIGHT UP THE HILL FROM NAVY HEADQUARTERS. NOW, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT THIS THING, YOU'LL SEE THEY DESIGNED IT TO LOOK LIKE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, LIKE PEOPLE LIVED HERE. THEY EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO PAINT RESIDENTIAL-STYLE WINDOWS RIGHT UP THERE. BUT THE FACT IS, THIS BUILDING IS A DECOY. IT WAS PUT HERE SOLELY TO HIDE WHAT WAS UNDERGROUND BECAUSE IT'S REALLY THE ENTRANCE TO A TOP-SECRET MILITARY BASE AND NUCLEAR BOMB SHELTER CODE NAMED OBJECT 221. WELL, THERE YOU ARE. I MET UP AGAIN WITH EDUARD AND MARINA, WHO ARE GONNA LEAD ME THROUGH THIS HUGE, HAZARDOUS WRECK. SO, THIS IS OBJECT 221. >> YES. >> Wildman: AND THE ENTRANCE IS DOWN HERE? >> YEAH. >> Wildman: HOW FAR INTO THE MOUNTAIN DO WE GO? HOW LONG IS THIS TUNNEL? >> ABOUT ONE MILE. >> Wildman: ABOUT A MILE UNDERNEATH. OBJECT 221 WOULD HOUSE 70,000 OFFICERS FROM THE BLACK SEA FLEET AND ELITE COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBERS IN A NUCLEAR ATTACK. THIS LOCATION WAS PICKED BECAUSE IT WAS HALFWAY BETWEEN SEVASTOPOL, THE MAIN BASE OF THE BLACK SEA FLEET, AND THE SUMMER RESIDENCE OF THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT. OBJECT 221 WAS DESIGNED AS A POST-APOCALYPTIC HOUSING PROJECT -- TWO FIVE-STORY BUILDINGS CONNECTED BY A FOUR-STORY BUILDING IN BETWEEN, ALL OF THIS MORE THAN 600 FEET BELOW GROUND. THE BUILDINGS WERE MADE OF A STEEL-REINFORCED CONCRETE, AND EVERY SURFACE WAS COVERED WITH METAL SHEETING. THE SHEETING WAS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE EXTRA SUPPORT AND BLOCK ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES FROM A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION THAT CAN FRY EXPOSED ELECTRONICS. IT COVERED OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET, MORE THAN 3 TIMES THE FOOTPRINT OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. OH, OKAY. HERE'S SOME ROCK. THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE DIGGING THROUGH TO CREATE THIS TUNNEL. SO, THIS WAS WHERE THEY PUT THE DYNAMITE. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: SOVIET OFFICIALS SET UP A DUMMY MINING OPERATION NEARBY AS A COVER STORY FOR THE NOISY BLASTING AND TONS OF DEBRIS BEING TRUCKED AWAY. IN THE EVENT OF A NUCLEAR ATTACK, SOVIET V.I.P.s WOULD HAVE RACED THROUGH THIS TUNNEL, CURVED TO MINIMIZE THE SHOCK WAVE OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION. THEN THEY WOULD HEAD FOR THESE DOORS. LOOK AT ALL THESE PORTALS, ALL THESE DOORS. THIS IS THE WAY IN. THIS IS THE ENTRANCE HERE. WHOA, THIS IS A HUGE ROOM. >> YEAH, ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT ONE BIG ROOM. HERE THERE WERE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ROOMS. >> Wildman: THIS ROOM USED TO BE DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL SECTIONS, BUT IN 1992, A RUSSIAN MOBSTER BOUGHT THIS ENTIRE COMPLEX FOR JUST $5,000 AND MADE A FORTUNE GUTTING IT. >> AND YOU SEE HOW THEY CUT OUT THE METAL. >> Wildman: WHEN THESE LOOTERS CAME UP HERE, THE MAFIA, BASICALLY, THEY CUT ALL THESE METAL WALLS, REMOVED THEM FOR SCRAP METAL. THE LOOTING TURNED 18 YEARS OF LABOR INTO A CRUMBLING RUIN PRACTICALLY OVERNIGHT. BUT JUST 30 YEARS AGO, IT WAS THE PERFECT PLACE TO SURVIVE THE END OF THE WORLD. IT INCLUDED A CISTERN FOR WATER, A 600-FOOT VENTILATION TUNNEL, A MASSIVE RADIO ANTENNA, AND EVEN A 500-SEAT MOVIE THEATER. SO, THEY'RE SHOWING MOVIES RIGHT OUT OF HERE. SO, EVEN THOUGH THIS LOOKS RUSTED OUT LIKE IT'S AN OLD BATTLESHIP ALMOST, THIS IS ACTUALLY, NOT EVEN 20 YEARS AGO, A STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY WHERE YOU HAD THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTY OFFICIALS AND MILITARY OFFICERS DOWN HERE. THEY HAD TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. ALL THE HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT IS GONE, AND MOST OF THE FLOORS, WALLS, AND STAIRS. EVEN THOUGH THE BASIC STRUCTURE IS STABLE, IT'S STILL A DANGEROUS PLACE TO EXPLORE. OH, LOOK AT THIS. OH, YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE PLACE. THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO THE UPPER LEVELS WAS TO CLIMB ON THE CRUMBLING WALL. IT'S DICEY AT BEST, SO WE CLIMBED UP ONE AT A TIME. NEXT ONE, PLEASE. COME ON UP. HE'S WALKING AHEAD BECAUSE EVERYWHERE AROUND THIS PLACE IS NOT VERY WELL EXPLORED. EVERYWHERE UP HERE, THERE ARE HOLES. YOU CAN FALL STRAIGHT FROM HERE FROM THE FIFTH LEVEL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FIRST LEVEL, AND YOU WOULDN'T SURVIVE THE FALL. OH, YEAH. >> OH. >> Wildman: WHOA. WOW. OBJECT 221 WAS BUILT TO LAST THROUGH A NUCLEAR ATTACK, BUT IT COULDN'T SURVIVE THE END OF THE COLD WAR. IN 1991, THE SOVIET UNION WAS DISSOLVED. [ APPLAUSE ] ONE YEAR LATER, THIS PLACE BECAME A SCRAPYARD FOR THE RUSSIAN MOB. SO, ALL THIS EFFORT GOES INTO THIS PLACE, FORTUNATELY, FOR NAUGHT. LOCKED BEHIND A SHROUD OF SECRECY, COUNTLESS UNDERGROUND BASES LIKE OBJECT 221 WERE BUILT IN THE SOVIET UNION. THE IRON CURTAIN HAS BEEN LIFTED, REVEALING THE TERRIFYING REALITY OF HOW CLOSE WE REALLY CAME TO NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION. DECOMMISSIONED SOVIET BASES LIKE THESE MAY SEEM LIKE RELICS OF THE COLD WAR, BUT TO THIS DAY, BOTH THE U.S. AND RUSSIA HAVE VAST NUCLEAR ARSENALS CAPABLE OF GLOBAL DESTRUCTION IN A MATTER OF HOURS. THE UNDERGROUND THAT WAS ABANDONED AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR MAY ONCE AGAIN PLAY A TERRIFYING ROLE IN OUR FUTURE.
