Hotel ‘Rossiya’ located next to the Kremlin is surrounded by a big fence which makes it impossible to enter the place. What views will be open to those who dare to lift a hatch nearby and examine the channel under it leading to the very bosom of Moscow city?
The Rossiya Hotel was a large hotel built in Moscow in 1967 at the order of the Soviet government. It was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest hotel in the world until it was surpassed by the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1993. It remained the largest hotel in Europe until its 2006 closure. The hotel was adjacent to Red Square, its 21-storey tower looming over the Kremlin walls and the cupolas of Saint Basil’s Cathedral. In 1977, a huge fire in the building killed 42 and injured 50. Today the hotel is under reconstruction arising genuine interest of diggers and other fans of antiquity.
The channel is supplied with motion sensors and is safely guarded from terrorists and other people who can constitute a danger of any kind. Diggers have always displayed remarkable interest to the catacombs leading to renown historical places in spite of the fact it is very difficult to stay at such a place for long. The guys who managed to take the pictures say they will never forget the fear they felt that time in the channel.
Every hatch leading to the surface is supplied with such a sensor. Those who pass the sensors need to be scared of the coming guards.
‘The Kremlin is located 10 meters away’. Was was the purpose of the sign? Our diggers could cover rather a big distance when finally heard the noise of the coming policemen. They decided not to stop and hide hoping to leave the place as soon as the guards leave it.
This channel with a semi-round vault leads to the Kremlin that’s why (if you still plan to reach the hotel) it’s better use the passage that goes right to Saint Basil’s Cathedral. The channel is located right between the Cathedral and the Kremlin wall.
The Savior Tower seen through the screen of the ventilation shaft is the main tower with a through-passage on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks Red Square.
That’s what the place looks like in the morning. The diggers who made the pictures were caught by the guards pretty soon who sent them to write explanatory notes at the police station. They never reached the planned point of destination (the Hotel), by the way.
Location: Moscow
via zapret-no
I smell a movie plot coming on this one.
Risky hobby I guess but interesting topic. Thanks for this great collection
hmmm… that’s it?
Too bad they didn’t reach the hotel, i would have loved to see what it looks like on the inside, especially the burned down section.
I do urban exploration in my free time, so this would be a genuine gem to get to explore.
I hope the diggers, or urbexers as they’re called here, didn’t get punished too hard.
I was in this beautifull hotel in 1989. with my parents and I remeber room number – 2533. This was my 4th time in Moscow.
Greetings from Serbia!
There is a show called “Cities of the Underworld” on History Channel. There was an excellent episode on Moscow’s underground.