Dead Towns of Kola

Russian abandoned towns

Kola peninsula is a cape in North-Western Russia. This region borders Norway and Finland and has direct access to the Northern Ocean. Because of it’s prevailing strategic position it was valued much by Russian army and hundreds of army bases were placed on the peninsula.
During 1990s Russian army got tremendous budget cut off and had to cut its costs. One of the way to save for the army was to give up some bases and concentrate bases from bordering locations to one. So it was done and many of the army bases were abandoned. Then the other way to reduce costs was to pay less to the personnel, so during 1990s many Russian soldiers and officers had to give up Army service cause they couldn’t sustain normal living from it. Especially at the Northern territories where it was impossible to keep natural living sources like gardens or domestic animals. People naturally fled from North. The apartments prices were falling down at just lightning speed rates, going to as low as $2000 for a 4 room flat, and then it all finished up with hundreds of residential multi-stored houses stayed abandoned with no occupancy.
Army has built a lot of small cities during the Soviet period around its military objects. Those were left first. Now tens of such towns stay all across Kola Peninsula not visited, not inhabited.
Here are just some photos from the empty streets of Kola Peninsula Ex-Army Town.

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via kildin and gremicha.narod.ru

47 thoughts on “Dead Towns of Kola”

    • I would love to visit these abandon cities, make a whole trip of it. weird but very cool. i live in oregon usa

  4. OMG Russians are so poor, they can’t even built luxury cities on the sea coast and enjoy sun and the sea all year around. At least we Americans had built alot on the sea coast in California. 🙁

  9. хе, хе, лет через 10 на сайте русскаяанглия.ру таких фоток из шотландии будет валом. )))

  11. Haunting photos. Very cool.

    Where are the commercial buildings (like stores and such)? Where did they get clothing, food, gas, etc?

  13. no.
    its not “dead” city.
    even almost(!) abandoned.
    you cannot touch army propert both in US or EU.
    one known exception – when MSK flat prices skyrocketed, Aquarium smashed out khodinka.

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    • no they got all the elements from the periodic table in millions,no wonder that all the elements were numbered by a Russian.why bother recycle when its cheaper to make a new one.Russia is not like usa-it does have its own resources.

  18. repeat, its nto abandoned, just conservated.
    improperly[due to lack of funds], so inpact of time so great, as you can see.
    but other facility of coastal defense – more or less operational, so i suggest US USSN stay submerged, deploying spies in Russian water.

  19. Can you imagine being posted up there in the army… in winter? Looks like quite an impressive place – but not in those barracks.

  20. what a waste man,well these places will be inhabitated again i think in future when Russian military earning increase…………
    🙂

  22. I worry at the way the Russians just abandon their military equipment just like that. Somehow, there could have been some really useful hardware that some terrorist groups could have laid their hands on. Hope that no nuclear devices have been abandoned.

  23. I’ve been in this town. This is a deserted military town in northern Russia. after the collapse of the Union, this city has become not who you do not.

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  27. http://englishrussia.com/images/abandoned_kola/23.jpg The US developed that Perforated Steel Plate in WWII for airfields. It’s great stuff, and everyone uses it, even though it’s no longer useful for aircraft. You can make roads, walkways, barricades, fences from it.

    Detroit is not really part of America. We welcome anyone who’d like to have it.

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  29. hi there
    anybody got any links to sites with photos of cities in novaya zemlya. i know there are some settlements but cannot find any photos on web. fascinating place!!!

  31. Pingback: Instalaciones militares abandonas en la península de Kola [eng]

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