Russian president Putin’s secret nuclear command bunker amid tensions with West: Report

The site is associated with Russia’s Perimeter nuclear command system, known in the West as “Dead Hand”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been quietly modernising a secret Cold War-era nuclear command facility buried deep inside a mountain in the Ural region, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times, Danwatch and the Dossier Center.

The facility, known as Facility 1335, is located inside Kosvinsky Kamen mountain, around 800 miles east of Moscow. The investigation reportedly includes the first images from inside the bunker and details of procurement contracts that indicate extensive construction and modernisation work since 2018.

The site is associated with Russia’s Perimeter nuclear command system, known in the West as “Dead Hand”, which was developed during the Cold War to ensure that Russia’s nuclear forces could remain operational even if the country’s leadership and conventional command structures were destroyed in a nuclear conflict.

Bunker buried deep under granite

According to The Times, Kosvinsky Kamen is buried beneath more than 1,000 feet of solid granite. The depth provides substantial protection against conventional penetrating weapons, including bunker-busting bombs.

The investigation reportedly found that Facility 1335 contains at least 24 underground rooms, while tunnels extending around 1.5 miles from the entrances form part of the sprawling underground complex.

Huge quantities of construction material

Procurement contracts linked to Facility 1335 and dated between 2018 and 2024 point to a substantial modernisation effort, according to the investigation.

The contracts reportedly include:

24,000 tons of steel

More than 62,000 tons of cement

Around 372 miles of electrical cable

21 electrical substations

160 ventilation units

95 pieces of heavy machinery

648 drilling tools

Some of the ventilation equipment was reportedly designed to protect against radioactive dust.

The bunker has also received new blast-resistant equipment and communications systems, according to the investigation.

Expert links upgrade to Russia’s nuclear forces

Tom Roseth, an expert in Russian security policy at the Norwegian Staff College, told The Times that the developments appear connected to the broader modernisation of Russia’s nuclear forces.

“The expansion of Facility 1335 follows a major upgrade of Russia’s nuclear forces, which has been given high priority within the Russian armed forces,” Roseth said.

He also linked the reported work to the changing security relationship between Russia and Western countries.

“The Perimeter will once again be given priority now, in a more tense geopolitical situation in which Russia sees itself as being in conflict with the West,” he added.

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