&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Russia revives Object 1335, a secret nuclear bunker linked to 'Dead Hand' - What we know")
An underground command complex buried deep inside a mountain in a remote Russian village linked to the country's nuclear weapons programme is being brought back to life, according to military analysts. This place is linked to Perimetr, the Cold War-era nuclear command system known as "Dead Hand" in the West.
Danwatch, The Sunday Times, and the Dossier Center carried out a joint investigation which was published on September 26. An analysis of more than two million Russian military procurement records shows that work to develop Object 1335, the complex buried inside Mount Kosvinsky in the northern Ural Mountains, has been going on for some time now.
The West has known about the "Doomsday Mountain" since the Cold War. This is where the country's nuclear arsenal can be launched from if Russia is attacked with nukes. Intelligence groups have for the longest time believed that it is no longer active. However, the latest analysis shows that it has undergone a huge upgrade between 2018 and 2024.
The documents carry details of orders for tons of construction materials and excavation equipment, along with ventilation systems, electrical infrastructure, and protective equipment. This includes 22,000 tons of steel, “enough to build three Eiffel Towers”, and more than 56,000 tons of cement. The purchases include more than 600 kilometres of electrical cables. The order list also has specialised filtration systems meant to protect against chemical, biological, and radioactive contamination in case of a nuclear attack.
The Sunday Times report also refers to 24 underground chambers, with the distance between the facility’s main and emergency exits being approximately 2.5 kilometres. Satellite images also corroborate the analysis, revealing extensive excavation and construction near the mountain.
Russian military experts confirmed the upgrade in several magazines
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The investigators also unearthed Russian military publications which detail the development of the mountain nuclear bunker. Retired Major General VG Khalin wrote in one of them that the site can launch an automatic retaliatory strike. Another Russian expert wrote that Object 1335 was placed on combat duty in 2023. Danwatch said the latest development shows Russia is expanding its nuclear forces and command infrastructure.
Object 1335 is a protected command centre for Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces. The underground bunker is reportedly linked to Perimetr, a backup nuclear command system which can order strikes in the event a nuclear attack destroys the country's communication channels.
Why is Russia reviving a Cold War-era nuclear bunker?
The purpose of upgrading Object 1335, according to leading experts and senior sources in the Russian military, is to equip the facility with an automation system. It can bypass normal command channels and communicate directly with the missiles that carry nuclear warheads.
Jeffrey Lewis, a lecturer in nuclear disarmament and arms control at Stanford University, told Danwatch, "The simplest explanation is that the Russians are probably putting the Dead Hand back into operation. It’s a big claim, but sometimes things are what they look like." He added, "There are a lot of signals coming out of Russia that the Dead Hand might be put back into operation, particularly because I think Russia is worried about a number of US capabilities."
