The Strategic Missile Forces Museum

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Kirovograd’s outskirts enjoy the company of unique museum that is located not far from the town of Pervomaysk and has no analogues in the world. It's the Strategic Missile Forces Museum, located on the territory of former highly secretive missile base.

In Soviet times division headquarters of missile forces stationed in Pervomaysk, and carefully disguised underground command posts and mines with the latest nuclear missiles were located around the town. After finding independence, Ukraine declared itself a nuclear-free state and abolished this dangerous weapon at the turn of the 21st centuries. However, one command post with ground-based equipment was preserved in working state and re-equipped in original museum, whose workers and guides are former military personnel.

The first exposition meets the guests on the way to museum. The samples of rocket engines from different times and model of missile complex R-12 (which was the “lead character” of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962) stand along the road that leading to the exhibition halls. Documental materials, telling about Strategic Missile Forces' creation and liquidation history, underground command post's structure and equipment, starting positions, are situated in museum halls.

On museum's territory, near the launching facility shaft, subsidiary machinery that served for loading containers with missiles in shaft is exhibited. Museum's collection totals over two thousand exhibits.

But the most interesting and captivating part of excursion around the Strategic Missile Forces Museum is descending the 150-meter underground corridor and visiting the unified command post, from where combat missiles were fired. It's a metallic container that consists of twelve levels. Each of them is a round chamber, where specialized equipment and machinery are located. Authentic atmosphere is preserved here and allows feeling unique atmosphere and incommensurable power of the fortification complex.

Today it's impossible to use the unified command post and the launching facility shaft, because some mechanisms are disassembled, and one third of the shaft is filled with concrete.

Getting here. You can reach the Pobugskoye settlement from Kirovograd or Kyiv by bus.