Deep in the Czech Republic’s Ore Mountains, radiation meters still crackle in tunnels sealed since the Cold War.
Soviet uranium fever once fueled these mines — and condemned thousands of prisoners to dig radioactive ore in deadly conditions.
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Soviet uranium fever once fueled these mines — and condemned thousands of prisoners to dig radioactive ore in deadly conditions.
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After WWII, Stalin made uranium the USSR's "most important strategic raw material."
By 1948, Czechoslovakia's Jáchymov became a gulag colony. Tens of thousands of political prisoners were forced underground without masks or ventilation.
📷 Soviet labor camp sign: “Work will set you free.”
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By 1948, Czechoslovakia's Jáchymov became a gulag colony. Tens of thousands of political prisoners were forced underground without masks or ventilation.
📷 Soviet labor camp sign: “Work will set you free.”
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Ahead of each shift, prisoners were packed together and tied with a steel rope. Guards locked it with a padlock before sending them into the mines.
These "Russian buses," as survivors called them, became a symbol of the brutality beneath the uranium boom.
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These "Russian buses," as survivors called them, became a symbol of the brutality beneath the uranium boom.
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Today, explorers like Jakub Kristek crawl through collapsed shafts with Geiger counters, chasing glowing autunite crystals and the ghosts of history.
"The silence is creepy," he says. "Sometimes I sing out loud when I'm down there."
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"The silence is creepy," he says. "Sometimes I sing out loud when I'm down there."
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The Soviet uranium rush shaped the early nuclear age, but it cost countless lives.
Now, as the mines rot and collapse, Kristek says he's glad to explore before the mines will be "lost forever."
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rferl.org/a/soviet-urani…
Now, as the mines rot and collapse, Kristek says he's glad to explore before the mines will be "lost forever."
5/5
rferl.org/a/soviet-urani…
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