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Comment by alangibson | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if there are equivalents of missilebaseforsale.com for the former Soviet Union

Im sure there is the difference is that they probably sell the missiles too…

Possibly, but you’re likely buying it “as-is”.

I believe Elon tried to purchase a rocket from Russia many years ago and even travelled there to meet with people who claimed to be able to broker a sale.

You got me wondering and I could not find anything with a quick Google search.

Apparently personal bunkers weren't popular even during the Cold War.

https://vc.ru/story/139377-mesto-gde-mozhno-spryatatsya-skol...

It may be that people just didn't have the money for this kind of stuff and oligarchs would rather build castles that no one knows about than buy old bunkers (which would be in way worse shape in ex USSR I imagine).

Bunkers aren’t that great for long term survival. You’re effectively betting that you can survive in a small isolated prison for N years to emerge without resources or the ability to feed yourself. You are also betting that the underground structure isn’t going to need maintenance in those N years, and that you won’t simply be viewed as a resource cache by whoever is still on the surface.

Now if we start talking about remote bunkers far away from cities - you start also asking the question of why you would need a bunker! If you build an off grid house in Whistler BC you are highly unlikely to be targeted by a nuke, or be in the fallout zone of any nukes. Rural east coast and southeastern US are also great options. You can even set up a plan for a permanent farming installation in the event of a disaster.

>If you build an off grid house in Whistler BC you are highly unlikely to be targeted by a nuke, or be in the fallout zone of any nukes. Rural east coast and southeastern US are also great options. You can even set up a plan for a permanent farming installation in the event of a disaster.

You'll still just be a resource cache for whatever roaming bands of anarchic clans that develop amidst the fallout. And subsistence farming is a complete fantasy; you'll starve very quickly. The only survival scenario that is realistic in an apocalyptic world is one built around trade, alliances, and firepower. Feudalism, essentially. Anyone who thinks they'll be able to go their own way and remain hidden will be the first ones killed off.

Something something New Zealand.

Which sounds good until you need a dentist or doctor and you discover you forgot to bring a surgery and/or hospital.

Or a vet. Or spare parts. Or tools/medications you don't already have.

Or any essential consumable that has a shelf life of (if you're lucky...) less than fifty years.

This family did it for 40 years. Not a bad run:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-40-years-this-rus...

Long term survival requires short term survival first. Bunkers are great for short term survival.

If surviving a nuclear Holocaust is in your priority list, then it’s much cheaper and more effective to move somewhere far away from the blasts and fallout.

E.g. live far away from miltary installations, keep a reasonable distance from metros, and avoid any place between the Appalachian mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountains (due to fallout).

I think they had plenty of government bunkers, even if there weren't many personal ones. There are some pretty interesting videos of urban explorers going through them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKWFx0QAW2w

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