Due to the ongoing war, tours to Chernobyl are currently unavailable. However, we offer alternative tours to de-occupied cities and other excursions across Ukraine.
The NKVD (НКВД) stands for “Народный комиссариат внутренних дел” in Russian, which translates to “People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs” in English. It was a government agency in the Soviet Union that served several roles throughout its existence, most notoriously as the primary agency for state security and secret police activities during certain periods of Soviet history. The NKVD played a significant role in the political purges of the 1930s, conducting mass arrests, deportations, and executions. The organization underwent several reorganizations and name changes, eventually becoming the KGB (Committee for State Security) in 1954.
The NKVD underground prison is how one of the many forts of the New Pechersk Fortress is referred to. Why did this place earn such a sinister name? Let’s go back to the 19th century. It was then, in one of Kiev’s oldest districts, Pechersk, that construction began on what was at the time the largest fortress in Europe. The urban prison, built in 1818, was initially intended to be demolished, but it was eventually integrated into the fortress, making escapes virtually impossible.
As the years went by, by the 1860s, the fortifications in Pechersk were deemed outdated. Some of the structures were gradually handed over for military housing, while some, like the famous Kosoy Caponier, were repurposed as a prison for political prisoners. Notably, Vladimir Lenin’s brother, Dmitry, was held here for some time. However, after the fall of the monarchy and Ukraine’s inclusion in the USSR, a museum was opened here, named with revolutionary flair, “Kiev Schlisselburg.” So, where would political prisoners go? This is when, according to some researchers, the “NKVD underground prison” appeared.
Originally, it was just one of the caponiers – forts designed to defend the main fortifications of the New Pechersk Fortress. However, in the 1930s, as residential buildings began to spring up around the former fortress, almost all the caponiers in the construction zone began to be buried or disassembled.
By a strange twist of fate, the only one that remained was just 100 meters away from the Pechersk prison building. At the same time, a massive amount of work was done over it. The structures were covered with concrete slabs, and a thick layer of earth was piled on top. It became the perfect place for torture and executions. This combination of factors led the future director of the Kiev Fortress Museum to label this sole surviving caponier of the Vasilkovskaya fortification as the “NKVD underground prison,” an extension of the Pechersk Castle, heavily used during the peak of Stalin’s repressions and closed only after the tyrant’s death.
Until 2007, the entrance to the underground was sealed. However, during the construction of a modern residential complex, it was accidentally rediscovered. To the builders’ credit, they didn’t destroy the find but instead invited scientists to investigate. The brick wall plug was dismantled, and water was pumped out, revealing vast underground halls covered in cobwebs and tree roots. Astoundingly, human feet hadn’t tread here for decades! Inside, various artifacts remained: hooks, grates, inscriptions, most dated from the late 1920s to the early 1930s. Among them are even post-war writings by German POWs. Today, anyone interested can book a tour of the NKVD underground prison.
See nuclear missiles with the range of 11,000 km and the flight time to the United States of 24 minutes.
See missiles that could cover 200 000 square kilometers
See real soviet fighters
Chernobyl nuclear power plant tours have become a popular tourist destination due to the apocalyptic looks of the area and the atmosphere of silence.