During my trip to Ukraine, I had the opportunity to climb the Eye of Moscow. At the bottom of the page, there is a video in which you can see how I climbed and what I saw from the top..
"The Eye of Moscow" is the colloquial name for the radar system known as Duga, which was part of the Soviet early warning programme against nuclear attack. This system was built in the 1970s and was located near Chernobyl. Duga was a massive radar complex, the structure of which was so large that it could not be captured in a single frame of a camera..
History: The construction of the Duga system began in 1972, and its official launch took place in 1976. The purpose of Duga was to detect long-range ballistic missiles launched from the territory of the United States. This system operated on the principle of transmitting and receiving radars that emitted signals capable of penetrating the atmosphere and detecting objects at great distances..
Example of use: The Duga system was primarily used to monitor military activities and potential nuclear threats from the United States. However, over time it also became known as a source of radio interference that was received worldwide. The characteristic sound emitted by the Duga system was referred to as the "Russian Woodpecker," as it resembled the tapping of a woodpecker..
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Duga system was shut down in 1989. Today, the ruins of this enormous radar are a popular destination for tourists and history enthusiasts visiting the exclusion zone around Chernobyl..
Duga remains one of the most impressive and mysterious symbols of Cold War engineering and military technology.
