Random Facts Of Russian Own Area 51 (10 items)

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  (#4) The Base Is Said To Have An Air Filtration System To Protect Against Nuclear Attacks

  Being in a remote location in the Ural Mountains certainly makes Mezhgorye a hard target. Even if an attack managed to reach the base, casualties would still be minimal, thanks to its advanced reinforcements. In particular, Mezhgorye contains a special "air filtration system" that allows it to purify an attack from nuclear, chemical, or biological means. 
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  (#2) It Allegedly Houses The 'Dead Hand Project' That Could Automatically Launch Nuclear Weapons

  Nuclear warheads are one thing; 73 warheads are a whole other ball game. But in the event of war, it's at least comforting to believe that whoever has their finger on the trigger is a sentient human being capable of rational thought and not a sophisticated A.I. system operating on ones, zeroes, and cold-blooded revenge.

  But that's where the "Dead Hand Project" comes in. 

  Not content to simply "lose" a war, Russia had reportedly implemented an advanced system for their weapons of mass destruction years ago, one that could arm and launch its missiles even after their commanders have died. That's right, somewhere out there in the Ural Mountains, Russia had once devised a crude version of Skynet that was always just a few binary beats away from sending us all into nuclear winter.
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  (#8) Mezhgorye's Existence Violates A Major Treaty

  Remember those 73 nuclear warheads? Well, as it turns out, those were a major violation of the INF Treaty, which went into effect in June of 1988. The treaty required both the US and the Soviet Union to "eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers."

  Because this level of artillery would have given Russia a massive advantage in the event of war, the missiles were eventually destroyed by the government of Slovakia for their violation through a grant by the US government in 2000.
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  (#7) You Had To Get Special Permission From President Boris Yelstin To Go Inside The Town

  When Rep. Curt Weldon visited Russia in 1995 to get more information on Mezhgorye, he was immediately turned away (as expected from a top-secret military installation). But after inquiring further, Weldon discovered that not only was his access limited - but anyone's access was also controlled by none other than President Boris Yeltsin himself. 

  For a "public works project" encompassing the size of a small country, it certainly looks like Russia was protecting more than just the construction of bridges and roads.
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  (#3) It's Built Into The Mountains And May Have Its Own Railway System

  The Ural Mountains are vast, running from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to northwestern Kazakhstan. But the town of Mezhgorye is specifically built atop Mount Yamantau, the hightest mountain in the Southern Ural section. Rumors about the base claim the extensive excavation and mining have allowed the Russians to build into the mountain itself, creating a subterranean bunker, complete with its own railway and highway system.
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  (#9) The US Has Made Inquiries Into The Base But They Went Unanswered

  As Americans have learned from our time investigating Area 51, silence is typically the most effective way to divert prying eyes from any secret, advanced military bases. Such was the case for Russia's Mezhgorye as well, considering that two administrations (Clinton and Bush) both reached out to then-President Boris Yeltsin, only for their inquiries to fall on deaf ears. 

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