Ukraine War Day #770: Underground Warriors

Dear Readers:

Being somewhat claustrophobic myself, it is amazing to me how the human race has adapted to living underground, especially in times of war. In tunnels, bunkers, and even entire underground cities. In his magnificent novel 1793, Victor Hugo described in great detail the underground villages constructed by the counter-revolutionary peasants of the Vendée. Men were prepared to crawl underground and live like moles for weeks at a time. The marching soldiers above them, never even knew that they were there!

I saw this piece about a rather interesting Rest & Recreation center for Russian front-line troops. The reporter is Denis Telmanov. The army grouping called “South” basically built what they call an “underground city” somewhere in Donetsk, where men come to rest for a few days before returning to the front.

I am not able to embed the video, but you can watch it yourself in the source material. I’ll help by walking you through it:

First you see rows and rows of sleeping cots. Next a small chapel with ikons and shelves of religious literature, mostly Christian but also some of the Muslim variety; and also patriotic literature.

The most important room: The Pantry!

Next we see the “pantry” where all the food supplies are stored, in bulk. And then the kitchen, where the magic happens: Army cooks wearing traditional “cook hats” are slicing the salami and preparing the meals.

Army cooks prepare meals for hungry soldiers.

The cooks follow standard formulas for the necessary nutritional needs of soldiers in combat conditions. The kitchen is equipped with industrial-strength ovens and dishwashers.

Next we are led down a corridor lined by hooks on the wall, where the men can hang their head covers, before entering the dining room. The dining room is meant to be a pleasant and sociable place, the walls lined with pictures colored by schoolchildren. The meal consists of at least 3 courses, including hot soup of course. We see some men chowing down in a sociable setting, at the long cafeteria style tables, a lot of these guys look like grizzled warriors in need of a break from the constant stress of the front lines. But there is a smaller room, with smaller tables for more intimate dining, and also a television set. “It’s pleasant to rest here,” the guide says.

Artwork created by schoolchildren lines the walls.

“And now,” he teases, “here is our beauty!” And, at 3:00 minutes in, he shows us the crown jewel of this underground R&R center: the sauna bath. It’s a traditional Russian (some say Finnish) sauna with the heated wooden benches. Nearby is also located the laundry room, with a washing machine, clothes lines for drying, and an ironing board. On the same level there is also a barbershop where a man can get a shave and haircut.

At 3:46 minutes in, we see a sharp-eyed black cat staring at the camera. So, they have cats. And finally, we see a wall of motivational posters. And that is the end of the video.