RBC: Demand for private bunkers soars in Russia

Demand for private bunkers capable of withstanding artillery shells, mortar attacks, and blast waves sharply increased after Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine, and again after Vladimir Putin’s September mobilization announcement, according to the news outlet RBC.

“After September 21, demand soared: the number of inquiries on our site rose by 430 percent. Though not all of the inquiries led to purchases, but there was increased interest. We didn’t observe [demand] like that even after the start of the [war],” said Nikita Malezhik, founder of the project BunkerHouse.

According to industry experts who spoke to RBC, the people who have shown the most interest in purchasing private shelters are those who live in southern Russia and in areas that have regularly come under shelling. Only a small percentage of them have actually made purchases, however, because of the shelters’ prohibitive cost.

“We have one expensive installation in the Leningrad region. We built a bunker that was 300 square meters — a full-scale home, just underground. There was a separate zone for service staff, a zone for the owners, and a large warehouse. The project cost several million dollars. The home it was built under cost tens of millions of dollars,” the head of one construction company told RBK.

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