Sauna and laundry in Chernobyl-2 town near Duga

This inconspicuous brick building in the Chornobyl-2 military town doesn’t get a second look from most tourists rushing to see the Duga radar and control rooms. Located by the road leading to the massive OTH radar antenna, it hosts a sauna, known as banya in the former Soviet republics and a small laundry for staff and the soldiers living in the nearby blocks of flats.

The chart on the door, signed by the acting deputy commander of Military Unit 74939, Maj. V. Filimonov, is a schedule for using the bath by personnel from various companies stationed there.