Chapter 1757 We are basically colleagues
The basic homeland defense strategy during the Soviet era was to "dig deep holes and store food," so basically any Russian city built during the Soviet era had underground fortifications—in other words, basically all Russian cities were built during the Soviet era.
These underground fortifications are now being used by civilians. For example, the internet cafe Xiao Peng visited in Noyabrsk was built inside an air-raid shelter.
But the underground fortifications over there are nothing compared to this underground fortification!
Vorkuta has become the main coal center and timber processing center of the former Soviet Union since 1931. The coal mines and timber here played a vital role to the Soviet Union during World War II, so the former Soviet Union also attached great importance to it. Since the city was established in 1943, it has always been a key defense city, and many troops are stationed here directly.
These underground fortifications were used for defense on the one hand, and for storing military supplies on the other. The 'Hala Shao Hotel' that Xiao Peng came to turned out to be an underground warehouse, and it was estimated that it would be no problem to place a hundred or eighty tanks in it.
Another reason why the former Soviet Union attached so much importance to the defense of this place was because it had a tragic history.
In 1931, the Soviet Union set up a settlement here not for mining coal or cutting trees, but for... exiling prisoners!
This is an exile center, and the Gulag prison office building that Xiao Peng just saw is a witness to that history.
Basically, the prisoners who arrived here were sentenced to death: in 1931, the first batch of residents here were 1,500 prisoners. When the second batch of residents arrived, only 54 of the 1,500 survived. And the number of prisoners who came later was even greater.
During that period of more than 20 years, more than two million prisoners were exiled here and forced to mine coal and cut down trees, including prisoners of war from various countries.
Like other former Soviet cities, Vorkuta now has various monuments. Gregory took them on a tour and showed them quite a few of them, most of which commemorated the prisoners who died here, such as a cross-shaped "Polish Prisoner Monument", an Orthodox-style "Ukrainian Prisoner Monument", a "Miner's Death Monument" and a "Miner's Death Cemetery" covering several square kilometers with wooden crosses.
Anyway, basically everything you see in Vorkuta is related to that period of history.
The most frightening thing is the cemetery - there are endless small crosses standing on the ground as tombstones, and people with trypophobia will feel their scalps tingling when they see it!
How many people died?
There were two million prisoners here back then! How could it be possible without stationing troops here?
In hindsight, their garrison seemed somewhat unnecessary. Of the more than two million prisoners, approximately 1.8 million froze to death, and around 150,000 were executed. Then came the Vorkuta riots, which killed another swathe. Ultimately, only 20,000 to 30,000 survived. And those 20,000 to 30,000 eventually assimilated into the city. It's fair to say this city has a rebellious streak.
Take this underground hotel, for example. Is it legal? It's a legitimate hotel in Vorkuta, well-known throughout the city. So why is it so secretive? Because... there are many things that don't comply with Russian regulations.
The short and sweet way to describe this place is: it's a low-profile Las Vegas casino. The only difference is that in Las Vegas, VIPs go to the upper floors of the hotel, while here, VIPs go deep inside the fortifications.
Why is such a hotel so secretive? The reason is simple: in Russia, gambling and selling porn are illegal. The only Russian state where casinos are legal is Kaliningrad, where Fabian and his friends had just visited. Beyond that, gambling is prohibited throughout mainland Russia.
But these things are actually unstoppable. Vorkuta has basically become the "Las Vegas" of Yamalo-Nenets. After all, who cares about this place when the emperor is far away? Even the local police have nothing to do here to play!
As for the women? It's a bit hard to believe - the women here are "additional services", and the price of the prostitutes here is generally "you decide".
Nikida gave Xiao Peng a powerful and irrefutable reason for this question: "It's cold here, and there's not much entertainment. What else can men and women do together? It doesn't matter what money they spend. Just be comfortable."
Holy crap, is this even possible?
This was indeed the case. Before Xiao Peng and Kasin even reached the room, seven or eight women had already greeted them. What made Xiao Peng curious was that while these women were greeting Nikida, some of them even asked him about his work.
Nikida explained: "Almost half of the people who have jobs in our city now work at Vorkuta Coal Company. We are all colleagues at Vorkuta Coal Company."
After hanging his coat in the room, Xiao Peng stretched his arms and legs. The temperature here was almost 25 degrees Celsius. Xiao Peng felt very hot. He heard Nikida's reply and said, "I thought you all worked here full-time."
Gregory shook his head after hearing this and said, "Then he would have starved to death long ago."
Xiao Peng asked, "Are you two colleagues too?"
Gregory shook his head and said, "I'm at the Northland Lumber Mill. Do you see this table? The wood used is from our factory. We specialize in manufacturing construction and furniture lumber."
Nikida said, "The Vorkuta Coal Company and the Northern Timber Mill account for 80% of the jobs in our city, so we all know each other. Actually, I can tell you this: even if you're actually from the Internal Security, it's fine. I can tell you straight up: the owner of this hotel is a high-ranking executive at the Vorkuta Coal Company, and he has some pretty powerful connections. Look at that bald guy playing cards with two girls? That's the Vorkuta Police Chief. If you want to have fun here, you'll have a blast! There are casinos, restaurants, shopping, and women. Of course, if you want men, that's fine too, but if you're looking for trouble... this is Vorkuta, and people go missing every year."
Kasim frowned slightly: "Are you threatening us?"
Nikida smiled and said, "It's not a threat. I'm just telling the truth."
Xiao Peng also laughed and said, "Nikida, you're worrying too much. I'm only here to wait for someone. We'll be leaving in three days at most. Whatever happens here has nothing to do with us. But you said we can shop here? Is there anything good we can buy here?"
Nikida said in a surprising tone: "Of course, the main products are animal fur and mammoth ivory, but if you don't feel satisfied buying those things, you can buy a few wives."
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