Soviet Military
Soviet Military
Chess in USSR - Soviet Rules From 1948 to 1972
Alexander Petrov (1797 - 1867) explained how his grand father, the senator I. Sokolov from Saint Petersburg, was playing chess every day from 4 PM to 10 PM. But there weren't many tournaments at the time and people from Saint Petersburg were studying the game through the book of the french player Philidor, L'Analyse des Échecs. The first Russian chess club was founded in Saint Petersburg March 27, 1853.
Even if players like Jaenisch (1813 - 1872) or Urussoff (1827 - 1897), through their work, helped chess to evolve in Russia, the greatest propagandist was Mikhaïl Chigorine (1850 - 1908). He wrote, already in 1885: "Chess, like any other arts, demands a public life and a stream of talents. No art can exist if it is closed to the people".
Right after the revolution, an almost military organization took care of the teaching of chess, which was seen as an essential element of the "popular education". Under the direction of Nikolaï Krylenko (a People's Commissar for Justice who was close to Lenine), chess clubs were founded everywhere: in factories, in kolkhozy and, especially, in the "Young Pioneer Palaces". The Young Pioneer Palaces were youth centres for the creative work and sport training of Young Pioneers and other schoolchildren. Trainers were designed to find and teach new talents. USSR first championship was in 1920 and was won by Alexander Alekhine before he moved to the West. Before the war, there were already more than one million players registered in clubs.
In the 1930's, Russian players were often coming to the West to participate in tournaments. Their leader was without a doubt Mikhaïl Botvinnik. He imposed himself as a great player, not only by his results, but by his methodic and scientific angle on the game. He was a communist, a worker, so he was a model to be followed. The FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation) organized a world's championship in 1946 after the death of the champion of the time, Alexander Alekhine. Mikhaïl Botvinnik became the new champion. It was the beginning of a 24 year long reign.
The 24 following years, there was an ongoing fight for the title among Russians. Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrossian and then Spassky held the title in USSR. Then came September 4th, 1972. A black day for USSR when Spassky, in the middle of the cold war, lost his title to Bobby Fischer. The Russian was then disgraced and not authorized to travel out of the country. Only because he won the title back the year after, he was again authorized to participate to international tournaments.
In 1990, right before the USSR disappeared, there were more than five million registered players.
Aside from all these world champions, the result that illustrates the domination of the USSR best is the Chess Olympiad, that is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. Since the first time when they participated, in 1952, USSR won every time except twice: in 1976, because USSR didn't want to go to Israel (Haifa), where the olympiad was held, and in 1978 where Hungary won the first place after a tie with USSR.
About the Author
Psychotherapist and hypnotherapist with many passions: Chess, computers, Age of Conan (played WoW for almost 2 years but dropped out at Cataclysm), drawing, music (I play the guitar and drums), languages, travels, art, religion and philosophy, photography, movies... Many many many sides of life.
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Ghost Military Town in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Chernobyl-2. Military Facility in the shadow of Chernobyl.
Information about the unique, once secret facility - “Beyond-the-horizon radar station”, established in the city of Chernobyl-2
The city Chernobyl-2 is located northwest of the small town of Chernobyl in Polissia region of Ukraine, but it is impossible to find on any topographical map. Exploring the maps, you are likely to find a symbol for a children's boarding house, or a dotted line of forest roads on a place of accommodation of the town, but no reference to urban and technical buildings. In the USSR, they were able to hide a secret, even more so if it was a military secret.
Only due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant did it become known of the existence of a small town (military garrison) in the Polissia woods which was engaged ... in "space espionage." In the seventies of the last century were created unique military radar systems to track ballistic missile launches from the territories (or military bases and submarines) of the likely opponent. The created radar system was named “Over-the-horizon radar station” (Duga-1). With its enormous size and receiving antenna masts, Duga-1 demanded a large human resource - approximately 1,000 people worked on the military alert status at the site. For the militarmen and their families, a small town with one street was built, named Kurchatov.
In the map below, one can see the urban infrastructure.
The layout of the Chernobyl-2 city infrastructure, prepared on the basis of site imagery and wikimapia.org.en, wikipedia.org.
The decision to create the “Over-the-horizon radar station” (Duga-1) (near the Chernobyl) was made under government orders dated January 18, 1972 and April 14, 1975
By 1976, the main radar site Chernobyl-2 was built. The general designer of the radar station in Chernobyl-2 was the Research Institute for long-distance radio communication (NIIDAR). Chief Designer and inspiration of the ideas for Duga-1 was Franz Kuzminsky.
The first tests of the radar by the State Commission occurred in 1979. As experts "... during preparations for the tests, it was necessary to solve some practical problems caused by circumstances of something absolutely new and unique, not having analogies in the world means ..."
According to some sources - "... during the tests carried out to detect the launch of ballistic missiles and rocket carrier at Eastern U.S. missile test sites, checked the adequacy of models on the results of detection of associated launches of ballistic missiles and missile carriers of the U.S., which confirmed the correctness of the chosen model representations."
However, shortcomings were found and the system had a lack of quality and single definition of goals and objectives for small groups. The hight-quality radar station work achieved only conditions for the massive strikes of ballistic missiles of the likely opponent.
Despite some functional limitations in 1982, according to the Resolution of the Government (on May 31, 1982), Chernobyl-2 was accepted into a trial operation. On the occasion of the acceptance into operation of the radar "Duga" (so-called military station in Chernobyl-2), the developers of the complex received state awards - VN Vasenev, BM Danilov, NF Dubrovsky, Y. Krokunov, etc.
Together with the radar station in Chernobyl, the USSR created two similar systems in the cities of Nikolayev and Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In the map from space, you can see how these Duga-1 facilities were controlled.
Radars cover territory – Duga-1 (Chernobyl-2 and Nikolaev) and Duga-2 (Komsomolsk-na-Amure)
With the beginning of operations at these complexes, additional problems occurred. It turns out that part of the working frequency range of the radar systems coincided with systems of civil aviation and the fishing fleets from European countries. The USSR received an official appeal from Western countries that the establishment of this system significantly affects the safety of aviation and maritime navigation.
The USSR conceded and stopped using the working frequency. Immediately before this, the designers were asked to address the deficiencies of the radar. Scientists and designers solved the problem, and after modernization, the system started again in 1985.
After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the radar was removed from alert status, and equipment was disabled. Military and civilians were evacuated from the zone of radioactive contamination. When the USSR and the military leadership had understood the extent of environmental disaster, it was decided (in 1987) to export the valuable equipment and systems to the city of Komsomolsk.
So, the unique facility providing a space shield over the Soviet state ceased operation, and the city and urban infrastructure has been neglected and abandoned.
More information on the web-site chornobyl.in.ua
About the Author
Ecologist. Working on the territory of Chernobyl exclusion zone.
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