In 1977 the Soviets began construction of a fleet of nuclear submarines that were to hold the title of “World’s Largest Submarine” for nearly 30 years (and counting!) - the Typhoon class.

The fictional “Red October” that was hunted in the movie was a Typhoon class sub but in reality there were only six completed (construction of a seventh was aborted half way through).

Despite their age we can see three Typhoon Submarines in reserve service at Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base. However, it was reported in 2004 that these last three were to be decommissioned, so they may have since been finally dismantled.

If you scroll further up the river you’ll also find Oscar-II & Victor-III class submarines and there’s a ton more info on the Typhoons at Global Security.

Thanks: Eddie

Yesterday was the 20 year anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and Google has marked the occasion by providing high-resolution imagery of the whole area. In our thumbnail you can see the concrete sarcophagus which was built to attempt to contain the worst of the radiation within the destroyed reactor room.

We previously posted Chernobyl in June last year, but this new image update really gives you an idea of just how desolate this area has become.

Or has it? According to this article at the bbc the area surrounding Chernobyl has become an unexpected haven for all manner of wildlife, with hardly a Blinky in sight! In fact, even the sarcophagus itself has become a nesting ground for birds. Just to the north west is the deserted town of Prypyat where you can see the woods are slowly taking over from the abandoned tower blocks.

See Wikipedia for the full history of the Chernobyl Disaster.

Thanks to Juras Michiod, biseptol, Randall Berg, Eddie, Joshua Szentpaly, Yuri, Marco Olivo, Anton Matt Clark and Andrew Barrett.