Paldiski

Yesterday I ventured to Paldiski, about 40 km west of Tallinn. During the Soviet Occupation of Estonia, Paldiski was a major military centre. In particular it was a nuclear submarine base, with its very own nuclear reactor. Once the were around 1600 people living in Paldiski. Now there are just over 4000. Since the Soviet military left in 1994 the town has been slowly falling apart.

Once upon a time the whole area was strictly off limits to foreigners, as well as most Estonians. The super secretive soviets left it out on maps. Thankfully it is now back on the maps, and is even something of a tourist attraction. For a "westerner" there is something oddly thrilling about being able to freely walk around the "Pentagon" (pictured), a former training centre for the nuclear sub-submariners.

For more pictures, go to my Flickr photo page.