Once literally the last bastion


against the capitalist onslaught, Moscow's bomb shelters are now being offered for rent to private businesses - and at bargain-basement prices.


Several dozen private companies have already rented out the reinforced-steel and concrete shelters, setting up everything from general stores to garages and even a restaurant, according to Igor Kuznayev, chief of staff at Moscow's civil defense agency.


"The market forces us to turn to renting", he said. "As prices started to change and the free market developed, we decided not to lose time, and that all should be rented".


Prices per square meter per year are little more than the cost of a few American firecrackers, just 500 to 1, 500 rubles depending on condition and location, according to Kuznayev.


In north Moscow at Shirokaya Ulitsa, the district bomb shelter has now become the neighborhood gym. A small bar to the side of the room, an area where citizens would gather in the event of a nuclear emergency, allows for socializing after a work out.


"It's a good use of the space, it's good for young people", said Natasha Makarenko, a student who praised the economical prices of the underground hall. "Besides, they have good ventilation here".


Rental agreements include a clause requiring tenants to move on six hours notice in an emergency.


Kuznayev was convinced his policy would not make the shelters unusable for their original purpose. A civil defense employee stays on the premise just to make sure the tenants do not store noxious chemicals or otherwise jeopardize safety. Moscow first set up its civil defense agency exactly 60 years ago this weekend, and since then it has expanded to 700 shelters and several hundred air-warning sirens, Kuznayev said.


The most modern bunkers have their own electric generators, air ventilation systems, and several layers of thick steel doors which seal them from the outside world. Water and food are not kept on site, but supplies can be quickly transported to the shelters, Kuznayev said.


The civil defense agency also stores gas masks for each citizen of Moscow.


Such an extensive system of protection for civilians earned the envy of some Western defense experts during the Cold War, who complained that the West lacked such a level of protection.


Yet after sitting vacant for decades, Moscow's bomb shelters began taking


on secondary uses in recent years. In thel980s the city government gradually began setting up gyms, storage rooms and other facilities. A few years ago they started renting to, private businesses, Kuznayev said.


The civil defense agency's flirtation with free enterprise does not mean the


shelters will be sold into private hands any time soon, however.


"These will not be privatized", he said firmly. "You know what privatization is: Tomorrow when you need to put people in there, and I go to the entrance and say, 'Three dollars to get in'. "