10.09.2026

Nine subway stations in the city are being converted into bomb shelters.

The St. Petersburg Metro has decided to adapt nine stations for use as civil defense shelters. In addition to these, the project includes four compartments and approximately 35 km of track, reports “Fontanka” reports, citing data from the government procurement portal. On September 10, the Metro announced a call for bids to select a contractor to prepare a feasibility study for the upcoming work. The contractor will need to determine which facilities require completion, which ones need to be equipped with additional equipment, and which ones need to be adapted into civil defense structures.

The contractor will also need to take into account potential risks to civil defense facilities—in particular, changes in the groundwater level, urban development, and the obsolescence of equipment. In addition, two emergency scenarios must be factored into the calculations: a man-made disaster and a fire. Special requirements apply to the ventilation of shelters. In the event that contaminated air enters the protective structures, the systems must ensure its effective purification “of radioactive dust, aerosols, and toxic substances.”

In March, the metro system had already announced that it was monitoring prices for services related to the preparation of similar documentation.

At the same time, an inventory of shelters is being conducted in St. Petersburg. In 2025, authorities inspected 2,633 locations with protective structures—both freestanding and located within buildings. The Committee on Legality, Law and Order, and Security stated at the time that most of these facilities were in need of repair.

In addition, in the summer of 2026, the city began installing concrete shelters. The first such structures appeared in Kronstadt, home to one of the Baltic Fleet’s key bases. It has repeatedly come under attack from Ukraine. For example, on June 3, the corvette *Boykiy*—previously spotted escorting tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet—was struck there. It was in Kronstadt for repairs.

https://charter97.org/en/news/2026/9/10/698001