Professional digging is one of the rarest professions. Digger Ivan told in an exclusive interview with Sputnik Estonia about the difficulties one has to face during research and what is hidden in the Estonian dungeons.
Sputnik Estonia's correspondent met with a professional digger to learn more about his profession and the secrets of Estonia's underground.
Digger Ivan (asked for a pseudonym) has been researching tunnels, sewers, bunkers and bomb shelters for the past eight years. According to him, there are currently only two professional diggers in Estonia, including himself, but there are also several dozen who are fond of digging.
During a trip to Poland. PHOTO: MH PERSONAL ARCHIVE IVAN.
Urban exploration can be divided into roofing (walking on rooftops), stalking (exploring abandoned buildings), digging (exploring tunnels) and speleology (exploring mines).
From the Moscow metro to Estonian underground
Digger Ivan is a welder by profession. Several years ago, he began to explore old castles, manors and other beautiful places in Estonia, but suddenly realized that he really lacked adrenaline, although he had been diving for a long time.
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Once Ivan heard about the founder of the Digger movement in Russia, Vadim Mikhailov, who talked about three-meter rats living in the Moscow metro. Ivan was very interested in this story, and he decided to personally look at such huge rodents. “I climbed all the Moscow sewers, and believe me, there are no such rats there. Although there were some very evil ones who bite,”Ivan shared.
The interior of some objects would be perfect for shooting thrillers. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
In Estonia, he found only one digger, who taught Ivan all the intricacies of the profession, showed places that a beginner could explore. A little later, he was lucky to meet diggers from Latvia, with whom, over the course of five years, he studied many underground objects in all the Baltic countries.
“Then I went to the high school of diggerism in Kiev, where I was taught everything that I now know and can, and decided to revive this movement in Estonia,” Ivan said.
He noted that the concept of "diggerism" as such in our country has been dead for about 15 years. However, thanks to him, three years ago, a new wave of interest in the secrets of the underworld broke out. As it turned out during the conversation, the diggers have their own subculture, music, their own language and even their own flags.
Preparing to dive underground
Before going on a tour of the tunnels and bunkers, you need to prepare in advance. You should take with you high rubber boots, gloves, a flashlight and clothes that you do not mind getting dirty. In the summer, a fleece jacket, a light jacket are suitable, and just in case it is better to have a thermal shirt in your backpack. Optionally - a camera.
Digger Ivan strongly recommends that you carefully listen to the instructions on how to behave in the dungeon so as not to get injured and not get lost. If in structures like shelters, as a rule, everything is securely reinforced, then in mines and tunnels there is a risk of stones falling from the ceilings, so you should not give up the helmet issued by the instructor.
Someone had descended into the hole earlier - an improvised rope remained at the edge. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
“You can only go to any objects accompanied by a professional digger,” Ivan warns. In addition, most of them are located in private territories and under protection. And underground, an inexperienced person can easily get lost, because all the moves look almost the same.
“Tunnels can be multi-level, and sometimes you don’t know if you are on the first or second floor underground. The most important thing here is that internal orientation works well,”Ivan said.
Interesting objects
Together with digger Ivan, Sputnik Estonia's correspondent visited several interesting places. One of them is a typical civil defense shelter, the most accessible today. True, apart from a couple of old typewriters and broken walls, there was nothing left.
Then we looked at the capital from the roof of one of the abandoned factories. According to Ivan, there are a lot of interesting roofs in Tallinn, but it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to get on them. Researchers try to make the entrances to many objects invisible.
Abandoned objects are favorite places of diggers. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
“There are three to four dozen places in Tallinn where things have not yet been stolen. They are mostly found in factories or owned by the Army or the Rescue Board. But these places are not used in any way, they are conserved,”Ivan explained.
Then we went outside Tallinn, where we visited a part of the tunnel of the Sea Fortress of Emperor Peter the Great. Its total length is about 40 km, but 5-6 km remained accessible and safe. “The land front passed here, ammunition was stored, there were junction stations and underground barracks. Some of the tunnels collapsed over time, some were filled up, and some were flooded,”said the digger.
Many interesting things can be found in abandoned facilities. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
A former military base is located not far away, the bunker of which was also in ruins. However, there was once one of the most interesting escape routes underground - through a disguised hatch on the floor in the toilet.
According to Ivan, everyone who goes to the underworld finds something of their own. Some are interested in history, others go for interesting photos, and some simply do not have enough adrenaline.
Many objects can be found using a Google map. But it is worth remembering that it is better to visit them accompanied by a professional digger.
Curious finds
Digger Ivan also shared the unusual stories that happened in his practice. So, for example, on one of the excursions, a tourist accidentally fell into the ground - and thus the entrance to the tunnel was discovered. An expedition was immediately assembled to explore a new place.
A fence encloses the excavation site. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
And recently, 30 km from Tallinn, a completely mothballed bunker was found in perfect condition, which at the end of the 1980s belonged to the KGB, and now belongs to the Rescue Board.
"Many bunkers from the times of the Soviet Union are now ownerless, but they belong to the factories on whose territory they are located," Ivan said.
Once, while exploring one of the abandoned manors in the attic, in a heap of old newspapers and the spines of books from 1800, a curious box with a rusty lock was found. It contained posters from 1948 to 1961 and the Soviet flag of the Republic of Estonia.
Legends and mysticism
Digger Ivan also talked about how many times it was possible to debunk the legends associated with the dungeons of Tallinn. For example, in the course of research it turned out that under the Skoone Bastion there is no 70-meter shaft in which the ship's guns were tested. And the fact that underground tunnels run everywhere in Tallinn is also not true.
If snakes and rats underground are commonplace, then the existence of ghosts in old hospitals and castles is terrifying. “A couple of times there was a feeling that someone was sneaking up behind, creaking floorboards. We ourselves did not see these ghosts, but the outlines were clearly visible in the photographs,”Ivan shared. Although once, he recalled, while exploring an abandoned prison, many who were then with him saw a strange black silhouette near the window.
Ivan and his partner also happened to get into the so-called time portal. Knowing that the passage of a tunnel without labyrinths should take no more than 15-20 minutes, they left there after 3-4 hours.
The power of curiosity
According to the digger, most people give up looking for objects halfway through, because it takes a lot of time and effort, and often they face disappointment.
“Sometimes you crawl along a dilapidated tunnel, thinking that there must be something interesting at the end. For example, a room such as a bomb shelter or a bunker with things. And in the end it turns out to be empty,”Ivan explained.
You can go down to the underground floors using ordinary steps. SPUTNIK / ILONA USTINOVA.
One of the reasons why objects turn out to be empty is that beginners often not only get to the desired place, but also take away the found objects from there. Therefore, among the diggers and cavers there are only those who do not give up, burn with their work and strive to discover as many interesting places as possible. As for the professionals, they try to preserve history on sites so that it can be shown to others.
“To become a digger, you have to start with forums on the Internet, watch videos, meet professionals. A person must have a certain talent that manifests itself over time. But the main thing is to want to learn and be curious,”advises the digger Ivan.
Ilona Ustinova