Former Laboratory "B"

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Laboratory "B". Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics.

The top-secret research laboratory (initially known as "the object 'B' of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR") was built in 1946 on base of the "Sunghul" health resort, near a small town Sokol in Chalyabinsk oblast, Russia. Within the framework of the soviet nuclear program, Laboratory "B" carries out the researches for radiobiology, radiomedicine, radioecology and genetics. Two departments were formed: biophysical, headed by N.V. Timofeyev-Resovsky and radiochemical, headed by prof. S.A. Voznesensky. Before 1955, from 200 to 500 employees worked in the laboratory, including imprisoned Soviet scientists and German internees (such as N. Riehl, H. Born, K. Zimmer).

In 1955, a secret scientific research institute (now Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics) was founded on the territory of the Laboratory B. In 1957, closed town of Chelyabinsk-70 (now Snezhinsk) was built specially for this institute and it was moved to this town. The Laboratory B
became a part (also known as "21st zone") of the new institute.

The laboratory functioned until 80's. Since March of 2009, the territory of the abandoned laboratory is unguarded.