5 Abandoned Soviet Mega Machines

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In the region of Istra, about 40 miles from Moscow, stands a towering structure that rises above the forests and marks a technological highpoint in Soviet machinery.

This is the Istra Marx Generator, and it is believed to be the largest generator of its kind in the world. Utilizing a series of electrical capacitors, it was able to turn energy from a low-voltage power supply into intense bolts of artificial lightning in order to test the lightning resistance of Soviet aircraft.

Built by the Russian Electrical Engineering Institute in the 1970s as part of the Istra High Voltage Research Center, this strange installation consists of a maze of tubes and cylinders, similar in appearance to a network of Tesla Coils.

Allegedly, it’s power output was so powerful that it formed lightning bolts hundreds of feet long with more concentrated levels of energy - present for just a fraction of a second – than all of Russia’s nuclear, hydro, thermal, gas, coal, wind, and solar-generated power combined.

In the 1980s, the location was also home to a facility called ‘Allure’, which was built to test and develop large weapons capable of generating electromagnetic pulses to devastate enemy technologies. 

However, this ill-fated facility met its end when the dome-shaped structure collapsed, and its commander was banished to a remote post as punishment. He was replaced by Boris Yeltsin, who would later become Russia’s first president.

Although officially abandoned in the 1990s, to this day, the Istra Marx Generator is still fenced off and guarded with dogs. Despite this, a few holes in the fence have enabled urban explorers to venture in, but they do so at great risk. 

For reasons unknown, the Istra Marx Generator tower is still occasionally turned on, and explorers report witnessing immense displays of electrical power.