Russia abandons secret military base, leaving behind an impenetrable enclave turned Soviet ghost town: “no one could enter”

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, after nearly half a century of intense global rivalry with the United States. Since then, remnants of its vast empire have lingered from the Bering Sea to Europe—many frozen in time and largely forgotten. According to several local media outlets, one such vestige can be found in the Aktobe region of western Kazakhstan: an abandoned city that once served a military purpose.

Near the town of Embi, the city of Zhem rises from the Kazakh plains. Once home to just a few thousand people, it was dominated by tanks, armored vehicles, and the vast arsenals of the Red Army—though only those with clearance could enter. “No one could get in. There was no way for strangers to enter. Even if they knew the way, they couldn’t get in without permission. There was a strict regime,” a local resident told Ulys.

Known as Emba-5 during the Soviet era, the site began as a military installation that operated for decades, up until the fall of the Bolshevik regime. According to locals, the government later built a maze-like structure shaped like the letter “P” around the garrison.

“The Russians call it cheshuya,” one resident says. “Foreign vehicles get stuck in that maze. After about a kilometer, they hit a dead end.” During the Soviet years, Emba-5 must have held strategic importance—it was designed to be self-sufficient, or at least aimed to be.

“The planes used to land in the mountains. From the outside, it looked like they disappeared over the horizon,” another local recalled. The complex includes an airfield, roads, and even a train station—all now abandoned. Its role in the arms and space race likely made it a Soviet stronghold. No surprise, then, that it was once planned to link with the world’s largest space base.

“There was a secret railway to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, but only half of it was built. After the Soviet collapse, the tracks were buried,” the same resident said. Located in the Kazakh town of Tyuratam, Baikonur is the oldest and largest spaceport on Earth. It began operations in 1955 and is now leased by Russia from Kazakhstan for $115 million per year.

Today, the city of Zhem—formerly Emba-5—is more than just a historical curiosity. It has become a subject of speculation and research. Neither Kazakh nor Russian authorities have offered consistent, detailed information about it, but its design and infrastructure suggest a far more strategic role than that of a simple military outpost. Though frozen in time, its significance continues to echo in the study of history.

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