The floating city of Neft Dashlari

Most of the structures that the era of communist Russia left behind are less than aesthetically pleasing, unless bleak and barren is your thing.  One place, however, embodies the communist spirit while still managing to be visually striking.  The town of Neft Dashlari is one of these, located in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan.  This town, built for oil and steel, is an industrial project that is very unique to behold, a modern-day archaeological site waiting to happen.

Oil is one of the key ingredients in making any industrial society run smoothly, and in this region of the Caspian Sea, one of the largest supplies of oil was discovered in the late 1940s. The Soviets needed a way to tap all that oil, so during the 1950s they built a structure of oil platforms, roads and housing that would become home and workplace for more than 5000 workers.

The network of oil platforms was built upon a foundation of sunken ships and connected across a circular area measuring in at more than 18 miles with nearly 200 miles of steel bridges. It’s a maze-like structure located far away from the mainland, a more than six-hour ride by boat. During its highest point, around 2000 drilling platforms were active, though that number has decreased significantly over the years.

But Neft Dashlari wasn’t just a place for business, it was also a place to live.  In order to keep workers happy, some things were built along with the oil platforms to accommodate them. There’s a cinema, park, apartments to live in, a soccer field, bakery, library, bathhouse and more, all floating on the sea.

Neft Dashlari is still being used productively to this day, though it has fallen into a terrible state of disrepair.  Fixing it up again would cost a sizable amount and there are cheaper sources of oil to be found elsewhere, so it has been allowed to crumble and rust. Of course, with the world’s oil supply steadily depleting, it may not be too long before this old seabound city rises again.

Until then, it is an interesting and visually striking remnant of communist Russia and a bizarre example of city planning.  Unfortunately, it’s not currently accessible to the public, so you’ll just have to enjoy it in pictures for now.

Neft Dashlari photo courtesy of Interfase via Wikicommons