Eshera - Russia's secret military base?

Eshera - Russia's secret military base?

By M. Alkhazashvili

TheMessenger

Weeks after the signing of the agreement about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia, sensational information about the existence of a secret Russian submarine base in Abkhazia has surfaced.

The submarine base is alleged to be found in Eshera, a town in the breakaway republic of Abkhazia. This information can not be verified by Georgian officials, as Georgian representatives are barred from entering the territory of Abkhazia.

Rumors have long circulated about the existence of a Russian military base in Eshera. Current reports about the existence of the base are being circulated by Interpressnews.

According to a former high ranking official of the Soviet Defense Ministry, the military submarine base was responsible for control and observation of the Black Sea basin, reports the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe.

Construction of the alleged submarine base in Eshera is thought to have begun at the end of the 1940's. However, the main part of the base was completed only at the end of the 1950s. Construction of the base was so secret that local workers and engineers did not take part in the building process.

According to the former Soviet general, the Eshera laboratory was controlled by the upper

levels of Soviet bureaucracy, by the main department of the General Headquarters of the Ministry of

Defense.

The former Soviet general believes that Russia does not want to lose its stake in Abkhazia and to relinquish control of the territory to Georgia, in part because of the importance of this secret military base. Control of the territory of Abkhazia, and particularly the Eshera Laboratory, is an important factor in Russian-Georgian and U.S.-Russian geopolitical relations. In recent months, Russia's interest in Abkhazia has increased because of the possibility that Russia may be forced to abandon its naval base in the Russian-dominated city of Sevastopol, in Ukraine.

According to Interpressnews, residents of Eshera confirm the former Soviet General's allegations. Recently several Eshera citizens have claimed to have spotted the upper deck of a submarine. These sightings have become quite normal for residents of Eshera, although no such sightings were reported during the Soviet period, the agency reports.