I’ve never been much of a fan of chocolate box holiday destinations, and I’d rather have my fingernails pulled out with pliers than find myself on a ‘beach holiday’.

I also have a fondness for bunkers, having enjoyed a trip to Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker a few years ago, followed by a morning firing off a Glock 20 in a disused Soviet bunker in Latvia the following year.

So, imagine my excitement to discover what is billed as a ‘psychodrama’ experience 25 miles outside of Vilnius, Lithuania, where 5 metres underground, you are transported to 1984 USSR.

On arrival, ‘guests’ are met by guards with dogs. Having been parted from belongings such as cash, cameras and mobile phones, they then don a Soviet threadbare coat and are thrown into the life of a USSR citizen. This includes watching 1984 Soviet TV, an interrogation in a KGB office, and being ‘forced’ to learn the anthem of the USSR.

The survival camp “1984“ exists as a reminder of the past, to show both the young generation and guests from abroad how far Lithuania and its people have come in its 17 years of Independence.

The “1984″ experience is based in two-level underground maze spread over 3,000 square meters in a remote area outside of Vilnius. It was built in 1980 as a backup TV station in case of a nuclear war with the US. But there was no war, and the bunkers were seized by the USSR army in 1991 during Lithuania’s fight for independence.

There are strict rules for those who choose to participate:

1. During the show ‘1984: the survival drama’ taking place in the territory of and inside the Soviet bunker in Naujasodes village in the region of Vilnius (later in this document referred to as the Show) Visitors-participants (later in this document referred to as Participants) become citizens of the USSR.
2. Participants will receive instructions and orders which must be carried out without objection.
3. In case of disobedience participants may receive psychological or/and physical punishments and may be excluded from the Show
4. Participants confirm that their health allows them to be in closed venues and conduct physical exercise without precautions. They take full responsibility of participating in the show and do it at their own risk.

We do not recommend taking part in the performance if you are suffering from a heart disease, asthma, epilepsy or claustrophobia, or have other health problems that restrict your free movement.

It sounds absolutely amazing. I can hardly wait. Read more about the experience of a Channel 5 journalist when he paid a visit.

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