[3] In 1956, the facility operated as an emergency command post headquarters of the Moscow Air Defence District (PVO) communication center.

According to recollections of veterans, many of the staff members worked for various other institutions, including the central telegraph, radio studio, and geodetic laboratory.

[3] In the 1960s, the bunker was equipped with everything needed to continue operating in the event of a nuclear attack, including food, fuel, and two artesian wells to provide clean drinking water for an extended period of time.

It was purchased by a private company, Novik-Servis (Новик-Сервис) for 65 million rubles[citation needed] and turned into a museum called "экспозицио́нный ко́мплекс Бу́нкер-42", opened in 2006.

Approximately 600 people could live and work in the complex for 30 days without assistance from the outside world, thanks to stores of food and medicine, an air recycling system, and diesel generators.