Latvia has auctioned an entire garrison town, deserted since the departure of Russian troops in 1999.

Skrunda-1, which lies 150 kilometres west of the capital Riga, was one of many closed communities dotted across the Soviet Union after the Second World War. They housed Russian military or scientific facilities, together with employees and their families.

The buyer, a company from Russia, paid 2.2 million euros for the 45-hectare site, which contains ten apartment blocks, two nightclubs, a shopping centre, a kindergarten, barracks and a sauna complex. Due to lack of maintenance, many of the buildings are in poor condition. It is unclear what the buyer intends to do with the site.

Latvia was part of the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1991.

Photo of Skrunda-1 by Martin John Callanan