In 1988, the Soviet Union launched Buran, the Soviet answer to the American shuttle program.  The unmanned flight was a success and seemed to put the country back into the space race.

Unfortunately, Buran's second flight scheduled for 1993 never happened as the Soviet Union fell and the entire project was mothballed.  In 2001, there was talk of reviving the program, but disaster struck in 2002 when a badly maintained hanger housing Buran collapsed, killing eight people and destroying the shuttle.

Today, the launch complex is abandoned, but a mockup of the shuttle is on display for curious tourists.