The Rzhev Artillery Range (NIMAP – Scientific Testing Naval Artillery Range, 19th Testing Range of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation) was founded in 1854. Initially, it was located on Volkov Field (now Volkovskoe Cemetery), where there was one "experimental" battery.

In 1863, the Naval Department was allocated the current territory of the range – the right part of Okhtinskoe Field, stretching about 16 kilometers, reaching the Toksovo Heights. A year earlier, Emperor Alexander II approved the regulation on the establishment of the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU), which was to oversee the range. Thus, by the end of 1863, the range territory was managed by two departments. By 1912, the range extended to Lake Ladoga.

The Rzhev range began operating in 1878–1879. By that time, houses for soldiers and officers of the artillery and naval departments were built in the Rzhevskaya Sloboda area. Most of the buildings were wooden and have not survived. Moreover, the plans of these settlements have not survived either, so it is impossible to determine the locations of most structures. Only brick houses and buildings from the early 20th century remain. These buildings are located on Kovalevskaya, Belomorskaya, Lesoparkovaya, Kamyshinskaya, Vsevolozhskaya, Polevaya, and Poperechnaya streets.

The pace of development of the territories and artillery production justified the first word in the name of the Rzhev range – "Main." For more than 100 years, it was the most famous artillery range both in the Russian Empire and in the USSR.

Artillery firings and launches of powder rockets were conducted at the range; products from the Olonets, Putilov, Metallic, Okhta powder factories, as well as the Arsenal, were tested.

Both land and naval guns were tested here, thus the range met the needs of the Military and Naval Ministries.

There is much evidence that in the 1920s–1930s, the Rzhev range was a site of mass executions. These took place in the Kovalevsky Forest area (it is believed that the poet Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev was executed here (https://reveal.world/story/mesto-rasstrela-nikolaya-gumileva)) and in the Koirankangas tract.

After October 1917, the range experienced difficult times, but already in the 1930s, problems related to increasing the power and accuracy of firing of existing artillery systems of various calibers, the use of muzzle brakes, and other innovations were successfully solved at Rzhevka. Much was done for the development of armor-piercing shells.

Even today, samples of armor with traces of direct hits can be seen on the range territory. At the same time, work was carried out on the creation of new sound measurement equipment, which resulted in increasing the range of sound detectors from 4 to 10 km. Almost all samples of artillery weapons passed through the range. The total number of gun systems tested at the range from 1930 to 1936 exceeded 30 models.

Railway transporters of several types (large-caliber guns mounted on special rail platforms) were tested here. Thus, the range became one of the centers for the development of artillery for the Red Army and Navy. This was greatly facilitated by its territorial location near central scientific institutions and defense industry enterprises.

From 1928 to 1933, the famous Gas-Dynamic Laboratory (GDL), which laid the foundations for future Soviet rocketry, operated on the range territory. The combat vehicle BM 16-13 – the famous "Katyusha" – was also tested here; it was adopted into service on June 21, 1941.

For a long time, the range was practically the only organization where important issues of artillery science were addressed, methods of weapon testing were developed, experimental samples were refined, and artillery researcher personnel were trained.

There are no exact data on the boundaries of the Rzhev range. It is believed that its total area is about 740 square kilometers. By the way, the range once caused many inconveniences to the local residents. During tests and exercises, fragments of exploded shells scattered over considerable distances, endangering the lives and health of people, especially since a highway runs nearby. For safety, armored shields were installed around the perimeter behind which one could take cover upon hearing a signal.

The vast territory of the range is covered with forests and swamps, including completely impassable ones. Among the wild nature, many outstanding monuments of domestic military-engineering thought and less valuable objects – buildings, workshops, and bunkers from the 19th century – have been preserved. On one of the testing fields, unique artillery guns still stand: a 305-mm coastal gun made at the Obukhov Plant in 1914, and a 406-mm naval gun B-37, manufactured at the Barricades Plant in Stalingrad (now Volgograd). The 406-mm gun was intended to arm the "Soviet Union" class battleships, none of which were ever completed.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Scientific Research Naval Artillery Range, whose installations could not be evacuated due to their large weight, under the command of Lieutenant General Mushnov, had to take part in the defense of Leningrad. The first combat shots from the range were fired on August 29, 1941, from the most powerful and long-range Soviet gun at the time — the 406-mm naval gun B-37. The range's artillery, which included guns of 356-mm, 305-mm, 180-mm, and 152-mm calibers, began to constantly perform combat missions, being under the operational command of the Chief of Artillery of the Baltic Fleet. The last combat shots at the range were fired on June 10, 1944, during the Vyborg offensive operation.

After the war, tests continued at the range for both barrel artillery and multiple rocket launch systems. In the early 1950s, work began on creating "atomic" long-range artillery using shells with nuclear warheads. This resulted in the appearance at the range of heavy mortars "Kondensator" (caliber 406 millimeters) and "Oka" (caliber 420 millimeters). They were capable of delivering their nuclear charges with a yield of up to 13 kilotons to a distance of 50 kilometers.

Today, the Rzhev range is used less actively but remains closed and strictly guarded. However, the range itself is almost neglected, and its guns continue to rust and deteriorate. Not everyone can get here. From time to time, tours are conducted for those interested – by special passes, with all safety measures observed.

Sources:

https://dzen.ru/a/YC4L5v-i2GrkqIUd

https://fotosergs.livejournal.com/77935.html

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ржевский_полигон

http://krasnakarta.ru/spot/id/22/rjevsky