The novel strained compound 1,2-(1',1',2',2'-tetramethyldisilane-1',2')carborane (1) was synthesized by the reaction of 1,2-dilithiocarborane and dichlorotetramethyldisilane. Compound 1 was characterized by solution methods and its structure determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In contrast to its organic analogue o-(disilanyl)-phenylene, the reaction of 1 with ethanol leads to cleavage of a Si-C bond rather than a Si-Si bend. Similarly to other cyclic disilanes, exposure of a solution of I to oxygen leads to the insertion of an oxygen atom into the Si-Si bond. The structure of the oxygen inserted product was also determined by X-ray crystallography. The general chemistry and attempts at polymerizing 1 are briefly discussed.