15 May The largest Tank Museum in the world

The Museum boasts an extensive collection of 350 pieces of equipment from14 countries. Of this, 60 exhibits will not be seen anywhere else. This is the largest tank Museum in the world.

The outdoor military equipment exposition includes equipment for the space and air force. On display are 268 pieces of Soviet and Russian aircraft, tanks and armoured vehicles. Part of the exposition is devoted to damaged equipment. They remain untouched, as they were recovered, to remind us of the horrors of the war.

The “Partisan village” setting is a re-creation of partisan settlement from World War II.

The display tells the story of the partisan movement. Partisans fought against the Nazi invaders from the first days of the war until 1944. Real events and documented description of partisans’ lives inspired this exposition. Partisans made an invaluable contribution to the victory. Their heroic acts should be remembered, so it is important and interesting to see their everyday life and how they used to live.

We will also approach the main Church of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a monumental building, only 4 metres shorter than Christ the Saviours Cathedral in the centre of Moscow.  The construction was finished on the 9th May 2020, to commemorate 75th anniversary of the Victory.  Its height, including the cross on top, is 95 metres, so it’s one of the tallest orthodox churches of Russia and, consequently, of the world.

All the dimensions and parameters of the church are symbolical and are connected to the Great Patriotic War (a popular name of the World War II in Russia) and to Russian military history. For example, the diameter of the main dome is 19,45 metres (1945 is the end of the war); the height of the belfry is 75 metres (the church opened to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the victory); the height of the small dome is 14,18 metres (the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the Soviet Union lasted 1418 days)

Prior to the opening of the church two controversial frescos were removed from the walls. One depicted Putin and other government officials. Allegedly, Mr President said that future generations will appreciate what he has done, but, “at the moment, it’s too early”. The second fresco portrayed Stalin and, understandably, also triggered protests from numerous individuals. The author of the frescos and the church officials explained that the idea was to commemorate significant Russian military leaders. Both frescos are saved for posterity outside the church.