The Central Museum of the great Patriotic war of 1941-1945

Moscow
Moscow, Victory Square, 3
Phones: +7 (499) 449-81-81
Web site: https://victorymuseum.ru

The exhibition area of the main building is more than 14 000 m2. Apart from the main exhibition, you may see six unique dioramas depicting major battles of the Great Patriotic War, a 3D historical and artistic panorama “Battle of Berlin”, and a full-dome video projection “Road to Victory”. The Victory Museum collection comprises over 60 thousand artefacts, such as personal belongings of military leaders and soldiers, letters from the front, awards, weapons, uniforms, paper currency and other rare items. Thus, the visitor may connect with this historical epoch through its relics.
Open-air displays of the military hardware include:
1. Open display of World War II military hardware
2. Open display of military hardware of local wars and armed conflicts of 1950s-1980s
3. “Motors of War” exhibition

These displays present one of the largest collections of military equipment including captured vehicles and weapons along with the army hardware of the Allies. Here you may see engineering constructions, railway troops equipment, aircraft, artillery pieces, automobiles and ships.

The Victory Museum is the Central object of the Victory memorial Park on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow. To create in the capital a grandiose memorial complex in Moscow in honor of the victory in the great Patriotic war was proposed in the late 1940s, but Stalin did not support this idea. 10 years after the great event, in 1955, Marshal Georgy Zhukov asked the Central Committee of the CPSU to consider such a possibility. Three years later, a Foundation stone was installed on Poklonnaya Gora in honor of the future monument.
But only in 1985 was a competition announced for the best design of the memorial. In 1986, the Central Museum of the great Patriotic war of 1941-1945 was officially established. Its first Director was a veteran of the great Patriotic war, major General L. K. Kotlyar, among the employees there were 53 veterans. The team monitored the implementation of construction works, conducted scientific development of the future exhibition and organized the collection of Museum items.
People's artist of Russia Zurab Tsereteli was the artistic Director of the project of the Museum building. An obelisk with a height of 141 m 80 cm was erected in front of the building – the highest monument in Russia. The Grand opening of the monument and Museum took place on may 9, 1995. The celebrations were attended by delegations from 55 countries that arrived to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the great Victory.

There is free transfer from “Park Pobedy” Metro Station to the Museum and back on weekends and holidays from 10.00 to 19.00 every 30 minutes.
The Museum has three authentic aircraft of the war bomber Il-4, made an emergency landing near the village Muraviika anuchinskogo RAYONA Primorskogo kraya; fighter P-63 "Kingcobra" were part of the 940 th aviation regiment, 190th division, transport aircraft Li-2, which was used in parts of the Soviet air force was then used on the lines of Aeroflot.
At the exhibition "engines of war" you can see not only Soviet vehicles, but also vehicles of the allies-great Britain, the United States, France, as well as German and Italian cars.
A separate exhibition is dedicated to captured Japanese military equipment, including fighter aircraft and tanks imported from the Kuril Islands.