About Kubinka tank museum

Central museum of the armored vehicles and the weapons, Kubinka, Moscow region.

History and prehistory of the tank museum and its exhibits

• quick history of Kubinka tank museum

The history of the armored units of the Russian Imperial Army
The first tanks of the Russian Empire
Foreign tanks of the First World War
Civil War, tankers of the White armies
Civil war, armored forces of the Red Army Comrade Trotsky
ABTU, GABTU, Centrobron
Shooting range (tank polygon) 38 NIII
Obsolete tanks and the creation of a tank museum
The first Soviet prewar trophies
Lend-Lease and the technique of “allies”
Trophies of fascist Germany
Trophies of militaristic Japan
“Perestroika” and inter-museum exchange
Chiefs, managements, military guides and tank veterans
Changes of the museum status and names
Tank HQ museum guidebook and virtual tour
Patriot park
Directories and helpful information

See also:

• vehicle research on the WW2 battlefields
• vehicle restoration, from found on the battlefield and from museum collection
• tank rides, AV demonstration in the action
• chrono: celebrations, military parades and the special events: May Day – Victory Day, Red Army / Soviet Army Day February  23, Tank crew day (September)
• WW2 reenactment
• Indochina and the War in Vietnam: tanks and armored vehicles
• the uniform of the Wehrmacht tank man close-up

Museum official name and status

The collection of tanks, which had been assembled since 1931, for a long time was part of a special secret institute-armored research laboratory (NII BVTT), and only on September 10, 1972, on the tankman’s day, this world’s richest collection of tanks was opened as a real tank museum. (About people who have contributed to this matter will be written more closely soon).

The initiator of the creation of a tank museum in Kubinka was Marshal Babajanyan.

• Heads of the Museum: see the Heads of the Tank Museum, personnel and tank troop veterans

Since 1992, the museum, while still a structural subdivision of the Research Institute, opened its doors to all citizens of Russia.

In 1995 the museum was transformed into the “Military History Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment” and became an independent organizational-staff unit.

In 2000, thanks to the joint activities of the museum’s management and historians, all armored vehicles restored the original coloring and identification marks, making the exhibits look in accordance with the standards of the world’s leading museums. At the museum, a team of repairmen-volunteers was formed.

Since 2003, some exhibits of the museum have been restored to running condition. Exhibits begin to be leased at commercial prices of the Mosfilm or contractual for film shootings, festivals or shows. Introduced (for a short time) the service of riding on tanks (“photographing on a historical technique in motion”). Later, commercial tanker riding was forbidden by order of the General Director

Since the summer of 2003, according to festive dates, a military historical reconstruction of fragments of the Great Patriotic War has appeared. After the tragedy in 2006 with human casualties in the T-IV tank due to the violation of TB for several years, military historical reconstruction in the museum is prohibited. Full-scale reconstruction has been restored since 2015

By the order of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 31, 2012 No. 108-r, a decision was made to establish the Federal State Autonomous Institution “Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment” of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

On July 24, 2012, the Federal State Autonomous Institution “Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment” of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was registered by the Interdistrict Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service No. 22 for the Moscow Region (certificate of state registration of a legal entity series 50 No. 013300211) with assignment of OGRN 1125032006736 INN / CAT 5032254871/503201001.

October 30, 2014 Order of the Minister of Defense of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment” of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “UPDATED and renamed (reorganized) into the branch of the patriotic center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation FGUU” Patriot ”

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Branch of the Park “Patriot”
The main task of the tank museum in Kubinka was the study of domestic and foreign equipment and its details in the process of its development for cadets of tank military schools, KB designers, KGB officers and GRU GSH officers. In accordance with this, all exhibits were located in the pavilions in the relevant categories. In the process of inspection of each type of tank / armored vehicle, one could see the development process in dynamics. In the new museum complex hangars are divided into historical periods, inside of which there is military equipment both domestic and foreign, but corresponding to certain stages of the Great Patriotic War or the “cold war”

Festivals and WW2 reenactments

Celebrations, parades, military-historical reenactment in tank museum and outside of the museum area. Tank crew day, Victory Day, “Battle of Prokhorovka”  and other anniversaries.

In accordance with the annual plan of the museum, as well as in accordance with the activities carried out GABTU, the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Culture and other federal or regional authorities, the museum holds or takes part in various festivals, historical parades and memorial events.
Major annual events are:

• Tank crew Day – the main celebration of armored forces – GABTU (second Sunday of September)
• February 23 – Day of the Red / Soviet Army, Defender of the Fatherland Day
• 6 May – St. George’s Day, patron of the Russian army
• May 9 Victory Day
•  July 12 Kursk and the battle of Prokhorovka 1943
• November 7 – parade on Red Square to commemorate the “Battle for Moscow” 1941
• December 5 – counteroffensive near Moscow 1941

During holidays and days of special events the museum offers the following additional options:

• demonstration ride quality of historical armored vehicles
• opportunity to get acquainted with some samples inside
• Meeting with veterans of the Armed Forces and armored forces
• music festivals and concerts of military songs
• sale of souvenirs and other military-historical products
• Exhibition of military-patriotic clubs and associations search
• outdoor kitchen, barbecue and hot meals

see also:

• Archive holidays, parades and festivals tank museum:

Tankfest crew day -2017

In the program of the holiday:

– laying flowers and commemorating tankmen near the memorial (chapel, tower T-70 and the grave of the dead crew of the tank) – 11.00 – 11.50
– demonstration of military vehicles and equipment in motion – 12.00 – 12.20
– a festive concert. “Heart-to-heart”

– the program of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
– demonstration of technology and communication with parade participants

Archives of holidays, parades and festivals of the tank museum:

Tankfest crew days 2002, the “door open day” on Kubinka. From the very beginning of education and until the middle of the “zero” it was the main entrance to the tank museum, from the side of the town and the test site. At the Children’s Tank, the entrance to the Museum was free. Now the entrance works only for VIP guests, generals and the management of GABTU.

Folk festivals during the holidays. Many soldiers from the tank regiment and the 45th Airborne Regiment.

Fragment of the military historical reconstruction of the Kursk battle, the tank museum, Kubinka.

While the museum was at the Polygon and the tank regiment, the command, political department and employees celebrated some holidays, for example the New Year, according to the traditions of military collectives with wall newspapers, combat leaflets and amateur art.

The political department, the management of the upbringing, organize a festive table for veterans-tankers.

 Reports  and photo galleries:

• Tankfest crew day 2014, Kubinka
• Red / Soviet Army Day 23 february 2005