Fortunately, we live in peacetime: despite local conflicts periodically arising in “hot spots”, we can be more or less calm for our safety, for the fact that an enemy missile will not fly over our heads, for the fact that fighters will suddenly not shower us with a hail of bullets, because we don’t hear the panic-whistle of the bomb falling on our land.
However, only we, ordinary inhabitants, as civil servants would say, can be so calm. Military men are always on the alert, even in such a quiet and peaceful time they are ready for everything: to threats from the sea and from the air, to attacks even from the west, even from the east. Russian troops are not only ready to protect civilians in case of martial law, they protect our peace with you, stand guard over our security, and prevent possible attacks in our direction.
In the modern world, technologies are so advanced that attacking any territory and causing enormous damage to another country, even if it is located on another continent, can be, so to speak, without leaving home. Complex installations are capable of delivering a combat charge through the air in a matter of fractions of a second for thousands of kilometers from the starting point. Therefore, the development and improvement of precisely air defense has acquired particular relevance now.
And you must admit, the more we know about it, the calmer we will be - because then we will be one hundred percent sure that a modern and reliable air defense system will protect our security.
If this topic has become interesting to you, then you should visit the Air Defense Forces Museum, which is located near Moscow, in a small Balashikha.
What is air defense?
Air defense, or abbreviated air defense, is a whole range of means that ensure the safety of airspace over the state, that is, prevent and prevent air attacks. It is important to note that anti-aircraft weapons are by no means a means of attack, it is intended solely to protect the country from enemy interference.
The history of air defense in Russia
For the first time in Russia, they thought about the need to protect their territory not only from a ground attack and invasion from the water, but also to prevent air attacks in the distant 1891. It was then that in Krasnoye Selo, which is located near St. Petersburg, the first military exercises were held, during which the shooters needed to hit air targets (balloons moving with the help of horse-drawn power).
Then it was decided to design a special gun, which would be designed specifically to bring down enemy aircraft. This was the first anti-aircraft installation. Her invention was timely - weapons came in handy already during the First World War.
Over the years, combat aircraft and how to defeat the enemy from the air have improved, which also necessitated progress in the air defense system.
You can follow the development of air defense in Russia by visiting the Balashikha Museum.
Air Defense Museum
This institution has no analogues in the world and is the only museum dedicated to the air defense forces in Europe. In the collection of the cultural and historical complex, there are about sixteen thousand copies, four hundred of them are real military units of equipment and weapons.
There are so many exhibits that they do not even fit under the roof of the main two-story building - part of the exposition of the museum of missile defense troops is presented at the observation deck in the open.
Exposition
In order to inspect the exposition was logical, and visitors have an integral picture of the ideas about the development of air defense in Russia, the halls are arranged in chronological order according to the stages of the history of our country. So, the exhibition of the first building that you find yourself is dedicated to the history of the Air Defense Forces, starting from 1914 and ending with 1945, that is, it includes both World Wars. The second room is already dedicated to the post-war period, followed by modernity.
The museum presents not only tools and equipment, here you will learn about the famous engineers and designers of missile defense systems, get acquainted with the biographies of heroes from the air defense forces.
Unique exhibits
In addition to modern air defense systems that protect the borders of our state now, the museum also displays those weapons with which they defended in ancient times. One of the oldest installations exhibited in the museum is the mountain cannon of the Schneider system, which was used at the very beginning of the twentieth century; the mark placed on the gun indicates that it was produced at the Putilov factory.
Another unique exhibit presented at the exhibition is the huge diorama "Air Defense of the City of Moscow, July 1941" by the famous Soviet artist Alexander Mikhailovich Semenov. The work is dedicated to the reflection by the Soviet troops (at that time they did not yet have a special name) of the first massive attack by fascist aviation on Moscow at night from July 21 to July 22, 1941. The picture is completely immersed in the atmosphere of wartime.
The director of the Air Defense Forces Museum also made sure that materials from recently declassified documents were presented at the exposition — you will not see them anywhere else.
Museum History
A lot is connected with the name of Pavel Fedorovich Batitsky in the life of the air defense forces of the Russian Federation. So, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union (namely, the founder of the museum had such an honorary and high rank), a museum of air defense forces was organized in 1978. Of course, he was not alone at the origins of the cultural complex, historians, politicians and, of course, troops themselves of this kind came to the aid of Pavel Fedorovich.
At the moment, the museum is successfully functioning and developing under a different direction. Now he is the director of the Air Defense Forces Museum Yuri Knutov, a historian and military expert.
How to get? Address of the Air Defense Forces Museum
The museum is located not far from the capital of our state, in the urban district of Balashikha, in the residential district Zarya on Lenin Street in house number 6.
From Moscow, the destination can be reached by electric train from the Kursk station in the Gorky direction. You need to go to the station Zarya.
If you are not afraid of traffic jams, then go on an excursion by car. In this case, you should turn off the Moscow Ring Road or onto the Nosovikhinskoye Shosse or Gorkovskoye and go to the Zarya microdistrict.
Museum Schedule
Anyone can enter the Balashikha Air Defense Forces Museum every day from ten in the morning to five in the evening, excluding the lunch break, the time of which is from one to two in the afternoon. Weekends at the museum are Monday and Tuesday. In addition, on the last Friday of each month, the museum also does not work - employees spend a sanitary day.
Ticket price
A standard entrance ticket to the museum of air defense forces costs 100 rubles, for pensioners, schoolchildren and students a privilege is provided - the ticket price will be half this - only 50 rubles. There are also categories of citizens that are served for free (you can find their list on the museum’s official website).
Every third Sunday of the month for children (under 18), students of higher educational institutions, as well as for large families, admission is free.
However, remember that in order to receive a benefit, you must present a document confirming your right to it.
Free cheese not only in a mousetrap
But even if you do not enter any preferential category, you can still visit the museum of air defense forces without paying a dime. This can be done on special days:
- February 23 - Defender of the Fatherland Day,
- May 9 - Victory Day,
- May 18, International Museum Day,
- June 12 is Russia Day.
Another holiday in the museum is the Air Defense Forces Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of April.
