Central Armed Forces Museum
Encyclopedia
The Central Armed Forces Museum also known as the Museum of the Soviet Army, is located in northern Moscow near the Red Army Theater.
was organised in Moscow in the building of today's State Universal Store
, and was opened by Vladimir Lenin
on the 25 May 1919, following a parade in Red Square
.
On 23 December 1919 an order was issued on the formation of a museum-exposition "Life of the Red Army and Fleet" in the same location, whose purpose was to Inform the public about the achievements by post-October Revolution
Soviet Russia in military education, culture and political discipline in the Red Army and Navy.
In 1920 another exhibition was organised and dedicated to the 11th congress of Comintern
in Moscow about the life and deeds of the Soviet Republic and its young armed forces which defend the conquests of the proletariat. More than 150,000 people visited the exhibition. In 1921 the exposition was transformed into the Museum of the Red Army and Fleet, and it was moved to Vozdvizhenka 6 in 1922, into a building (demolished in the 1930s), opposite today's Russian State Library
.
The largest events in the museum's first years was the fifth anniversary exposition for the creation of the Worker-Peasant Red Army (RKKA) between 23 February and 1 November 1923 which was visited by 500 groups and 70,000 individuals. In 1924, following the opening of similar museums across the country, it was renamed the Central museum of the Red Army and Fleet. It moved to the left wing of the Central House of the Red Army on the Yekaterinvskaya (now Suvorova), in 1928. In 1951 the museum was once again renamed the Central Museum of the Soviet Army and in 1965 moved to its present location in a new, special building designed by architects N.Gaygarova and V.Barkhin. It was renamed once again the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR; it was given its present name in 1993.
Over its history the museum has managed to accumulate the most prominent and important military relics of the Soviet period, creating a record of its military past. In total more than seven hundred thousand individual exhibits are now stored at the museum. The most valuable are displayed in the 25 halls of the main building.
The period of the Russian Civil War
includes a photocopy of the original decree outlining the creation of the RKKA which includes Lenin's corrections; a banner of the 195th infantry regiment into which Lenin was officially conscripted; weapons, documents, awards and personal belongings of famous Red Army men such as Mikhail Frunze
, Grigory Kotovsky, Vasily Chapayev
and Vasily Blücher as well as others, all help to re-create the post-revolutionary atmosphere.
The most prized display is that dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, which includes the Victory Banner
as well as all of the front banners and the captured Nazi ones that were used during the Victory Parade
in 1945. The Great Patriotic War differs from World War II
in that it began on 22 July 1941 with the German invasion of the Soviet Union. World War II (in Europe), started on 1 September 1939 with the co-ordinated attacks of Germany and the Soviet Union on Poland.
Part of the Great Patriotic War section is devoted to the Soviet Union's allies on the Western Front. There are examples of Soviet propaganda posters depicting Germany being crushed between the two fronts and maps of the Allied advance from Normandy into Germany. British and American small arms and uniforms are displayed. A lifesize diorama includes a Jeep pulling a field-gun in front of a wall-sized photograph of Omaha Beach. The photograph is Omaha Beach as depicted in the movie "The Longest Day
" (1962), not of Omaha Beach in June 1944.
The last halls display the post-war and modern developments of the Soviet Army and Navy, the Cold War section contains wreckage from the U-2
spy-plane that was piloted by Gary Powers
and the involvement of Soviet forces in Cold War conflicts. A special display is dedicated to the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and recent combat operations in Chechnya.
Outside the museum, there is an extended collection of military equipment and technology, including armour, artillery, railway cars, aircraft and missiles.
History
The first exposition which showed the military condition of the Soviet Republic and the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was organised in Moscow in the building of today's State Universal Store
State Universal Store
GUM is the name of the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union, known as State Department Store during the Soviet times. Similar-named stores were in some Soviet republics and post-Soviet states. The most famous GUM is a large store in the Kitai-gorod part of Moscow,...
, and was opened by Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
on the 25 May 1919, following a parade in Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
.
On 23 December 1919 an order was issued on the formation of a museum-exposition "Life of the Red Army and Fleet" in the same location, whose purpose was to Inform the public about the achievements by post-October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
Soviet Russia in military education, culture and political discipline in the Red Army and Navy.
In 1920 another exhibition was organised and dedicated to the 11th congress of Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in Moscow about the life and deeds of the Soviet Republic and its young armed forces which defend the conquests of the proletariat. More than 150,000 people visited the exhibition. In 1921 the exposition was transformed into the Museum of the Red Army and Fleet, and it was moved to Vozdvizhenka 6 in 1922, into a building (demolished in the 1930s), opposite today's Russian State Library
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world for its collection of books . It was named the V. I...
.
The largest events in the museum's first years was the fifth anniversary exposition for the creation of the Worker-Peasant Red Army (RKKA) between 23 February and 1 November 1923 which was visited by 500 groups and 70,000 individuals. In 1924, following the opening of similar museums across the country, it was renamed the Central museum of the Red Army and Fleet. It moved to the left wing of the Central House of the Red Army on the Yekaterinvskaya (now Suvorova), in 1928. In 1951 the museum was once again renamed the Central Museum of the Soviet Army and in 1965 moved to its present location in a new, special building designed by architects N.Gaygarova and V.Barkhin. It was renamed once again the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR; it was given its present name in 1993.
Exhibition
The period of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
includes a photocopy of the original decree outlining the creation of the RKKA which includes Lenin's corrections; a banner of the 195th infantry regiment into which Lenin was officially conscripted; weapons, documents, awards and personal belongings of famous Red Army men such as Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917.-Life and Political Activity:Frunze was born in Bishkek, then a small Imperial Russian garrison town in the Kyrgyz part of Turkestan, to a Moldovan medical practitioner and his Russian wife...
, Grigory Kotovsky, Vasily Chapayev
Vasily Chapayev
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev was a celebrated Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.-Biography:...
and Vasily Blücher as well as others, all help to re-create the post-revolutionary atmosphere.
The most prized display is that dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, which includes the Victory Banner
Victory Banner
The Soviet Banner of Victory is the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin, on April 30, 1945. It was raised by three Soviet soldiers: Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria, from Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia respectively.The Victory Banner, made...
as well as all of the front banners and the captured Nazi ones that were used during the Victory Parade
Victory parade
A victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades....
in 1945. The Great Patriotic War differs from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in that it began on 22 July 1941 with the German invasion of the Soviet Union. World War II (in Europe), started on 1 September 1939 with the co-ordinated attacks of Germany and the Soviet Union on Poland.
The Longest Day
The Longest Day could refer to:*D day*The Longest Day , published in 1959 by Cornelius Ryan*The Longest Day , a 1962 war film based on Ryan's book*The Longest Day , a 1980 wargame by Avalon Hill...
" (1962), not of Omaha Beach in June 1944.
The last halls display the post-war and modern developments of the Soviet Army and Navy, the Cold War section contains wreckage from the U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
spy-plane that was piloted by Gary Powers
Gary Powers
Francis Gary Powers was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.- Early life :...
and the involvement of Soviet forces in Cold War conflicts. A special display is dedicated to the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and recent combat operations in Chechnya.
Outside the museum, there is an extended collection of military equipment and technology, including armour, artillery, railway cars, aircraft and missiles.