Visit to Moscow, August 2007
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Introduction
 During
my trip to Russia, I visited the VVS Museum in Monino, and the Central
Museum of the Soviet Armed Forces in Moscow. Monino features some unique
Russian aircraft, such as a number of long-kept secret prototypes from
the cold war era, and historical artifacts like the La-7 of Marshal Ivan
Kozhedub, the highest scoring allied fighter ace of World War II.
While most visitors come to Monino on pre-arranged trips, it is also
possible to pay a visit by public transportation, which can be a good
idea, should you be in Moscow on business or have some spare air-miles
left. The tourist infrastructure in Russia is still not the best, so to
get around, you should be able to decipher the Cyrillic characters, at
least for street and metro station names. One really important thing:
always keep in mind the registration, and carry the proof (issued by the
hotel) with you.
 As
a side note: a good hotel to stay is the Izmailovo complex, which was
built for the 1980 Olympic games. The prices are moderate for Moscow,
and there's a metro station (Partizantskaya) and some shopping facilities
nearby.
Getting There - Monino
The museum's website can be found here.
Monino is a suburb of Moscow, some 70 km east of the center. To get there,
you need to take a suburban train from the Yaroslavsky train station (Komsomolskaya
metro station). Monino is the 23rd station on the line to Friazyevo. The
tickets are some 63 RUB (2 EURO), and can be bought at the counters outside
the train station building, next to the platforms (the counters inside
sell only tickets for long distance trains).
 Arriving
after about one hour at Monino, you leave the train station to the right
of the driving direction through an underpass. Then turn right again,
and follow the row of shops. It's a good idea to grab a snack and something
to drink there, since in the museum the amenities are virtually nil; the
tiny "cafe" in front of the ticket office is either closed,
full, or not operational. At the end of the line of shops, there's the
north gate, with military guards. While I'm not sure about the status
of the area (it looks like a military settlement), it is possible to enter,
and walk to the museum.
 An
anecdote on the side: Asking the guards at the north gate about the museum,
they mention that it's necessary to have a drive-in permit. Considering
the fact, that when arriving by train, one is generally on foot, it first
seems strange - then again: it's about 30 to 40 minutes of walking from
the gate, so most people probably arrive by car. Yet during my visit I
saw a number of foreigners asking their way through, communicating with
hands and feet. Anyway, the guards will send you on. If you come by car
though, a permit from the administration is required, and has to be ordered
well in advance.
 It's
not possible to walk straight to the museum - you have to side-step the
VVS Academy which is a restricted area (see attached sketch). Arriving
at the museum, you need to get a ticket, which is about 300 RUB (8 Euro)
for foreigners (and about 1 Euro for Russians), and some 200 RUB (6 EURO)
extra for taking pictures. The extortionate admission prices for foreigners
are common habit in Russia, so don't take it personally. The admission
is still affordable, and the wonders behind the gate really unequaled.
The admission times (as far as I recollect) are from 9am to 5pm. It
stays closed on Sundays and Wednesdays, and open on Saturdays only till
2pm
The Museum
 Just
after the gate you are greeted by a leviathan Mil V-12, which dwarfs even
the Su-35 parked next to it - and that's already a behemoth in its own
right. On the right there's a row of post-war bombers, starting with a
copied B-29. Straight ahead there are some of–in my opinion–the
real gems of the exhibition: the supersonic bombers Myushchin M-50 and
the Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka," which looks like a military version
of the Tu-144. The stainless steel and titanium skin with fine etchings
of time leaves an incredible impression. Just past that is the helicopter
alley, with rarities like a the Mi-10, a Yak 24, some Kamovs, and most
of the Mil family. On the other side of the walkway, the sequence of Yaks
starts with the early jets, the Yak 17, through some early post-war bombers
and rarities like the first VTOL Yak 36 to the contemporary variants.
 Thereafter
a number of MiG jets is lined up, starting with a MiG 9, then a variant
of the MiG 15 with bomb launchers, through the MiG 17, 19, 21, 23 and
27. Several MiG 25 stand side by side with a number of MiGs 31, next to
a few MiG 29. The pulse of any aircraft enthusiast is racing by then,
but that's far from all. The MiG-105 lifting body study for the Buran
shuttle is displayed next to the experimental MiG E-166. While looking
like a MiG 21, it's far from that: much larger, it's a vehicle for testing
the monstrous Tumansky engines, which came to use on the MiG 25. The result
is an aircraft scoring a number of speed and altitude records, and - in
my opinion - the prize for most aesthetic jet ever.
 Tucked
away all the way in the back behind the large transports, there's one
more surprise: a baby "Caspian Sea monster" - the Ekranoplan
VVA-14 - unfortunately in bad condition, this ground effect craft is another
of Monino's unique treasures. The bulky Beriev 12 flying boat is stuck
between all the MiGs, but more interesting are the very large bombers
like the Tu-95 and 3M parked in the middle of the green. Further up, opposite
the Sukhoi line-up there are some lend- lease planes, like the B-25, P-39
and A-20. After them another line of interesting and rare machines: Russian
WWII bombers: the DB-3, TB-3 Tu-2, Pe-2, then an Il-10, and (presumably
temporarily outside) the famous Shturmovik IL-2. That plane is interesting
for plastic modelers, since it has the straight wooden wing, like the
recently released Eduard / Italeri kits (for more information please visit
the vvs.hobbyvista web-site).
 The
walking lanes are now lined by chain railings. If you really feel the
urge to have a closer look, you can actually walk up, without getting
shouted at too much. There are two hangars at Monino that house the more
cherished exhibits. Since one of the halls was closed for refurbishment,
the IL-2 was parked outside, but inside the display was no less impressive:
a Po-2, a Yak 9, an I-16 and Kozhedub's La-7 were parked in the hangar
opposite a number of experimental aircraft and a reproduction of the WW-I
bomber, an Ilya Muromets. While the exhibits looked well taken care of,
they, to a certain degree raised questions as to their historical accuracy:
some planes were declared as mockups, but some of the historical units
like the Po-2 or I-16 may be mockups too, or just repaired in a "creative"
manner over the years. The same may apply to Kozhedub's White 27, but
for some more background information on this topic, refer to the vvs.hobbyvista
web-site.
 Overall,
the museum is worth the trip and every cent they ask for. What Dayton
is for the US-Airforce, Monino is for the VVS. And since the financial
resources of the museum are scarce, they need every tourist they can get,
to obtain the funds to preserve this legacy of soviet marvels of technology.
Central Museum of Armed Forces
The museum's website can be found here.
This museum in located in the center of Moscow and can be reached by metro
(Station Novoslabodskaya). After leaving the station, turn left around
the corner into the Selyeznevskaya street, and prepare for another half
an hour of walking, till you reach a large domed building where you turn
left into the Sovietskoy Armi street. The museum is recognizable from
far away by the T-34 tank parked at the gate. There are also some monuments
in front: one distinct is the Monument for the Kursk sub, which sunk a
few years ago. Inside, the museum features a crowded backyard with a number
of post-war planes and helicopters, as well as a significant collection
of ground vehicles and even some boats! Among the aircraft, the ones worth
mentioning are the MiG-21F, which I haven't seen anywhere else, as well
as a nicely restored Ka-25.
 The
true strength of the museum is its armor: many tanks from the early days
of the Soviet Union to contemporary vehicles are on display. Most striking
for me was an armored locomotive, and a launcher for the SS-20 ICBM. Since
I'm not too deep into tanks, all I can say is that they show much more
than the usual T-34 or T-55.
Inside the building there are several levels with exhibitions showing
the theatres and campaigns where the Soviet Army was deployed. Quite interestingly,
many original artifacts from WWII are on display, like piles of seized
German rifles and machine guns or iron crosses! There are also many exhibits
from the later campaigns like Afghanistan, and the wreckage parts of the
downed US U-2 spy plane.
 As
a recommendation: first, look at the exhibition inside because during
my visit the indoor-exhibitions closed one hour prior to the outdoor area.
The museum stays closed on Mondays and Tuesdays too. Generally, the quoted
admission times, cost etc. refer to August 2007. Since prices in Russia
are rather volatile, please have a close look at the referring web-sites.
Have a good trip and enjoy.
More interesting material can be found at my web site here.
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