20 January 2024 , 17:29
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Russian kids have the chance to play with grenade launchers in Vladimir Putin’s answer to Disneyland.
Patriot Park, in Kubinka - an hour's drive from Moscow - features heavy weaponry instead of rollercoasters and a gift shop selling Putin accessories, including fridge magnets and bomber jackets with his face on.
Visitors can also try out army rations for their lunch during a visit, costing £3.50 (400 rubles) during the week and £7 (500 rubles) at the weekend.
Putin himself arrived by helicopter at the park in 2015 to officially open it and was greeted by a military choir and balalaika orchestra. In a short speech, he said the country was developing new weapons which had “no equivalents in the world”, including the next-generation Armata tank.
Patriot Park covers more than 4,000 hectares with hundreds of military vehicles and intercontinental ballistic missiles on display. Children can climb over heavy weapons and play with grenade launchers.
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Vladimir Putin tries out a Chukavin sniper rifle at Patriot Park (AFP via Getty Images)Amongst the weaponry are more than 250 Soviet-era aircraft including helicopters and there are around 350 tanks from different countries. For people looking to get a feel of what it's like firing some of the weapons, there are military training simulators and there is the Military Tactical Games Centre.
A woman takes her child out of the MIG-29 fighter jet (The Washington Post via Getty Images)Kids and adults can take part in military-style exercises and games using airsoft guns with reproductions of well-known buildings. And of course the military park wouldn’t be complete without a shooting range.
Families taking photos at the military park (The Washington Post via Getty Images)People looking to take away momentos can get their own Joseph Stalin fridge magnets or iPhone covers with Putin’s face on it. Alexander Zaldostanov, also known as the Surgeon, the leader of a pro-Putin biker group, the Night Wolves, and was touring the park at its opening was impressed with the weaponry.
A man examining a rifle during the opening ceremony of the park (Getty Images)He said the new missiles "makes me feel proud of Russia and realise that we have something to answer the Americans with". While Sergei Privalov, a Russian Orthodox priest who also attended the opening ceremony, said: “I think this park is a gift to Russian citizens, who can now behold the full power of the Russian armed forces.
A Russian National Guard Service officer poses for a photo (Getty Images)"Being here gives you a sense of internal self-sufficiency and makes you confident we can defend our territory. Children should come here, play with the weaponry and climb on the tanks and see all the most modern technology, which they would not have known about before.”