Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with an officer as Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu looks on during his visit to the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2015" at Patriot park June 16, 2015 in Kubinka, RussiaSasha Mordovets—Getty Images
Want your child to learn how to use a grenade launcher? Now, they can at Putin’s “Patriot Park,” a sort of Disneyland built to showcase Russian military prowess.
Attractions include military rations for lunch and tanks and missiles to play with, the Guardian reports.
The park opened on Tuesday in Kubinka, about an hour outside of Moscow. The opening comes at a time of increased patriotism and militarization in Russia, in the year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Guardian says.
To kick off, Putin organized “Army 2015,” a military showcase for arms dealers and defense contractors. Delegations from all around the world came to “Patriot Park” to buy and sell military gear.
But he’s not just targeting the arms industry, according to the Guardian. At the opening ceremony, Putin said the park is “an important element in our system of military-patriotic work with young people.” He also announced that the Russian government has added 40 new intercontinental missiles to its nuclear repository.
In the months to come, visitors will be able to watch military reenactments of famous Russian and Soviet battles and observe the latest in Russian defense technology. At full capacity, the park will accommodate tens of thousands of visitors, the Guardian reports.
Troops belonging to the Ukrainian Army and the Aidar battalion, a volunteer fighting unit, rest in the town of Shastya, Ukraine. Shastya means "happiness." Once a picturesque town of 13,000 in Luhansk Oblast, Shastya has become the frontline between Ukrainian forces and the forces of the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic. Ross McDonnellUkrainian soldiers conduct operations along the road in Artemivsk, Ukraine, leading to the embattled town of Debaltseve Feb. 15, 2015. A ceasefire between Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian forces brokered by the European Union, Russia and Ukraine began at midnight that day.Ross McDonnellUkrainian soldiers conduct operations along the road in Artemivsk, Ukraine, Feb.15, 2015.Ross McDonnellThe embattled city of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine was the site of a massive offensive by rebel forces to wrest it from Ukrainian control. Debaltseve is a strategic town that provides links between Donetsk and Lugansk, the two separatist dominated regions, Feb. 5, 2015. Ross McDonnellA frontline trench in Shastya, eastern Ukraine, where fighting was ongoing between Ukrainian military and volunteer fighters against the Russian supported forces of the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic, Feb. 8, 2015. Ross McDonnellMembers of the right wing Transcarpathian Sich battalion have taken over a bombed-out mine as their base on the frontline in Pisky, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2015. They fire light artillery and machine guns at enemy positions seeking to open up a new flank against the separatists.Ross McDonnellThe view from the trench "Alpinist" at night. A destroyed tank lies on what used to be the main road to Donetsk City. Feb. 8, 2015. Ross McDonnellArtillery and shelling are constant on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine, Feb. 12, 2015. Ross McDonnellFresh graves on the outskirts of the town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, Feb. 9, 2015. Ross McDonnellDusk scenes along the front in Pisky, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2015. Ross McDonnellA Ukrainian Orthodox priest ministers to a volunteer member of the Aidar Battalion, a volunteer group fighting against Russian separatists in Shastya in the restive region of Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 8, 2015.Shelling ahead of the ceasefire left one boy dead and destruction in the city of Artemivsk, near the embattled of Debaltseva, Feb. 13, 2015. Ross McDonnellResidents flee after the city of Artemivsk was destroyed by shelling, Feb. 13, 2015. Ross McDonnellA member of the right wing Transcarpathian Sich Battalion rests in a safe room in Pisky, Ukraine, Feb. 12, 2015.Ross McDonnellFuneral of seven-year-old Igor Molodetskykh, killed in a shelling by separatist rebels, is held in Artemivsk, Ukraine, Feb. 15, 2015. Ross McDonnellA resident walks in shock on the streets of Artemivsk after rocket fire left two dead, Ukraine, Feb. 13, 2015. Ross McDonnellFreezing weather has left food frozen, in Artemivsk, Ukraine, Feb. 15, 2015. Ross McDonnellMembers of the Dnipro-1 battalion play chess in their base in Pisky, Feb. 9, 2015. Ross McDonnellMembers of the Dnipro-1 Battalion live in the basement of a destroyed house in Pisky, with food donated by the Ukrainian public, Feb. 9, 2015. Ross McDonnellThe right wing Transcarpathian Sich battalion has taken over a bombed out mine as its base on the frontline in Pisky. Fighters fire light artillery and machine guns at enemy positions seeking to open up a new flank against the separatists, Feb. 15, 2015. Ross McDonnellA Ukrainian soldier stares out a bus window as Ukrainian troops withdraw in defeat from the city of Debaltseve, Feb. 19, 2015. After almost a month of fighting and heavy shelling on the road out of the city, Ukrainian fighters return to the nearby town of Artemivsk. The Minsk 2 ceasefire has been largely ignored with fighting ongoing for the strategic town.Ross McDonnell
