Museum of Ancient Weapons. National Firearms Museum

In the Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve there is a small collection of ancient weapons, samples of which are exhibited in the exhibition "Trinity-Sergius Lavra: an architectural ensemble, pages of history (XIV-XVIII centuries)". The collection includes: halberds, reeds, spears and other edged weapons, protective armor of Russian and Polish soldiers, as well as cannons, cannonballs, and special devices used during the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in 1608-1610.

The Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the 17th century contained a fairly large arsenal of weapons. The treasurer was in charge of "cannon" supplies, that is, hand and food gunpowder and shells, as well as expensive weapons, armor and locks. The "elder" of weapons kept the arsenal, which was located in "special barns", that is, in the monastery's own Armory. He was in charge of cold offensive and hand firearms and spare parts for them (locks, barrels, boxes), as well as protective weapons. He also kept all sorts of "gear" (belts, hooks, powder flasks), as well as obsolete weapons. Trinity weapons in the 17th century were actively used for their intended purpose. It was issued to the monastery archers, the permanent military garrison of the fortress, as well as to certain categories of servants who were entrusted with the military service of the "sovereign". In total, the treasury of the monastery in the middle of the 17th century contained about a thousand items of various firearms, although they are not in the museum's collection. But there are lead bullets for hand-held firearms that were used by the defenders of the monastery. Some bullets were made by casting lead into bullet molds (bullets with a "tail" not chopped off by a sprue), other bullets were made by cutting and subsequent rolling of lead blanks, without the use of heat treatment. Caliber 8-11 mm.

By the time of the Siege, objects such as the Trinity "garlic", which have not been reflected in the monastery Inventory of 1641, have survived to this day. "Garlic" (one of the historical names of which in the Moscow state, in our opinion, is a sweeping slingshot), similar to many items of "garlic" available at SPMZ, was also found in the Tushino camp. It was assigned to O.V. Dvurechensky by the beginning of the 17th century. It is also believed that it was used to protect roads and paths on the approaches to guarded camps ("camps", camps, as well as fortresses, outposts, ostrozhkas), when cavalry raids were threatened.

The garrison artillery included various types of cannons, with some of the guns indicating the stock of cannonballs and gunpowder, as well as the name of the gunner, who was responsible for the maintenance and combat readiness of the gun. According to the results of a preliminary examination carried out by I.A. Komarov, only two trunks. These are forged iron guns of the 15th (?) - first half of the 16th century with an ignition hole on top, almost equal in diameter both in the breech and in the muzzle, without decorations or inscriptions.

By the time of siege in the collection of the museum there are four more small cast-iron guns, probably falconets, field guns of the 16th - early 17th centuries. One of them was found in the village of Rogachevo, on the site of the camp of the Polish prince Vladislav, who stood there in 1618. Six guns of our museum can be attributed to the time of siege. There were also larger siege weapons in the monastery, of which by the middle of the 17th century only cannon balls remained, which did not fit any of the barrels available at that time.

The general names of the subject line of weapons found in the original documents of the participants in the Siege represent a typological reference point for those types of weapons that could be used in either direction. These are chain mail and chain mail rags, bows, arrows, several sabers (whole and broken), spears, sweeping slingshots, reeds, Russian samopals, German muskets, as well as under-mining gear and even tulumbas (signal timpani).

Part of the weapons came to the Trinity Monastery as contributions. The detailed information contained in the attached books of 1639 and 1673 has been preserved about the added weapon. From them we learn about exactly what types and types of weapons came to the monastery of St. Sergius from donors during the 16th-17th centuries. The earliest arrivals of weapons were noted from 1544, the era of numerous wars, both external and internal. However, the entire arsenal of the Trinity Monastery was confiscated in the 19th century and transferred to the Armory in Moscow.

In mid-July 1608, the troops ("gonfalons") of Jan Sapega (1569-1611) entered the territory of the Moscow state. They were professional, well-armed and trained warriors of noble, gentry origin, under the command of captains experienced in "military affairs". In the army of Sapieha, the number of units of which, according to various sources, ranges from 1700 to 7000 people, there was, in addition to the infantry, light-heavy cavalry with units of "winged" (or "flying") hussars, which in the open field were a terrible force. Approaching the Trinity with an army, Sapega set up his camp on Krasnaya Gora, half a kilometer south-west of the monastery (the remains of the Sapieha rampart survived until the middle of the last century).

The garrison of the defenders of the Trinity Monastery included both Trinity warriors and military men who were part of the detachments of government troops sent by the tsar from Moscow: these were nobles, boyar children, archers and free Cossacks. The monastery's own military forces are the monastery servants and the monks themselves, skilled in military affairs.

The collection of the museum contains sets of weapons of the Polish and Russian soldiers during the Siege of 1608-1610. And also examples of cold steel weapons of the 17th century, but not from the arsenal of the Trinity Monastery.

Tul State Museum of Weapons– one of the oldest museums in Russia.The museum has a valuable collection of firearms and bladed weapons of both domestic and foreign production. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to trace the stages of development of weapons in the context of the history of society, to learn how design ideas were formed and developed, and also to focus on man as a creator of weapons.

The museum fund includes collections of combat muzzle-loading, automatic, sporting, hunting weapons, artillery, numismatics and covers the history of the development of arms production in Russia since the 16th century.The new permanent exhibition of the museum "The history of small arms and cold weapons with XIV centuries to the present ”is located in a building unique in its architecture in the form of a heroic helmet of an ancient Russian warrior. The building is located in a historical place where the Kuznetskaya Sloboda was previously located.

The exposition widely uses the latest multimedia complexes (video walls, interactive game and educational complexes "Narrator", "Life outside the window", "Encyclopedia of weapons", holographic showcases, electronic labels). In the peripheral part of the halls there are installations that, in combination with projection screens, provide the effect of presence, for example, in the workshop of a 19th century arms factory. or in the trench of the First World War.

The exposition presents interactive zones in which children in a playful way learn about the history of the creation of weapons, can hold models of various types of small arms in their hands, get acquainted with the technical features of the structure of firearms using specially developed programs in a computer class, take pictures in an "electronic" suit of warriors different historical eras in the multimedia complex "Imagine yourself", and then send the resulting photo by e-mail.

Today the Museum of Weapons is a major museum center not only in the Tula region, but also in Russia. Interactive programs, master classes by famous Tula masters, cycles of event events dedicated to heroic dates in the history of the Fatherland, international conferences, historical holidays, evenings, concerts, special programs for children, history lessons, family New Year's performances, book holidays have become an integral part of the cultural and scientific life of the Tula region.Of particular interest are the theatrical performances of the military-historical theater of the Museum "Indestructible", which became a laureate of the competition for youth event tourism in the Central Federal District "Event-2014" in the nomination "Historical reconstruction".

To organize family leisure, the museum has a school of Tula craftsmen, where classes are held in various areas of traditional Tula crafts and arts and crafts: "Artistic processing of metal and wood", "Artistic ceramics", "Fine arts", "Pottery art".The museum has a school of dueling and theatrical fencing, a modern airsoft shooting range and a cafe.

The museum on the territory of the Tula Kremlin operates in an exhibition mode.

Tul State Museum of Weapons– one of the oldest museums in Russia.The museum has a valuable collection of firearms and bladed weapons of both domestic and foreign production. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to trace the stages of development of weapons in the context of the history of society, to learn how design ideas were formed and developed, and also to focus on man as a creator of weapons.

The museum fund includes collections of combat muzzle-loading, automatic, sporting, hunting weapons, artillery, numismatics and covers the history of the development of arms production in Russia since the 16th century.The new permanent exhibition of the museum "The history of small arms and cold weapons with XIV centuries to the present ”is located in a building unique in its architecture in the form of a heroic helmet of an ancient Russian warrior. The building is located in a historical place where the Kuznetskaya Sloboda was previously located.

The exposition widely uses the latest multimedia complexes (video walls, interactive game and educational complexes "Narrator", "Life outside the window", "Encyclopedia of weapons", holographic showcases, electronic labels). In the peripheral part of the halls there are installations that, in combination with projection screens, provide the effect of presence, for example, in the workshop of a 19th century arms factory. or in the trench of the First World War.

The exposition presents interactive zones in which children in a playful way learn about the history of the creation of weapons, can hold models of various types of small arms in their hands, get acquainted with the technical features of the structure of firearms using specially developed programs in a computer class, take pictures in an "electronic" suit of warriors different historical eras in the multimedia complex "Imagine yourself", and then send the resulting photo by e-mail.

Today the Museum of Weapons is a major museum center not only in the Tula region, but also in Russia. Interactive programs, master classes by famous Tula masters, cycles of event events dedicated to heroic dates in the history of the Fatherland, international conferences, historical holidays, evenings, concerts, special programs for children, history lessons, family New Year's performances, book holidays have become an integral part of the cultural and scientific life of the Tula region.Of particular interest are the theatrical performances of the military-historical theater of the Museum "Indestructible", which became a laureate of the competition for youth event tourism in the Central Federal District "Event-2014" in the nomination "Historical reconstruction".

To organize family leisure, the museum has a school of Tula craftsmen, where classes are held in various areas of traditional Tula crafts and arts and crafts: "Artistic processing of metal and wood", "Artistic ceramics", "Fine arts", "Pottery art".The museum has a school of dueling and theatrical fencing, a modern airsoft shooting range and a cafe.

The museum on the territory of the Tula Kremlin operates in an exhibition mode.

NEW PERMANENT EXPOSITION
TULA STATE MUSEUM OF WEAPONS

"The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present"

An innovative approach to presenting a unique collection of weapons!

For our visitors:
- authentic museum exhibits in 3D format;
- immersion in the historical era in interactive and play areas;
- multimedia technologies - "virtual" storytellers, electronic descriptions of objects, "Encyclopedia of Weapons", mini-cinemas,
computer educational games and much more ...;
- unique design of the new permanent exhibition;
- amazing interior and atmosphere of the museum.

The collection of the Museum of Weapons provides an opportunity to get acquainted not only with the history of small arms and edged weapons, but also with some of the technological features of their production in the 18th – 20th centuries.

Significant assistance in this is provided by the surviving patterns and tools, for example, drills for processing the bore of a gun barrel, as well as reduced copies of machines used in the arms industry. Among them is a model of the first Soviet universal milling machine, named in honor of the politician F.E. Dzerzhinsky.

"Dzerzhinets" was developed at the Tula Arms Plant in 1931 by order of the Soviet government. Mass production began in 1932, and five years later, 37 types of machine tools were manufactured at the plant.

In 1939, the machine-tool production was separated from the Tula Arms Plant, forming an independent enterprise. Currently, it is a world-famous company - the Tula Machine-Building Plant named after V.M. Ryabikov.

In memory of the significant contribution of the Tula people to the development of the domestic machine-tool industry, in 1978 the then chief designer of the machine-tool plant, Aleksey Vladimirovich Lototsky, made a scaled down 1:10 but working copy of Dzerzhinets.

The permanent exhibition of the museum presents both a reduced copy and a real, operating machine "Dzerzhinets", which was made at the Tula Arms Factory in 1937.

For the first time, 40 representatives of the Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Memory and Support of Patriotic Initiatives "Peace for Life" within the framework of the "Always Great Victory" campaign, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk, visited the weapons museum.

The President of the Fund A.A. Novikov thanked the staff of the museum for the cordiality and hospitality: “A wonderful museum! You have a unique exposition. This is the best weapons museum. Thank you for the warmth and kind welcome! "

In the new exposition "History of small arms and cold weapons from the 14th century to the present" of the museum of weapons, these events are recreated in a multimedia complex, which is a reconstruction of the site of the 12th frontier post "Sari Gor" on the Tajik-Afghan border.

The “virtual” first-person narrator conveys the disturbing atmosphere on July 13, 1993, when the Moscow border detachment of the Group of Border Troops of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan for 11 hours of continuous combat held back a large group of Afghan and Tajik militants.

In three “embrasures” of the “walls of the frontier post” there are video panels on which documentary videos are shown about the exploits of Russian servicemen.

As a result of the battle, 6 border guards were awarded the highest award of Russia - the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (four of them were posthumous).

Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Russia Gerardo Peñalver Portal: "It is a great honor for me to be in the Tula Museum of Weapons, one of the most modern museums in the world."

In the museum's rich collection of weapons, along with anti-tank grenade launchers, there are other types of hand-held rocket weapons, such as the Shmel infantry flamethrower.

If anti-tank grenade launchers are designed to combat armored vehicles, then jet flamethrowers are better suited for engaging enemy manpower and firing at fortifications. Unlike knapsack flamethrowers of the Second World War, the Bumblebee has a significantly longer firing range, reaching several hundred meters. Such qualities were achieved thanks to the application of a completely new principle of delivering the charge to the target. It was not sprayed with a jet from a hose, but was placed in a missile capsule and ignited only when it hit the target. At the same time, a temperature of up to 800 degrees Celsius is created within a radius of about 5 meters.

On August 23, 1942, front-line soldiers wrote to the legendary designer Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev: "We are often tempted by the thought of what a formidable weapon an anti-tank machine gun would be against tanks ...".

Just a year later, the outstanding gunsmith Semyon Vladimirovich Vladimirov began the development of a new powerful domestic heavy machine gun

Its creation was preceded by the development in 1938 of a more powerful 14.5 mm cartridge intended for anti-tank rifles. In 1949. The 14.5 mm Vladimirov heavy machine gun (KPV) was adopted by the Soviet Army: infantry, anti-aircraft, tank versions.

Of the entire family, it was the tank version - KPVT - that turned out to be the longest-lived. It is still manufactured at the plant. V.A. Degtyareva (Kovrov), where its serial production was launched 69 years ago.

The Vladimirov machine gun is the most powerful ever used: a bullet fired from it retains its lethality throughout the entire flight distance, and this is up to 8 km! In a number of foreign countries, there were attempts to create a machine gun of a larger caliber, but all these samples remained experimental and did not go into mass production.

Today KPVT are installed on modern Russian armored personnel carriers BTR-82, which were put into service in 2013.

Among the variety of modern weapons and various multimedia complexes, the new exposition of our museum presents a unique collection of prototypes of the outstanding Tula designer German Alexandrovich Korobov.

Of particular interest is the three-barreled salvo machine, developed by a gunsmith in 1965 at the Tula Central Design Research Bureau of sporting and hunting weapons.

The design of the machine is based on the "bullpup" scheme, which allows you to make it more compact without reducing the length of the barrel. Designing his sample, G.A. Korobov put a superfast burst at the forefront, in which the recoil from the shots does not have time to deflect the barrel and allows a high accuracy of fire to be achieved.

The presence of three barrels increased the firing density: the rate reached 1400-1800 rounds per minute.

The triple-barreled machine gun was successfully tested by the state. However, the complexity of the model and the absence at that time of the need to replace the M.T. Kalashnikovs led to the fact that the sample of G.A. Korobov was not accepted into service.

A delegation of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Russian Federation, headed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Li Hui, visited the Weapons Museum today. Mr. Li Hui praised the level of the museum, emphasized its "world significance, uniqueness and special splendor."

The Tula Museum of Weapons was visited by the Olympic and World and European Champions!

On February 10, the Museum of Weapons warmly welcomed Olympic and World and European champions. Their visit aroused special excitement and admiration among our visitors. Undoubtedly, it is pleasant to get acquainted with the unique exposition of the museum in the company of such eminent guests as the Governor of the Tula Region A.G. Dyumin; Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Olympic champion P.A. Kolobkov; favorite Soviet hockey player, Olympic champion V.A. Tretyak; famous Russian speed skater, Olympic champion S.S. Zhurova; SI Neverov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Chairman of the Committee for Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation M.V. Degtyarev

Minister of Health of the Russian Federation V.I. Skvortsova got acquainted with the ultra-modern exposition of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

February 9 Minister of Health of the Russian Federation V.I. Skvortsova got acquainted with the unique collection and ultramodern exposition of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

"Breakthrough in museum business!" The new permanent exhibition of the Tula Museum of Weapons is open! Everyone to the museum!

On December 8, 2017, on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day, a significant event took place - the opening of the final part of the new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present"!

The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky, Governor of the Tula Region Alexei Gennadievich Dyumin, Heroes of Russia, Heroes of Socialist Labor, full holders of the Order of Labor Glory, veterans of the Great Patriotic War and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, heads of federal, regional and municipal museums, cultural and educational institutions of the Tula region, heads of military-industrial enterprises in Tula, creators of the museum exposition, servicemen of the 51st Guards Parachute Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Regiment named after Dmitry Donskoy of the 106th Guards Airborne Troops of the Tula Red Banner Order of Kutuzov, pupils of the Tula Suvorov military school, representatives of public organizations and the media.

The created exposition and the contribution of the museum staff were highly appreciated by the guests of honor. V.R. Medinsky emphasized that the exposition of the museum of weapons is a breakthrough in the museum business. Governor of the Tula Region A.G. Dyumin noted the high, modern level of the Tula Museum of Weapons, which is not inferior to the European one. With the words “Tula is the arms capital of Russia. So it was, so it is and so it will be. ”The regional governor presented the museum with an LT-5000 rifle - one of the rarest modern modifications of the Tula rifle - as a symbol of the glory of the Russian arms industry.

We invite all Tula residents and guests of the city to visit the Tula Museum of Weapons and get acquainted with the unique ultramodern exposition of our museum! Hurry to the weapons museum!

Presentation of the final part of the new exposition on the 4th and 5th floors of a helmet for journalists! The veil of secrecy is ajar!

Today, the first display of the final part of the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Weapons took place on the 4th and 5th floors of the helmet building. The veil of secrecy was slightly opened to the journalists of the regional mass media, representatives of the press services of enterprises of the military-industrial complex, institutions and organizations. The director of the Tula Museum of Weapons N.I. Kalugina, author of the project for a new permanent exhibition, artistic director of MuseumMedia LLC, Honored Artist of Russia A.N. Konov, General Director of LLC "Art-Courier" A.E. Zaretsky, chief project manager Yu.N. Eliseev.

Friends, get acquainted with the news of Tula and the region and reveal the secrets of the museum exposition!

In the helmet building of the weapons museum, work is being completed to create a new permanent exhibition.

In the new building of the Tula State Museum of Weapons, work is being completed on the creation of a new permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present."

Most of the exhibits have already taken their places in the display cases, which on the third level resemble flying fragments, which symbolizes the decay of aggressiveness. In addition, each showcase by its design is an analogue of a sample of small arms. Its lower part is made of plastic, which corresponds to the buttstock of modern assault rifles. The blued steel top symbolizes the barrel. The middle glazed part, in which the exhibits are located, is equated in importance with the receiver - the most important and complex part of small arms.

The pride of the museum's collection are unique prototypes of small arms. Most of them can be seen only at our exposition. And there is something to see! Here and the world's only three-barreled machine gun from Tula designer German Aleksandrovich Korobov, and the bizarre systems of the Tula gunsmith Afanasyev, and the Stechkin assault rifle that reached the final of the Abakan competition to develop a new machine gun to replace the legendary Kalashnikov. By the way, right there you can see the famous Nikonov AN-94 assault rifle and be convinced of its unusual design.

Amazing models of special weapons have always enjoyed invariable success among visitors. For example, the APS submachine gun fires bursts under water. Before its creation, experts argued that such a weapon was generally impossible! On the instructions of the special services, Stechkin developed a silently shooting ... cigarette case, placing as many as three barrels in it. Nearby is a unique revolver of this designer, in which special silent cartridges are used.

Visitors will also be able to get acquainted with decorated hunting rifles, rare sporting rifles, working miniatures of small arms ... In a word, there is a lot to list! Everyone will find exhibits to their liking and will come back to the museum to once again touch the legendary glory of the Tula gunsmiths.

Completion of the creation of a new ultra-modern exposition of the museum of weapons in December!

The grand opening of the final part of the ultra-modern permanent exhibition on the 4th and 5th floors of the building - the helmet of the Tula Museum of Weapons will take place in December 2017, on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day. The modern period of the development of arms production will be shown. The unique exposition, beloved by Tula people and guests of the city, will preserve and increase its multimedia and interactivity. Visitors will be able to hold legendary samples of Russian small arms in their hands, perform conventional combat missions in the original cockpit of a Mi-8 helicopter, fire a shot from the Kornet training complex, practice sports clay pigeon shooting and photo hunting. The holographic showcase "Soldier of the Future" will present the trends in the development of weapons and equipment for soldiers of the XXI century, and the volume-spatial complex "Design Bureau" will allow you to learn about the developments of Tula gunsmiths that amazed the whole world.

Work on the creation of exhibition complexes on the 4th and 5th floors of the helmet building is in full swing. The volumetric-spatial compositions "Photohunt" and "Design Bureau" were decorated, the foundations of showcases were installed, including along the perimeter of the hall on the 5th floor, which will be dedicated to the twelve most significant victories of Russian weapons: from the Battle of Kulikovo to the capture of Berlin in 1945 ...

The opening of new levels will be the final stage in the implementation of a single exhibition project and a harmonious continuation of the first two, reflecting the evolution of hand weapons from the 14th century to 1914 (2nd floor) and the history of small arms and knives from 1914 to 1945 (3rd floor). Do not list everything! This is a must see! Opening soon!

09/21/2017 “Awesome city! Awesome story! Awesome museum! "

“Awesome city! Awesome story! Awesome museum! We express our deep gratitude for the excursion. We wish the museum many more years, interesting exhibits and prosperity! " - such "amazing" impressions were left by the hero-city of Tula and our legendary museum of weapons for the representatives of the Government of the Trans-Baikal Territory.

09/21/2017 "New formation" in the museum of weapons!

On September 21, a delegation from the Republic of Crimea and the hero city of Sevastopol visited the Tula Museum of Weapons. The general opinion about the exposition and exhibitions was expressed by Yuri Hayrapetyan, Chairman of the Board of the public organization of small and medium-sized businesses “New Formation”: “Please accept my sincere gratitude and recognition for the great work that your museum is doing. On behalf of the Crimean people, I express my admiration and the most sincere emotions! It is this kind of educational work that is extremely important and necessary for modern Russia. We must remember and honor all our victories and achievements, because it is thanks to respect for our Fatherland that we will always be the Victory People! "

09/16/2017 "Wonderful museum, vivid impressions!" - Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation T.V. Shevtsova about the museum of weapons.

On September 16, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation T.V. Shevtsova and First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation T.G. Nesterenko. Following the results of their acquaintance with the new exposition, the guests left admiring reviews: “A wonderful museum, vivid impressions! A sense of the historical spirit, the continuation of the traditions of Russian craftsmanship and great love for their country are valuable. "

09/04/2017 The Tula Weapons Museum was visited by the players of the Gibraltar youth team.

On September 4, on the eve of the football match of the qualifying tournament of the 2019 U-21 European Championship with the Russian national team, the Gibraltar youth team got acquainted with a unique collection and an ultra-modern multimedia exposition of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

07/11/2017 The Museum of Weapons hosted colleagues from the Tver State United Museum.

The employees of the largest museum association in Russia were amazed at the richness and variety of the weapons collection of our museum, pleasantly surprised by the multimedia saturation of the exhibition halls and the scope of work to complete the new permanent exhibition on the 4th and 5th floors of the Slam.

An unexpected historical connection was also revealed: in the list of servicemen who died at the Sari Gory frontier post in July 1993, whose feat will be reflected in the volumetric-spatial composition of the new exposition, there is a native of Tver land - Vladimir Elizarov. The title of Hero of the Russian Federation to the 20-year-old instructor of the 12th outpost of the Moscow border detachment of the Group of Russian border troops in the Republic of Tajikistan was awarded posthumously. The inhabitants of Tver proudly honor the memory of the heroic fellow countryman.

The grand opening of the exposition of the museum of weapons will take place in December this year, on the eve of the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland. The residents of Tver promised to be there. We are looking forward to a new meeting!

06/27/2017 Special operation in the museum of weapons: the cockpit of the Mi-8 combat helicopter at the new exhibition.

On June 27, a significant event took place in the Museum of Weapons. A special operation was carried out to raise the cockpit of the Mi-8 helicopter to the fourth floor of the helmet building, where work is in full swing to complete the creation of a unique new permanent exhibition with a presentation of modern weapons from the museum's collection. The helicopter cockpit will be equipped for an interactive virtual reality platform. It will be possible to feel like a pilot of a combat vehicle soon. On the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland, December 9, the exposition on the 4th and 5th floors will be open! We are waiting for everyone to visit!

06/10/2017 The Museum of Weapons was visited by the participants of the "Tolstoy Weekend" festival - the collective of the Moscow Mayakovsky Theater.

On June 10, the Museum of Weapons was visited by the participants of the International Theater Festival "Tolstoy Weekend" - the collective of the Moscow Academic Theater named after Vladimir Mayakovsky. Having familiarized themselves with the new permanent exhibition of the museum, without hiding their delight, the guests thanked for the warm welcome and left a warm review:

“The staff of the Mayakovsky Theater thanks your museum for the excellent exposition, for the very modern organization of the museum, the beauty of the weapons, and the design of the showcases. The talent of the Tula gunsmiths, the people who did all this, amazes. We would like to express our gratitude to the guide for an excellent, informative, in its own way artistic excursion and great benevolence. "

06/03/2017 The delegation of the Association of Pensioners of the National Bank of Austria (Vienna) visited the Museum of Weapons

A delegation of the Association of Pensioners of the National Bank of Austria (Vienna) visited the Museum of Weapons. Having familiarized himself with the new modern multimedia exposition of the museum, the President of the Association, Gunther Urban, expressed the general opinion of the guests in the guest book:

“We congratulate you on the creation of this unique weapons museum that emphasizes the importance of defense, not attack. The exhibits made an incredible impression on our group. We express our gratitude for the excellent excursion and warm welcome. "

06/01/2017 The first day of summer at the Museum of Weapons.

On June 1, Children's Day, hundreds of children from all schools in Tula came to the weapons museum to spend the first day of summer in an atmosphere of joy, celebration and love, recharge with pleasant emotions and impressions! Despite the cloudy weather, children's faces shone with happiness !.

05/19/2017 The command staff of the strategic nuclear-powered missile submarine "Tula" in the weapons museum.

On May 19, the Museum of Weapons hosted the command staff of the strategic nuclear-powered missile submarine "Tula". The guests thanked for the warm welcome and left a warm response: “We examined the wonderful, unique exposition of the museum with great interest. After the inspection, each of us was left with a piece of the invincible Tula weapon, which has been guarding the borders of our Fatherland for hundreds of years. Only the masters of a great city, a great country can create such samples of weapons. "

05/18/2017 More than 1300 students from 48 regions of Russia - participants of the "Student Spring" were warmly received by the Tula Museum of Weapons.

On May 18, the XXV, jubilee, All-Russian festival "Russian Student Spring - 2017" ends in Tula. Despite the intense daily competition program, more than 1,300 students from 48 regions of Russia visited our legendary museum, discovering the heroic history of the Tula armory.

04/26/2017 A delegation of ambassadors and representatives of the embassies of Latin American countries at the Museum of Weapons.

On April 26, the Museum of Weapons received a delegation of ambassadors and representatives of the embassies of Latin America.

04/05/2017 General of the Army V.F. Ermakov: “Dear Tula! You were heroes, now you are committing civil heroism and you will be heroes. "

On April 5, a meeting of the Council of the All-Russian Public Organization of Veterans of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Central Council of DOSAAF of Russia was held at the Museum of Weapons, at which issues of joint work on the preparation of pre-conscription youth for service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were discussed. The event was attended by the Chairman of the Council of the All-Russian Public Organization of Veterans of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, General of the Army V.F. Ermakov; Chairman of the Central Council of DOSAAF of Russia, Colonel General A.P. Kolmakov; Deputy Chief of the Second Directorate of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Major General I.V. Borodinchik; Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Tula Region - Minister of Youth Policy of the Tula Region Yu.V. Veprintseva; military commissar of the Tula region A.A. Safronov; Chairman of the Regional Department of DOSAAF of the Tula Region Yu.G. Levchenko, representatives of public organizations of the Tula region.

Viktor Fedorovich Ermakov left a warm comment on the museum's exposition: “Our dear, glorious Tula! You were heroes, you are now performing civic heroism, and you will be heroes in the future. With admiration, General of the Army Ermakov. "

04/04/2017 "I feel pride in our Motherland, which gave the world truly geniuses of design thought." V.N. Mushroom.

The Weapons Museum was visited by the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Kaluga Region V.N. Mushroom.

“I am proud of our Motherland, which gave the world truly geniuses of design thought. Glory to our ancestors, honor and respect for modern gunsmiths! And let the weapon be only pride and a sporting and hunting attribute. Peaceful sky to you, success in enlightenment, prosperity to the museum! We, Kaluga residents, are proud of our neighborhood! " - these words were written by Viktor Nikolaevich in the Guest Book.

03/31/2017 Colleagues from the city of Maloyaroslavets about the weapons museum: "This is the best, professional, brightest miracle in the museum world!"

On March 31, the Tula Museum of Weapons received colleagues from the Kaluga Region. Cultural workers and employees of museums in the city of Maloyaroslavtsy were shocked by the high level of the museum. Barely coping with the overwhelming emotions, Maloyaroslavl residents expressed their impressions in a warm and very sincere response: “With love and gratitude from the admired Maloyaroslavl residents to the kind and courageous Tula people! We are surprised and immensely proud that there is such a museum in Russia. This is the best, professional, brightest miracle in the museum world! Many thanks for the opportunity to see the beauty and power of weapons of all ages, to feel pride in the Hero City of Tula. Emotions are overwhelming. Unforgettably!".

03/31/2017 Plenipotentiary Minister of the Japanese Embassy in Russia T. Furuya: "There is no such museum in Japan."

“Thank you for the interesting excursion to the weapons museum. There is no such museum in Japan, so everything seemed very interesting to me. I was also very glad to see some examples of Japanese weapons. Thank you!" - wrote T. Furuya in the Guest Book.

03/21/2017 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Zimbabwe Mike Nicholas Sango visited the Tula Museum of Weapons.

Mike Nicholas Sango, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Zimbabwe, got acquainted with the masterpieces of the collection and the unique multimedia permanent exhibition of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

03/04/2017 "Unique, grandiose museum!" - the crew of the submarine cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" about the museum of weapons.

"I would like to visit your unique, grandiose museum more than once!" - This opinion was expressed by the crew of the heavy strategic submarine "Dmitry Donskoy" following the results of their acquaintance with the legendary collection of the museum of weapons in the building - "helmet".

03.03.2017 Minister of Economic Development of Russia M.S. Oreshkin visited the Tula Museum of Weapons.

Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation M.S. Oreshkin visited the Tula Museum of Weapons and shared his impressions: “Friends! Thank you very much to the whole team for the excellent work! I wish the weapon was pleasing to the eye, but not used for its intended purpose. "

02/21/2017 Weapons of the Great Patriotic War.

February 21, 2017 77 years since the adoption by the Red Army of a submachine gun of the Degtyarev system of the 1940 model (PPD-40), which was used during the Great Patriotic War. This exhibit can be seen in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Weapons in the helmet building.

02/13/2017 The Tula Museum of Weapons was visited by famous Moscow bloggers.

On February 13, within the framework of an advertising and information tour organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Tula Region, OJSC Central Suburban Passenger Company and the travel company TulaTurGroup, famous Moscow bloggers visited the Tula Museum of Weapons. The guests got acquainted with the unique collection of the museum and the modern multimedia permanent exhibition.

02/03/2017 Minister of Defense of Russia S.K. Shoigu visited the Tula Museum of Weapons.

Russian Defense Minister S.K. Shoigu visited the Tula Museum of Weapons and shared his impressions: “Thank you! For the preservation of our history, the history of our weapons, gunsmiths and exploits of the Tula at all times! "

01/11/2017 Tula gunsmiths. A.A. Tomilin.

January 11, 2017, marks 111 years since the birth of Aleksey Alekseevich Tomilin (1906-?), Director of the Tula arms factory (1940-1942), production manager of TOZ (1944-1948), laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR (1969), holder of the Orders of Lenin , Labor Red Banner, October Revolution. During the evacuation of the plant to Mednogorsk during the Great Patriotic War, Tomilin A.A. headed the enterprise. The permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV to the present" of the museum of weapons presents a three-dimensional composition "Evacuation. Shop TOZ in Mednogorsk 1941 " ...

01/06/2017 Manifesto "On Bringing Thanksgiving for the Liberation of Russia from the Invasion of the Enemy."

On January 6, 1813 (December 25, 1812, old style), Emperor Alexander I issued the Imperial Manifesto "On Giving Thanks for the Liberation of Russia from the Invasion of the Enemy", announcing the end of the Patriotic War of 1812.

You can learn about the feat of arms and labor of the Tula people during the Patriotic War of 1812 by visiting the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Weapons.

12/18/2016 Montenegrin Gasser.

Among the revolvers stored in the collection of our museum, there is a model created by the Viennese gunsmith Leopold Gasser in 1868. After tests that showed satisfactory results, on August 4, 1870, this model was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian army.

After some time, the revolver attracted the attention of the prince of Montenegro. In 1873, Nicholas I Petrovich ordered 6 thousand Gassers for his state. The Montenegrin model differed from the Austrian revolver in the length of the barrel, on the breech of which the princely monogram - "No. I" under the crown was knocked out.

Every Montenegrin liable for military service had to buy this revolver from the warehouses of the War Ministry. In accordance with the law, he had the right to keep, carry and inherit a revolver, and its sale, especially to foreign citizens, was strictly prohibited. It is curious that the Montenegrins were not allowed to acquire the same Gasser revolvers, but made in other countries, for example, in Belgium.

The reduction in military orders forced L. Gasser's firm to increase the production of civilian models created on the basis of the army model, and for advertising purposes it began to use the image of a Montenegrin - a fearless warrior armed with a Gasser revolver, always ready to fight the enemies. Therefore, the commercial model was sold under the name "Montenegrin" revolver, also known as "Montenegrin". The demand in Europe for these civilian weapons initiated the mass production of a replica of the "Montenegrin" revolver in Belgium.

The exposition of our museum presents an army revolver Gasser, made in Austria-Hungary by order of Montenegro.

12/16/2016 75 years ago, the Tula offensive operation ended.

December 16, 1941, during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. ended the Tula offensive operation (06.12-16.12.1941), as a result of which the threat to the capital from the south was eliminated. The heroic days of the defense of Tula from the Nazi troops in October-December 1941 are the central theme of the complex located at the second exposition level of the permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the 14th century to the present" of the weapons museum.

12.12.2016 "At the combat post." Interview with the heroes-guards of the Tula land in the museum of weapons.

In the museum of weapons, a military journalist, executive secretary of the editorial board of the magazine "On a combat post" of the troops of the national guard of the Russian Federation, Colonel A.K. Sorokin conducted interviews with distinguished employees of the non-departmental security of the Rosgvardia Directorate for the Tula Region for a series of articles about the heroes-guards of the Tula land. Colonel Sorokin visited the Museum of Weapons for the first time, in the guest book he wrote: “I was very impressed by the exposition of the museum, the use of modern technologies in it. Without a doubt, your museum makes a huge contribution to education and patriotic education of citizens. Keep it up!". Thanks! We look forward to publishing!

12.12.2016 Tula Museum of Weapons - "the reference space of the museum of the XXI century."

On December 12, the Weapon Museum received colleagues from the New Jerusalem Museum and Exhibition Complex of the Moscow Region. After the tour of the permanent multimedia exposition in the helmet building, a round table was held, at which museum staff discussed professional issues related to the creation of expositions in new museum complexes, contemporary exhibits, and the formation of spiritual culture. The Moscow Region colleagues were surprised and shocked to the core by the exposition of the Tula Museum of Weapons. Director of the New Jerusalem Museum V.V. Lutovin called the Tula Museum of Weapons “a reference space for the 21st century museum”, wished the museum “further prosperity in guarding the memory of the glory of Russian weapons” and cordially invited his Tula colleagues to visit “New Jerusalem”.

12/10/2016 Tour operators of Russia in the Tula Museum of Weapons.

The whole range of opportunities and services was presented by the Museum of Weapons to tour operators from all over Russia: Moscow and the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and Karelia, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd, Udmurtia and the Volga Region, the Far East and Primorsky Territory, Crimea and Belarus.

We are glad that the geographical boundaries of our cooperation with travel agencies and tour operators are expanding, and we are always ready to welcome guests.

11/26/2016 Tula gunsmiths. 125th anniversary of the birth of Irinarkh Andreevich Komaritsky

November 26, 2016, 125 years since the birth of Irinarkh Andreevich Komaritsky (1891 - 1971) - an outstanding designer of small arms. Komaritskiy I.A. in collaboration with Shpitalny B.G. created a 7.62-mm rapid-fire aircraft machine gun ShKAS model 1932. The famous machine gun, ahead of its time, can be seen in the permanent exhibition “The history of small arms and edged weapons from the XIV century. to the present ”in the building - the helmet of the Museum of Weapons.

10/30/2016 In the "helmet" of the Museum of weapons began work on the completion of the creation of the permanent exhibition

In the building - the helmet of the Museum of Weapons, work has begun to complete the creation of a new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present".

All the necessary competitive procedures have been completed. The winner of the competition was the company "Art-Courier", which in the near future will start implementing the project. And now the museum staff are preparing the exhibition hall on the 4th floor for the beginning of general construction and installation work. According to the project of the Honored Artist of Russia A.N. Konov, on the third exposition level, the history of weapons from the second half of the 20th century to the present day will be presented, and on the fourth, the “Russian Weapons Hall of Fame” will be created. It should be noted that all conceptual and compositional ideas, as well as a single style with the existing exposition, will be preserved.

On the third level (fourth floor), domestic samples of military, hunting and sporting small arms, as well as products of Tula defense enterprises will be demonstrated, which will especially emphasize the contribution of the Tula military-industrial complex to equipping the Russian army with modern models of military equipment.

In the peripheral part of the halls, volumetric-spatial compositions and dioramas, including modern multimedia complexes, will be placed. For example, the diorama "Pogranzastava" will tell about the feat of the soldiers of the 12th frontier post of Russian troops on the Tajik-Afghan border. Each visitor will be able to make a virtual flight on a military transport helicopter Mi-8, and the holographic showcase "Soldier of the Future" will present promising developments in the armament and equipment of an infantryman of the second half of the 21st century. Young people will be interested in the game multimedia complexes "Imagine Yourself", "Photo Hunting", "Decorate the Gun".

The exhibition hall of the fifth floor, in contrast to the three lower exposition levels, has a domed finish. It is here that the Hall of Fame of Russian Weapons will be created, telling visitors about the twelve most significant victories of Russian weapons, from the Battle of Kulikovo to the capture of Berlin, which marked the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Around the perimeter of the dome will be placed copies of twelve Russian battle banners of various periods and twelve orders associated with the names of the great Russian commanders.

The hall will house a mobile stage and an auditorium, which will allow holding events of a military-historical and patriotic orientation.

The creation of complexes on the fourth and fifth floors of the museum will provide the permanent exposition of the museum with an integral, finished look, which will make it possible to present even more vividly the heroic pages of the history of Russia and Tula, Russian weapons.

Completion of the permanent exhibition does not affect the opening hours of the museum: we receive guests as usual.

10/23/2016 "Impact-flint fitting"

The permanent exposition of our museum presents a flint-percussion fitting, which differs from all the others by the original barrel bore, which has a triangular cross-section and three deep straight grooves.

The use of straight cuts was known as early as the 16th century, but soon they were supplanted by screw cuts, which gave the bullet a rotational motion.

In the 18th century, in the era of flintlock weapons, straight cuts began to be made in barrels extremely rarely, and most likely they served for a tighter drive of the bullet. This made it possible to increase its destructive power and firing range compared to smooth-bore guns. However, loading from the muzzle of such a rifled weapon significantly reduced its rate of fire.

Presumably, the triangular barrel fitting from the museum collection was made by Tula craftsmen. This is evidenced by the methods of artistic finishing of the gun, characteristic of local gunsmiths. The most striking among them are the exquisite inlaid with gold and silver wire, as well as the famous "steel diamonds", which in their brilliance were not inferior to the processed precious stone.

09/22/2016 "Weapon of victory. DS-39 machine gun. "

On September 22, 1939, the 7.62-mm heavy machine gun mod. 1939 DS-39 designed by V.A. Degtyareva. A sample of the DS-39 machine gun can be seen in the new building of the museum at the permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the 14th century to the present."

09/16/2016 Borisov Yu.I., Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation: "This is the best museum of weapons not only in Russia, but also in the world"

Honorary guests of the Museum of Weapons Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yu.I. Borisov and Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation O.I. Bochkarev examined the museum's exposition with interest and wrote words of gratitude in the Guest Book:

Yu.I. Borisov: “This is the best museum of weapons not only in Russia, but in the world. So it was, is and will be. Thanks to the museum staff for their selfless work! "

O.I. Bochkarev: “On behalf of the board of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation, please accept my sincere words of gratitude for the work of the defense-industrial complex of the Tula region and for the wonderful museum. The memory of previous generations, respect for the past - this is the strength of our country. Thank you!".

09/06/2016 “You have a lot to learn. Thank you for the warm welcome, for the high level of professional communication! "

It is always interesting and useful to know the opinion of colleagues about the current exposition, collection and the work of the museum.

On September 6, our museum received specialists from the A.A. Bakhrushin (Moscow), who are adopting the experience of the country's leading museums in the framework of the seminar "Modern technologies in the practice of Russian museums."

We are grateful to the museum workers for their attention and professional interest in our work, as well as for the kind words addressed to the museum: “Thank you for the warm welcome, for the high level of professional communication! You have a lot to learn. "

09/04/2016 "A unique world-class museum project has been implemented in the Tula Museum." Trekhleb P.S.

On September 4, the colleagues of the Moscow State Autonomous Institution of Culture, Zaryadye Park, got acquainted with the modern multimedia exposition of our museum. In his review of his visit to the weapons museum, Trekhleb P.S. noted with delight and surprise that "a unique world-class museum project has been implemented in the Tula Museum."

09/04/2016 Ceremonial sword of the 18th century by the Tula gunsmiths.

The permanent exposition of our museum presents a ceremonial sword of the 18th century, made by Tula gunsmiths. It is known that in Russia and Western Europe of the 18th century, the sword was not only a sign of the class distinction of a nobleman and a symbol of officer honor, but also an accessory to the ceremonial uniform of officials. The rich decorative finish of the weapon is striking, testifying to the high skill of the Tula craftsmen. The head of the handle, the front bow, the cup and the sleeve between the cup and the cross are decorated with oval medallions with embossed floral ornaments made of gold and silver incisions.

08/16/2016 Palette and belt - valuable gifts from the participant in the defense of Tula M.M. Shcherbakov.

The central showcase of the permanent exhibition of our museum displays items that are directly related to the defense of Tula from the Nazi troops in the fall-winter of 1941. These are the banners of combat units that defended the city of gunsmiths, personal weapons belonging to direct participants in those heroic events, and photographs. Mikhail Mikhailovich Shcherbakov is one of the organizers of the Peredovoi partisan detachment on the territory of the Tula region; in the year of the 25th anniversary of the defense of Tula, he donated personal things to the museum: a palette and a waist belt.

The palette and belt, along with shoulder straps, a holster, a field bag and beads for hanging the checkers, were part of the 1932 model of the uniform marching equipment of the commander of the Red Army. These items were made of dark brown cowhide leather. This model of the waist belt had belt loops and a two-pin buckle without the traditional five-pointed star that would appear on them in 1935.

We invite you to the building-helmet, where, thanks to installations, newsreels and legendary exhibits, the glorious history of the city - the hero of Tula - comes to life.

08/14/2016 The pride of the collection of the Museum of Weapons - "Sword of Victory". Now in 3D!

Friends, the Tula Museum of Weapons provides you with a unique opportunity to see with your own eyes an exclusive exhibit - "The Sword of Victory", an example of the highest skill of modern Russian gunsmiths. And not just to see, but to consider it in all details and from all sides in 3D format.

1.08.2016 Memory of the heroes of the Great War.

On August 1, Russia celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Russian soldiers who died in the First World War of 1914-1918, approved by the law "On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia."

We invite you to visit the Museum of Weapons, where the history of the Great War "comes to life" in persons and facts in the permanent exhibition.

07/31/2016 Who created one of the lightest heavy machine guns?

July 31, 2016 marks the 149th birthday of Andreas Wilhelm Schwarzlose (1867-1936), a German small arms designer. Light machine guns of the Schwarzlose system from 1907 began to be used in the Austro-Hungarian army. In the Czech Republic and Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, arms factories were founded, which produced one of the lightest, most mobile and reliable heavy machine guns "Schwarzlose MG-07".

Samples of Schwarzlose machine guns are presented in the new permanent exhibition of our museum "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present."

07/23/2016 "Infantry Degtyareva": "shop" features.

The DP light machine gun is one of the first examples of small arms automatic weapons created in the USSR. It was developed by Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev in 1927 and became the main weapon of fire support for the Soviet infantry during the Great Patriotic War.

"Degtyareva infantry" had a lot of advantages, but at the same time had a significant drawback associated with his store. It was made in the form of a disk, in which the cartridges were located radially. This solution provided a reliable supply of cartridges with a sleeve with a protruding rim, but led to an increase in the size and weight of the store, which weighed 2.8 kg with ammunition. Its capacity was 47 rounds, which made it possible to fire only about 30 seconds at a rate of fire of 80 rounds per minute.

The magazine was usually equipped with cartridges with the help of special devices at the “company’s combat feed point”. The DP calculation consisted of a machine gunner (gunner) and his assistant ("second number"), who carried magazines in a steel box or in a canvas bag, designed for three disks. During the battle, for an uninterrupted supply of ammunition, the calculation was supplemented by two more fighters - carriers of cartridges: the assistant gave the gunner loaded magazines, took empty ones from him and sent them with carriers of cartridges to the rear for filling. As an emergency reserve, there was always one filled magazine, which could only be used with the permission of the commander.

V.A. Degtyarev was aware of the shortcomings of his invention, so he repeatedly proposed models of machine guns with sector and box magazines, as well as with belt feed. The machine gun was belt-fed and was adopted by the Red Army in 1944.

07/10/2016 Five-barreled sea gun Hotchkiss.

Almost all items stored and exhibited in our museum can be called unique. But among them there are those that have survived to this day in extremely small quantities. An example of this is the Hotchkiss 47-mm five-barreled naval gun manufactured at the Tula Arms Factory in 1896. This was the only case in the history of the enterprise when artillery pieces were produced there.

The adoption of such rapid-fire artillery by warships was due to the widespread use of special high-speed small ships and boats armed with pole mines and torpedoes in the fight against battleships.

To protect ships from such destroyers, the Russian Naval Department decided to use rapid-fire cannons, which at that time were considered multi-barreled samples. In 1875-1885, for testing, the government purchases from abroad rapid-fire guns of various systems, including Hotchkiss, recognized as the best, and it was decided to put these guns in service in two calibers - 37 and 47 mm.

Until 1886, these guns for the Russian fleet were purchased in France at the Hotchkiss factories. But soon, to provide new ships of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets, their production was organized at the Tula Arms Plant, for which a special cannon workshop was created there in January 1887. It was headed by Captain Pyotr Nikiforovich Mikhailov. The workshop operated until 1896. Over the years, 296 five-barreled Hotchkiss cannons with a caliber of 37 mm and 42 guns with a caliber of 47 mm were fired. The plant also established cartridge case production, and the private cartridge plant in Tula “Trading House F.G. Von Gillenschmidt supplied the workshop with shell casings and primers. About 490 thousand shells for the Hotchkiss cannons were fired.

The production of five-barreled guns was discontinued due to the transition to single-barreled 37-mm and 47-mm Hotchkiss guns. In addition, the Russo-Japanese War revealed the ineffectiveness of these weapons as mine artillery, and after the end of hostilities, the guns were removed from the weapons of warships.

06/28/2016 Tour operators of Moscow in the Tula Museum of Weapons.

06/27/2016 Its systems were put into service in seventeen states.

On June 27, 1838, Peter Paul von Mauser (1838-1914), a German designer and organizer of the production of small arms, was born.

In the book "In Search of Weapons" the Russian designer-gunsmith V.G. Fedorov wrote: "We highly appreciated the famous German inventor Mauser, whose systems were adopted in seventeen states, and one set of privileges he had taken for his inventions was a voluminous volume."

Samples of Mauser rifles and pistols can be seen in the permanent exhibition of our museum "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present." Welcome to the helmet building!

06.24.2016 Tula gunsmiths. Inventor of the "Russian Maxim".

June 24 (according to other sources - June 25), 1864 was born Pavel Petrovich Tretyakov (1864-1937), Major General, inventor of the "Russian Maxim", Head of the Tula Emperor Peter the Great Armory Factory, initiator of the construction of a new arms factory (now PA Tulamashzavod "), Founder of the first Design Bureau in the history of Russia (now JSC" Design Bureau of Instrument Making named after Academician A.G. Shipunov ").

On September 18, 2015, a bust of Pavel Petrovich Tretyakov was installed on the Walk of Fame of the famous gunsmiths of the city of Tula on the territory of our museum.

The first serial machine gun, manufactured at the Tula Arms Plant in 1905, can be seen in the new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present." Welcome to the helmet building!

06/22/2016 Journalists of the leading mass media of the city of Moscow visited the Tula Museum of Weapons.

On June 22, journalists from the Moscow branch mass media - participants in a press tour organized by the government of the Tula Region - got acquainted with the modern multimedia exposition, exhibitions, as well as with the cultural and educational programs of the Museum of Weapons.

06/08/2016 Today, within the framework of the press tour, representatives of the media of the Kaluga Region visited the Museum of Weapons.

05/31/2016 Participants of the festival "White Nights in Sevastopol" in the Tula Museum of Weapons.

05/10/2016 Constructors of Victory. B.I. Shavyrin.

On May 10 (April 27, old style), 1902, Boris Ivanovich Shavyrin (1902-1965), designer of mortar and missile weapons, Hero of Socialist Labor, founder and first head of the Special Design Bureau for smooth-bore artillery in Kolomna (now the Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering) was born. In 1937-1938. under his leadership, the main mortar systems were created (50-mm company, 82-mm battalion and 120-mm regimental mortars).

Shavyrin's 82-mm battalion mortar can be seen in the new permanent exhibition of our museum "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the 14th century to the present." Welcome to the helmet building!

05/09/2016 To the 75th anniversary of the defense of Tula. He saw how a feat was born! Anatoly Petrovich Gorshkov.

May 9, 1908 is the birthday of Anatoly Petrovich Gorshkov (1908-1985), one of the leaders of the heroic defense of the city of Tula in 1941, the first commander of the Tula workers' regiment, Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Tula.

Anatoly Petrovich was born in Moscow into a working class family. In 1930 he was drafted into the Red Army. During his service, he decided to devote his life to defending the Motherland and later graduated from the Higher Border School of the NKVD.

At the beginning of World War II, Captain Gorshkov was an employee of the NKVD Directorate for the Tula Region. Its tasks included the organization of partisan detachments and reconnaissance and sabotage groups. In Tula, he created 19 destroyer battalions.

In October 1941 A.P. Gorshkov, by order of the Tula City Defense Committee, formed from civilian volunteers and subsequently headed the Tula Workers' Regiment. A week before the outbreak of hostilities, he taught the bare militias the basics of military affairs and psychologically prepared them for a meeting with regular enemy troops. In the most intense period of the defense of the city, A.P. Gorshkov was with his soldiers on the front line. "I saw how a feat was born!" - so he recalled those dramatic events. After the defeat of the German troops near Tula, Anatoly Petrovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and transferred for further service to the Bryansk region, where in 1942-1943 he was one of the main leaders of the partisan movement. In 1944, he worked in Yugoslavia as deputy chief of the Soviet military mission, and ended the war with the rank of major general.

In 1966, Anatoly Petrovich Gorshkov was awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of the City of Tula". In the post-war years, he often visited the museum of weapons and donated a number of personal belongings to its funds. In the central showcase complex of the second exposition level of the new permanent exhibition of our museum, there is a Mauser M712 pistol, with which the first commander of the Tula workers' regiment defended the city. The museum holds a picturesque portrait of Anatoly Petrovich, painted by an unknown artist in 1958.

05/08/2016 Gunsmith-artist. V.V. Pastukhov.

Some of the few surviving sources that help to recreate the activities of the Tula arms factory in the Ural city of Mednogorsk during the evacuation in the fall-winter of 1941 are rare documents from the funds of our museum. These are memoirs of workers and employees, personal documents, letters, newspaper publications and photographs.

The drawings "Everything for the front!" and "Razezd Medny", written in 1981 by a non-professional artist, war and labor veteran Vasily Vasilyevich Pastukhov.

His pencil sketches of the events of the harsh Ural winter of the first year of the war V.V. Pastukhov began to do it on November 6, 1941, when the first echelon with almost three thousand skilled TOZ workers arrived at their destination - Medny junction.

These drawings have provided significant assistance to the museum staff in recreating in our new permanent exhibition a complex dedicated to the period of TOZ evacuation in Mednogorsk.

04/29/2016 Creator of the legendary PPSh.

On April 29 (April 17, old style), 1897, Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin (1897-1952) was born, a weapons designer, Hero of Socialist Labor, creator of the legendary PPSh - Shpagin submachine gun, which became the main hand automatic weapon of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.

Hurry to see the legendary Shpagin submachine gun in the exposition "The history of small arms and edged weapons from the 14th century to the present" in the helmet building!

04/22/2016 Anniversary of the weapon. 75 years of the universal machine gun of the M.E. Berezina.

75 years ago, on April 22, 1941, the 12.7-mm UB universal machine gun (in three versions - synchronous, wing, turret) of the M.E. Berezina.

A sample of a machine gun in a synchronous version of the installation can be seen in the new permanent exhibition of the museum of weapons "The history of small arms and edged weapons from the XIV century to the present." Welcome to the helmet building!

04/17/2016 The cockpit of the Mi-8TV helicopter is now in the weapons museum! Preparations for the completion of the new permanent exhibition continue!

It's no secret that the most popular museum in our region is the Tula State Museum of Weapons. More than 402 thousand people visited it last year. This interest is due to the ultra-modern multimedia new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present", the first and second exposition levels of which were opened on February 23, 2015.

Now the staff of the museum is actively preparing for the completion of the exposition at the third and fourth levels: materials are being prepared for electronic labeling and virtual encyclopedias of weapons and equipment, installations and compositions that provide the effect of participation in historical events of the second half of the XX century.

On April 13, a genuine Mi-8TV ("Transport armed") helicopter cockpit was delivered from Kazan to the museum, which will be located next to the "Border outpost" installation.

In this volumetric-spatial composition, the guests of the museum will learn about the tragic events that occurred on July 13, 1993 at the 12th frontier post "Sari Gor" of the Moscow frontier detachment of the Group of Border Troops of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. Then about 250 Afghan and Tajik militants attempted to break into the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. It was an act of retaliation by the Mujahideen for all the defeats of the past years in establishing drug trafficking and unsuccessful attempts to organize a coup d'etat in Tajikistan.

For 11 hours of continuous fighting, about 50 Russian border guards held back the enemy's advance, after which, having spent almost all the ammunition, retreated, having lost 25 people killed. Later that day, the outpost was repulsed by Russian troops. As a result of this battle, 6 border guards were awarded the highest award of Russia - the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (four of them were posthumous).

It is in the cockpit of the Mi-8TV helicopter, equipped with a mobility system and a virtual reality helmet, that a visitor to the museum will fly over the destroyed 12th frontier post and feel like a participant in those heroic events.

04/16/2016 No rifle in the world has known such longevity

125 years ago, on April 16, 1891, the legendary three-line rifle of Sergei Ivanovich Mosin was put into service, the serial production of which was started at the Tula Arms Plant under the leadership of the inventor himself. "Three-line" was the main weapon of the Russian infantry in all wars of the first half of the last century. With her, our soldiers went through the Russian-Japanese, Finnish and two world wars. Such longevity was ensured by the ingenious simplicity and reliability of the design.

In the new permanent exhibition of our museum "The history of small arms and edged weapons from the 14th century to the present" in the helmet building you can see the very first Mosin rifle, on the barrel of which a serial number - 1 flaunts, and the millionth "three-line" issued in 1898 ...

04/10/2016 Masterpieces of Kasli casting.

The military history of Russia is filled with heroic events, and one of them is the storming of the Turkish fortress of Izmail in 1790. The permanent exposition of the museum of weapons reflects the events of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791 and tells about the feat of Russian soldiers under the command of the legendary commander A.V. Suvorov. Among the exhibits there is a sculpture of General-in-Chief Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov.

The sculpture was cast in 1978 from cast iron in the town of Kasli, Chelyabinsk region. Cast iron production in Kasli began in the 18th century, but the Kasli school of art casting reached its true peak in the 80s – 90s of the 19th century. It was then that her characteristic features were born - the graphic clarity of the silhouette, the thoroughness of the details and the coating of finished products with a special black paint called Dutch soot. These features have survived to this day.

The author of the "sculptural portrait" A.V. Suvorov is Nikolai Akimovich Teplov, whose autograph is on the pedestal. The sculpture belonged to the director of the Tula arms factory E.N. Sabinin, who donated it to the museum.

03/02/2016 Acting Governor of the Tula Region A.G. Dyumin visited the new building of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

On March 2, Acting Governor of the Tula Region Alexei Gennadievich Dyumin visited the new building of the Tula State Museum of Weapons and showed exceptional attention to the museum's collection and its unique new permanent exhibition. During his acquaintance with the work of the museum, A.G. Dyumin and director of the weapons museum N.I. Kalugin discussed the most important issues of completing the creation of a new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV century to the Present" at the third and fourth exposition levels, replenishment of the exhibition of large-sized military equipment "Steel Guards". The prospects for the development of the Tula State Museum of Weapons as one of the best in the world in its category were identified.

The meeting was also attended by the First Deputy Governor of the Tula Region - Chairman of the Government of the Tula Region Yu.M. Andrianov and Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Tula Region T.V. Rybkin.

02/21/2016 Weapons of the Great Patriotic War. PPD-40.

On February 21, 1940, the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a submachine gun of the Degtyarev system of the 1940 model (PPD-40), which was used during the Great Patriotic War, for the Red Army.

You can see the Degtyarev submachine gun of 1940 model at the new permanent exhibition of our museum. Welcome to the helmet building!

02/12/2016 The leaders of the regional parliaments of Russia visited the Tula Museum of Weapons!

On February 12, the leaders and representatives of the regional parliaments of Russia - members of the Council of Legislators under the Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District - got acquainted with the unique collection of the Tula Museum of Weapons.

Director of the Tula State Museum of Weapons N.I. Kalugina told the guests about the innovations and prospects for the development of the museum as one of the leading museum, cultural and tourist complexes of the Central Federal District.

02/10/2016 110 years of V.G. Zhavoronkov (1906-1987), Honorary Citizen of the city of Tula.

February 10 (January 28, old style) celebrated 110 years of Vasily Gavrilovich Zhavoronkov (1906-1987), Hero of the Soviet Union, Knight of the Orders of Lenin (1942, 1977), October Revolution (1971), Red Banner (1942), Patriotic War I degree (1945, 1985), Labor Red Banner (1966, 1976). For services in the heroic defense of the city of Tula during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. by the decision of the Executive Committee of the Tula City Council of Working People's Deputies of December 3, 1966 V.G. Zhavoronkov was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the city of Tula.

The new permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present" of our museum presents the personal weapons of V.G. Zhavoronkov - Shpagin submachine gun mod. 1941 and automatic carbine Tokarev.

01/26/2016 French bayonet made in Tulle.

In the new permanent exhibition of the Tula Museum of Weapons, the French Chasspeau rifle, model 1866, is presented, equipped with a bayonet with an unusual length of 70 cm. Such bayonets with a characteristic double curvature of the blade are of the scimitar type, and they are called "bayonets-scimitars."

This form of bayonet arose under the influence of the colonial wars of France in northern Africa - in Algeria and Morocco, as well as due to the fashion for eastern weapons. In France, bayonets with similar blades first appeared in 1840 and quickly gained popularity. Then they became widespread in the armies of Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Great Britain and the United States. Chasspo rifles with scimitar bayonets were even sent to Japan.

The bayonet of the 1866 model, in addition to the scimitar shape of the blade, differed from its predecessors by the long, bent downward end of the cross, as well as by the ring for the barrel formed by two semicircular brackets fastened with a tightening screw.

In France, these bayonets were made in the city of Tulle in the province of Lorraine. This is where our museum sample of 1872 comes from. The butt of this blade is engraved with the stamp of the local arms manufacture - “Tulle Ma, N, uf”.

01/09/2016 In memory of Tsarevich Alexander's visit to the Tula Arms Factory.

The permanent exposition of the museum presents samples of unique weapons made by the craftsmen of the Tula Arms Factory in honor of the visit by members of the imperial family. One of these exhibits is a dragoon gun of the 1828 model, made in memory of the visit of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich on July 10, 1837.

That year, the future emperor turned 19 years old, and he made a long journey across Russia, visiting 29 provinces in the center of the country, in the Transcaucasus and Western Siberia. Acquaintance with the empire, and the next year with foreign countries, marked the beginning of his state activity as the heir to the throne.

By the time of his arrival in Tula, Alexander Nikolaevich was a major general and for 10 years had been the august ataman of all Cossack troops. In this rank, he is represented in the "Portrait of Alexander Nikolaevich in his youth" by the German painter Franz Kruger.

To the Tula gun, on the barrel of which the inscription “E.I. Highness V.K. Tsarevich heir Alexander Nikolaevich on July 10, 1837 ", relied on a bayonet with a triangular blade and a cylindrical tube. On it, unknown craftsmen made a relief medallion depicting a double-headed eagle under a crown inside a decorative wreath on a blued background using a gold-printed notch.

01/06/2016 "You saved the Fatherland with your blood"

On January 6, 1813 (December 25, 1812, old style), Emperor Alexander I issued the Imperial Manifesto announcing the end of the Patriotic War. Two years later, after the final victory over Napoleon in Europe, the day of the publication of the Imperial Manifesto became a public holiday in the Russian Empire - Victory Day of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812.

The military and labor feat of the Tula people during the Patriotic War of 1812 is reflected in the new permanent exhibition of our museum.

12/07/2015 "In the defeat of the German troops near Moscow, Tula and its inhabitants play an outstanding role." G.K. Zhukov.

On October 15, 1941, a banquet was held at the headquarters of Colonel-General of the German army Guderian: Oryol and Mtsensk had already been taken, Tula would soon fall, followed by Moscow ...

The "fast Heinz" did not know that his tanks were not destined to enter the city of gunsmiths ...

The Battle of Tula became part of the Battle of Moscow. The Tula defensive operation lasted 45 days. A month and a half of shelling and tank attacks, the nearby territories are occupied, but Tula is inaccessible ...

11/04/2015 Tula Arms Factory in evacuation.

In early October 1941, when the enemy tried to encircle our city, an emergency evacuation of the Tula arms factory began, and in November the bulk of its equipment was located in the city of Mednogorsk, Orenburg region. Aleksey Alekseevich Tomilin, who had arrived from Tula, was appointed director of the plant at the new location, and Konstantin Nikolayevich Rudnev as chief engineer.

In his first order, A.A. Tomilin approved the structure of the enterprise developed in Tula, which retained the previously existing workshops, the former heads of departments and the range of manufactured products.

4,500 people arrived in Mednogorsk, including about 4,000 from Tula. But even this number of employees was not enough for the mass production of weapons. Therefore, in different districts of the Orenburg region, mobilization was announced to work on the "labor front". So, in 1942 alone, more than six thousand people were admitted to the plant. Soon the number of workers increased to twelve thousand, and by January 1942 almost all the production workshops of the plant were involved.

11/01/2015 Sword of Victory.

The theme of the Great Patriotic War and the immortal feat of the Soviet people occupies a special place in the new permanent exhibition of the museum of weapons "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present". The symbol of heroism and unparalleled courage shown by the defenders of the Fatherland is the exhibit located in the central showcase of the exhibition complex dedicated to the heroic defense of Tula in the fall of 1941 - "The Sword of Victory".

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, the masters of the Zlatoust arms company in the South Urals made similar swords for each hero city. On April 29, 2015, the Federation Council hosted a solemn ceremony of handing over exclusive commemorative blades to the hero cities, and on May 7, the head of the Tula city administration, E.V. Avilov, solemnly handed over the "Victory Sword" to the Tula State Museum of Weapons, where it took its rightful place in the new permanent exhibition.

The blade of the "Sword of Victory" is made of high-alloy steel, distinguished by its special hardness and elasticity. It is decorated with floral ornament and a dedication to the hero-city. On the other side of the item there is a different inscription: "Whoever comes to us with a sword will perish by the sword."

The scabbard is hand-engraved: portraits of prominent Russian commanders, starting with Alexander Nevsky and ending with G.K. Zhukov and I.V. Stalin. The scabbard and handle are decorated with semi-precious Ural stones: dark garnets symbolize the blood shed during the war, and blue topaz - a peaceful light sky.

The sword is decorated with pure gold. The blade is 1.2 meters long and weighs more than 5 kilograms.

10/06/2015 Pacific Trophies.

One of the most famous types of edged weapons, which the warriors of the land of the rising sun perfectly wielded, is the traditional Japanese sword "katana". It is easily recognized by its characteristic features - a weakly curved blade and a guard called a tsuba. The tsuba, against which the index finger of the owner of the katana rested, had a round or rectangular shape and was located at the bottom of the elongated handle. A scabbard was relied on the sword - "saya", made of magnolia wood. They were varnished for moisture resistance. The sword was worn on the belt behind the back, cutting edge up, and the scabbard was attached to the belt with a strong sageo cord. In 1934, the Japanese government decided to equip army officers, including cavalrymen and non-commissioned officers, with new shin-gunto swords, similar to the samurai. The sergeant version of the sin-gunto, introduced a year later, had a handle made of aluminum.

Unlike traditional bladed Japanese weapons, which were handmade by craftsmen, shin-gunto was made in factories. It was assumed that the shin-gunto would supplant the katana, but this did not happen, and most Japanese officers continued to prefer the katana. There are cases when, at the personal request of an officer, blades of an earlier era were used in the manufacture of shin-gunto, which had an army-style "gunto" frame. But such "composite" swords were quite rare and made up about ten percent of all shin-gunto swords produced in 1934-1945.

The permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present" of our museum presents two similar rare katana strips.

In Russia, both katanas and shin-guntos, as a rule, fell as trophies on the eve and during the Second World War.

09/08/2015 For the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the Battle of Borodino. Napoleon's plan to "burn Tula and disarm Russia" failed.

In the pre-war period, the Tula Arms Factory was reconstructed and annually produced 55.5 thousand rifles, pistols and blunderbuss. At the same time, the entire defense industry of Russia then produced up to 140 thousand units of small arms. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was Tula that was the main base for supplying the Russian army with firearms.

May 9, 1812, i.e. a month before the invasion of the French into Russia, the Tula gunsmiths "with the entire arms society" gathered at the armory yard and decided: "... in those days and hours that are free from factory work, make weapons beyond the established lesson, how much power animated to the amiable Fatherland , will allow ".

By the beginning of the war, the Tula arsenal had available: knives - 9193 units, barrels - 540 units. The factory had 128 605 guns in stock, of which 128 481 were sent to the troops in the first days of the war. As of July 10, 1812, only 124 guns remained at the factory.

On July 17, 1812, Emperor Alexander I, in a rescript, addressed the Tula gunsmiths: “No time in our Fatherland has demanded more from every diligence and donation than the present, therefore, I am sure that from the manufacturers there will be such zealous sons of the Fatherland that whole their factories will turn to one case of arms and thus will give a way to pass on their names as a keepsake to posterity. " In addition, the head of the Tula arms factory, General Voronov, was ordered to inform the sovereign on a monthly basis about the number of "weapons being prepared". Archival documents make it possible to name the owners of private factories, who on July 30, 1812 got together and "expressed a desire to make weapons not only new, but also from old and broken parts, collecting up to 3 thousand units a month." These are Ivan Brivin, Ivan Malikov, Ivan Gnidin, Yakov Lyalin, Petr Salishchev, Yegor Efimov and others. In Tula, there were 19 largest private factories, where military weapons were made only during the war, and in peacetime they made samovars, locksmith tools, beds, carriages. Along with these factories, during the war, weapons were manufactured by another 56 people who had smaller workshops. For all the years of the war, private craftsmen donated 134,502 guns and 103,241 units of cold steel to the army.

The Tula Arms Factory can be called the only enterprise that supplied the Russian army with weapons. Other factories - Izhevsk and Sestroretsk - were cut off from the main forces of the army by the theater of operations. After the surrender of Moscow to the enemy, the position of Tula became complicated: there was a fear that the enemy would move south, occupy Tula and destroy the plant, and this was part of Napoleon's plans, after all, while still in Dresden, Bonaparte said: "I will burn Tula and disarm Russia."

In this situation, Alexander I, in a rescript addressed to the Minister of War Gorchakov, ordered: “The commander of the Tula arms factory, without stopping the work, should have correct information about the enemy's movement towards Tula, so that in a reliable and necessary case, he would have a secret order, stopping work, taking the artisans and tools, follow the road to the Izhevsk plant. "

The plant commander, General Voronov, following the order of the sovereign, sent his adjutant to Podolsk to monitor the enemy, prepared up to 600 carts for the transportation of gunsmiths and equipment, and planned a possible evacuation route.

Voronov wrote about the measures he had taken. Kutuzov. In the letter, he requested personal orders from the field marshal and indicated that "if you gather gunsmiths, stop work at the plant and go with them at least 100 miles, then it will take six months to re-establish work at the plant." In a reply letter, Kutuzov informed Voronov that "in accordance with the accepted operational line, it is possible to stop the removal of gunsmiths, since Tula cannot yet fear an enemy attack." Thus, Kutuzov saved the plant, which continued to work hard, supplying the army with the necessary weapons.

The Tula merchants also made a feasible contribution to the struggle against the French invaders. Responding to the appeal of the Holy Synod: "... not to value any property, except for the Faith and the Fatherland", the merchants made donations totaling almost five million rubles, which turned out to be even more in comparison with the prosperous Moscow and St. Petersburg merchants.

On July 18, 1812, Alexander I issued a Manifesto on the convocation of militias in 16 provinces of central Russia. It is known that in Tula villages and villages, in the city of Tula itself, fathers, mothers, wives blessed their sons and husbands to protect their native land. Those who entered the militia were called altars, i.e. warriors, "donated to the Fatherland not with an ordinary set, but with spiritual greatness." The Tula militia gathered about 15 thousand fighters, of which they formed four footmen, one ranger, two cavalry regiments and a horse-artillery company. The village of Simonovo in Aleksinsky district became the center of concentration of the militia regiments, the head of which was elected the Tula civil governor Nikolai Ivanovich Bogdanov. The duties of the militia included guarding the rear of the Russian army and escorting prisoners of war. NI Bogdanov constantly reported to MI Kutuzov on the measures taken to ensure the protection of the borders of the Tula province.

A special place in the history of the Tula militia is occupied by the 1st cavalry Cossack regiment, which at the end of September 1812 Kutuzov summoned to the Tarutino camp. The field marshal noted the good training and excellent equipment of the regiment, included it in the convoy of the main army, and then this regiment often acted in the vanguard of the Russian troops along with the Cossacks of Ataman Platov. It was the 1st Cossack Cavalry Regiment of General Shcherbatov, who displayed unparalleled heroism in many battles, was one of the first to enter French soil during the overseas campaign of the Russian army. This regiment became the only unit of the Tula militia that passed the glorious path from Tarutin to Paris.

The city of Tula proudly preserves the traditions of selfless devotion of armourers to their craft for the benefit of Russia to this day. Tula weapons made in those years are vividly presented in the new permanent exhibition of the Tula Museum of Weapons "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present."

07/30/2015 Bayonets to Lebel's rifles: poetry and prose of the Great War

In the section of the new permanent exhibition of our museum dedicated to the period of the First World War, Lebel's magazine rifles of 1886 and 1907/1915, which were in service with the French army, are presented. They were also used by Russian troops - during the war, allied France supplied them to Russia.

A bayonet of the model of 1886 was attached to these rifles, which, in order to reduce the cost of its production, underwent modernization in 1916: the shape of the cross and the latch button was changed, the number of operations for processing the bayonet was reduced, of which there were seventy-four before.

Initially, a new modification of the bayonet was intended for Berthier rifles of the 1907/1915 model. Over time, it began to be used with Lebel rifles.

With the light hand of journalists describing the events on the fronts of the First World War, French bayonets with brass handles were nicknamed "Rosalia", since the shape of their handles resembled an unopened rosebud, and the narrow faceted blade resembled the leg of this flower. The poet Theodore Bothrell wrote about the bayonet for Lebel's rifle: "Rosalie is a fashionista, she loves to dance, the polka in her performance is an attack."

06/13/2015 The secret of the office of the head of the Tula arms factory.

The new permanent exhibition never ceases to amaze with interesting and informative approaches to presenting the rich collection of the museum. It was here that the opportunity arose to visit the "Office of the Head of the Tula Arms Factory" of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The recreated office furnishings are striking in their authenticity and historical accuracy.

But the main thing is that an unusual surprise awaits the guests of the museum: they become witnesses of the interested conversation of the commander of the Tula arms factory A.V. Kuhn, head of the instrumental workshop of Colonel P.P. Tretyakov and the representative of the British firm Vickers, Sons and Maxim in Russia Zh.K. Müller. What are they talking about? You can lift the veil of this mystery by visiting the Tula Museum of Weapons!

04/25/2015 Hurry to see how history comes to life!

There is a special place in the amazing new exposition of the Museum of Weapons, where in the solemn silence of the exhibition hall, loud children's laughter rings like a bell. This is an interactive platform where, while playing, you can gain new knowledge by discovering the magical attraction of history.

04.24.2015 New permanent exhibition of the Museum of Weapons. World-class!

04/07/2015 Hurry to see!

04/04/2015 Jewelry precision weapons craftsmanship

In the exposition, visitors are invariably fascinated by miniature weapons. There was a tradition in Tula to make such samples. For example, in 1845, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich was presented with a pair of pistols and a saber with a total weight of about 6 grams, made by the 82-year-old Tula craftsman Andrei Medvedev. The heir to the throne, in turn, presented the master with a gold watch and one hundred silver rubles. Originating in the second half of the 19th century, the tradition of making miniature weapons has survived to this day.

Tiny guns and pistols were made by gunsmiths as proof of their skill.

In the 90s of the XIX century, two small six-shot hairpin revolvers of the Lefauche system of 1 mm caliber were manufactured. Each of these amazing designs fits in a matchbox. The revolvers are equipped with small cartridges. When fired from a revolver only 4.5 cm long, the bullet penetrates a paper target at a distance of up to 5 steps. One of these specimens has a handle made of white mother-of-pearl, the other has a horny handle. The items are made with amazing jewelry subtlety. These are working models that exactly reproduce the statutory samples of weapons on a scale of 1: 6.

Miniature weapons were made by students of the Tula Arms School under the guidance of experienced craftsmen. The school was created at the Tula Arms Factory in 1869, and it was designed to ensure a continuous increase in personnel. It trained children of workers from 18 to 20 years old, the total number of students was 120 people.

Miniature weapons mark the exquisite craftsmanship and great skill of the Tula craftsmen. We invite you to get acquainted with the wonders of weaponry and make sure that Lefty, who has shod a flea, has worthy followers!

04/03/2015 Virtual and real history of Tula weapons

The first exposition level is devoted to the history of the development of small arms and cold weapons in the period from the 14th to the 20th centuries. Multimedia complexes make it possible to visualize historical events. A virtual storyteller dressed in the appropriate era immerses you in the atmosphere of different eras. Holographic display cases with 3D images introduce the device and the principle of operation of wick and shock-flint weapons. A picture of the Kuznetskaya Sloboda of the 17th century, the place where the new building of the museum stands today, unfolds in front of the visitors.

03/31/2015 Russian Winchester

The section of the new permanent exhibition of our museum, dedicated to the First World War, clearly illustrates not only the armament of the Russian troops in that period, but also the difficult situation in their supply with small arms. So, along with the 3-line rifles of the 1891/10 model, visitors can see foreign magazine rifles that the Russian government (to provide the army with the necessary amount of weapons) was forced to purchase from allied countries: France, England, Italy, Japan and the United States of America. ...

So, in 1915, the American firm "Winchester" ordered 300 thousand rifles of the 1895 model (Winchester M 1895) by the American designer John Browning. In his new model, the inventor retained the principle of reloading with the help of the bolt lever - the famous Henry's bracket, but replaced the under-barrel tube magazine with a middle one, which could be loaded with powerful long rifle cartridges. The M 1895 rifle for the 3-line cartridge of the 1891/08 model bore the unofficial name "Russian Winchester".

The rifle was loaded from the same five-round clip as the Russian model of 1891. For this, a special device was installed on top of the receiver. Compared to Russian rifles, the Winchester M 1895 had a slightly higher rate of fire due to reloading with the Henry bracket, which was very inconvenient when shooting in a prone position, unlike a bolt-action rifle. The combat experience of using "Winchesters" has shown that they are difficult to maintain, sensitive to pollution and of little use for trench warfare. Nevertheless, the American company manufactured and delivered to Russia 290 thousand M 1895 rifles, which were also used during the Civil War.

03/29/2015 Under the sign of the eagle.

When familiarizing with the samples of cold arms and small arms, you can often find images of symbols that allow you to learn a lot about either their owners, or about the era of the use of these samples themselves. In the new permanent exhibition of our museum, there is an award-winning officer's saber made in Zlatoust, which was in service with generals and officers of infantry and regular cavalry units, with the exception of individual regiments. Her blade is slightly curved, single-edged, with three narrow lobes. The brass hilt consists of a guard formed by a protective bow that turns into a crosspiece, a handle with transverse grooves and a head in the form of a sleeve with a flat top. Cast plant decoration on the arm and handle. On the bow of the hilt there is an engraved inscription “For courage”. Also, the saber is of interest for the inscription “Russian army of free Russia” and the image of a two-headed eagle without crowns, made on the blade.

Not everyone knows that the use of the image of a two-headed eagle in state symbols is characteristic not only of Russia. It belongs to the coats of arms of several states. So, in Moscow Russia, the eagle first appeared on the state seal of Ivan III in 1497. As the state emblem of the Holy Roman Empire, the double-headed eagle was adopted under Emperor Sigismund even earlier - in 1434. There, the eagle was depicted as black on a golden shield, with golden beaks and claws, and their heads were surrounded by halos.

Subsequently, double-headed eagles with or without crowns were present on the coats of arms of the Austrian and Spanish Empires, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the First Austrian Republic, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro.

In the Russian Empire, the eagle without a crown began to be used as an official state symbol under the Provisional Government, which came to power after the February Revolution of 1917. It was then that this symbol, made according to the sketch of the famous artist Ivan Bilibin, was imprinted on the weapon as the emblem of the Russian Republic. Later it was used in the White Guard armies during the Civil War.

The double-headed eagle without the imperial crown received its second birth in our country after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when it was again applied to civilian weapons, as well as to Russian coins and banknotes.

28.03.2015 "Everything to help the front!", "The front needs to do it!" - such slogans inspired to labor exploits during the Great Patriotic War. The history of the Tula Arms Factory in the first years of the war occupies a significant place in the museum's exposition. In October 1941, the front was rapidly approaching the city of gunsmiths, and the production of Tokarev self-loading rifles was evacuated to the Urals, to the city of Mednogorsk.

The three-dimensional composition on the third floor of the “helmet” building is dedicated to these events. The diorama shows a factory workshop, where the difficult working and living conditions of Tula gunsmiths in the Urals are most authentically recreated. The realization of the plan was helped by a thorough, scrupulous study of the surviving household items of wartime, various materials, including the memories of workers who participated in those events, their graphic drawings.

Significant assistance in creating the composition was provided by the management of the Tula Arms Factory, which donated a genuine 1937 Dzerzhinets machine gun to the museum. For the production of the screensaver of the diorama, a real photograph of the panorama of the Ural Mountains near the city of Mednogorsk was used.

Such historicity in the reproduction of even the smallest details allows visitors to feel, immerse themselves in the atmosphere of those heroic days. The machines seem to be covered with hoarfrost, the brick walls of the unfinished building of the briquette factory are frozen and dilapidated, the workers work in gloves and quilted jackets ... According to the director of the plant Konstantin Nikolayevich Rudnev, the Tula “in a new place were housed in the building of the unfinished briquette factory. It was terribly cold. We were warming ourselves with two steam locomotives driven into the shop for this. "

Especially impressive are the skillfully executed mannequins of the workers. They are wearing samples of work clothes of that time. It seems that these are living people frozen for a moment. Here is an elderly craftsman with glasses checking the accuracy of a part, squeezing tools with frozen hands, which are wearing knitted fingerless gloves. Nearby, another worker is turning the handle of the machine. The sounds of working machines complete the picture. Nikolai Gaidurov, an arms factory worker, recalled: “Hands froze to the machines, but we worked around the clock. Nobody complained, nobody whined. Everyone had one desire - to start up the plant faster. "

A real stove-stove, boxes from under shells, aluminum mugs appear before the visitors. There is a trestle bed near the wall - the workers did not leave the shops for days and slept right there, not wasting precious time on the way home.

Despite all the production and domestic difficulties, in the harshest weather conditions, by December in Mednogorsk, the main technological processes were organized on time. In just 42 military months, the plant produced not only 616,897 Tokarev rifles, but also 16,739 ShVAK aircraft cannons.

We invite you to learn more about the history of the labor feat of our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who showed extraordinary fortitude and boundless love for the Motherland!

03/27/2015 "The Tula Museum of Weapons has opened an exposition" The history of small arms and cold weapons from the XIV century to the present "

On February 23, 2015, a significant event in the cultural life of not only the Tula region, but all of Russia took place - the opening of a new permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and cold weapons from the 14th century to the present" in the new building of the Tula State Museum of Weapons.

22.03.2015 The heroic days of the defense of Tula from the Nazi troops in October-December 1941, covered with military glory, are the central theme of the complex, located at the second exposition level of the new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present." Among the exhibits is the Battle banner of the 156th regiment of the NKVD of the USSR, one of the symbols of the invincibility of the Tula in the difficult war years.

By the decision of the Main Defense Committee of October 27, 1941, the 156th NKVD internal security regiment (commander - Major S.F.Zubkov), which guarded the factories and important objects of the Tula region in peacetime, defended the city of gunsmiths.

On October 30, the main forces of Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army launched a massive attack on Tula. An avalanche of German tanks hit the 156th regiment. The battle lasted over eight hours. All attempts by the Germans to knock the defenders out of the trenches and break into the city were unsuccessful. The endurance, courage, boundless bravery of Tula in the battle for their hometown, honor, valor, glory and military traditions of the military unit are personified by the priceless relic of the Great Patriotic War - the battle banner of the 156th NKVD regiment.

21.03.2015 Guests of the Museum of Weapons have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of historical events and remember the exploits of the heroes of our great country by visiting the new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present."

In the year of celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, everyone will be able to visit the "Blindage of the Great Patriotic War" - a volumetric-spatial composition that exactly reproduces the shelter of the officers of the Soviet Army of the 1943-1944 model. Items of military life, things of soldiers, ammunition - all help to recreate a vivid and realistic picture of the era of the Great Patriotic War. The viewer has a complete feeling of being present in the field marching conditions of our army.

The "virtual storyteller" - a participant in those events, senior lieutenant, political officer of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment Timofey Dmitrievich Dubinin, will tell the visitors about the hard days of the defense of Tula from the Nazis in October-November 1941.

Dear friends, we invite you to learn about the events of the difficult days of the defense of Tula from the lips of an eyewitness of those heroic events!

Visit our new permanent exhibition!

26.02.2015 “Modern, unexpected, wonderful! This is the pride of Tula ”!

This is how the representatives of the tourism business of the Tula region and Russia spoke about the new permanent exhibition "The history of small arms and edged weapons from the 14th century to the present" today, following the results of the presentation.

Museum Director N.I. Kalugina in her speech drew attention to the fact that this meeting is taking place on the eve of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory and the new permanent exhibition contributes to the formation of historical memory, pride in the arms of Tula and great Russia.

The meeting ended with a lively discussion of the further development of business and creative cooperation between the weapons museum and the tourism business.

25.02.2015 Birthday at the interactive site of the new permanent exhibition of the Museum of Weapons.

24.02.2015 "The exposition is striking ... rich, seriously thought out content."

On the day of the opening of the new permanent exhibition, an interesting entry appeared in the guest book of our museum. Its authors - Elena Mikhailovna Kalashnikova, Nikolai Nikolaevich Makarov, Tatyana Arkadyevna Shipunova - are relatives of the world famous designers - gunsmiths.

24.02.2015 Hurry up to see the new permanent exhibition of our museum!

23.02.2015 On February 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day, a solemn ceremony of opening a new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the XIV Century to the Present" (the first and second exposition levels) took place.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Military Historical Society D.O. Rogozin, Governor of the Tula Region V.S. Gruzdev, First Deputy Governor of the Tula Region - Chairman of the Government of the Tula Region Yu.M. Andrianov, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation M.A. Bryzgalov, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, heads of defense-industrial enterprises in Tula, cultural institutions, representatives of youth social movements, students of cadet corps and military personnel.

The solemn ceremony opened with the anthem of the Tula Museum of Weapons (music by V. Sinkovsky, lyrics by N. Babicheva) performed by the soloist of the Tula Concert Association Sergei Suslenkov. In his welcoming speech, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D.O. Rogozin stressed that “Tula is the birthplace of Russian weapons. The exposition is very strong and modern. This is very important for the upbringing of the current generation, which absorbs the traditions of our grandfathers and fathers. "

Governor of the Tula region V.S. Gruzdev noted that “the Tula Museum of Weapons is one of the best museums in Russia, it was made with love, because Tula is the birthplace of Russian weapons. The idea of ​​renovating the largest weapons museum belongs to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Work on the creation of the museum began in the 2000s. And now the Tula Museum of Weapons is the largest in the world. And on the Tula land. Not a single person will remain indifferent from watching. From stand to stand you become more and more proud of the gunsmiths and Russian history. "

Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation M.A. Bryzgalov said that the new exposition of the museum is full of modern multimedia equipment, mostly of domestic production. At the end of the ceremony, the guests of the museum got acquainted with the permanent exhibition, which presents the most valuable collection of firearms and edged weapons of both domestic and foreign production.

17.02.2015
On February 23, 2015, on Defender of the Fatherland Day, in the "helmet" building of the Tula State Museum of Weapons, the opening ceremony of a new permanent exhibition "The History of Small Arms and Cold Weapons from the 14th Century to the Present" (the first and second exposition levels) will take place. From February 24, the exposition will be open to the general public.

12/29/2014 Who revived Bestuzhev-Ryumin
Exclusive showcases, talking portraits, electronic labels, holographic effects - the installation of a permanent exhibition in the new building of the Tula State Museum of Weapons is not finished yet, but today it is clear: it will be something impressive ...

12/27/2014 Portraits will start talking in the museum-helmet
Work is in full swing on two floors of the new building of the Tula Museum of Weapons: drills screech, smell of wood and chemical mixtures, workers are installing holographic screens and outlandish devices, the purpose of which is difficult to guess ...

13.12.2014 Work on the creation of a new exhibition is nearing completion. In the exhibition halls, showcases are already filled with exhibits. Multimedia equipment is being installed. The LED strips necessary for illumination of display complexes, as well as lighting equipment for artistic illumination of volumetric-spatial compositions, have been fully assembled and connected. Stained-glass windows were made and placed. Work has been completed on the installation of the main elements of dioramas in the halls of the museum of the three-dimensional compositions “Workshop of the Plant”, “Blindage”, “Evacuation”, “Trench”, “Office of the Head of the Tula Arms Factory”. Decorated the ceilings of the demonstration areas.

18.11.2014 In the helmet building, work is underway to create a new permanent exhibition. The installation of display complexes is being completed, and fasteners and museum items are placed in the installed showcases on the first exposition level. In order to expand the range of active influence on the visitor by museum means, original thematic artistic and spatial compositions are presented on the stained-glass windows of the halls. The assembly of museum items of open display and multimedia complexes continues. Scripting the exposition engages the visitor in historical events and provides opportunities for creativity and play.

24.10.2014 Currently, the editing of video footage for the multimedia complex “Life Outside the Window” is being completed: “Tula Kuznetsk settlement of the 17th century” and “A visit to the Tula arms factory of Emperor Alexander II”.

For the multimedia complex "Computer class" at the second exposition level, the content of an exciting game "School of a young gunsmith designer" is being developed.

At the first and second exposition levels, the installation of display complexes continues in four volumetric-spatial compositions.

Artistic banners for window openings in three-dimensional compositions "Workshop of the Tula Arms Factory at the end of the 19th century." and "The Trench of the First World War."

For decoration in baguettes and frames, 50 flat exhibits were transferred - copies of documents and visual materials from the museum's funds.

The manufacture of fasteners and equipment for exhibiting museum items continues.

20.09.2014 At the first exposition level, 18 exposition showcases of the inner circle of the “forte” are being installed, as well as life-size dummies of machine tools in the three-dimensional composition “Workshop of the plant” (OPK-1). At the second exposition level, the decoration of the OPK-3 "Okop" was made and work began on its formation. Delivered a pre-war machine for OPK-5 "Evacuation of the Tula arms factory in the fall of 1941".

02.09.2014 Modern equipment was purchased: multimedia projectors, holographic display cases, an interactive table, a rigid rear projection screen. Installation of suspended ceilings (false ceilings) and raised floors. Work is underway to produce volumetric-spatial compositions using visual material. 75 flat exhibits are decorated.

15.08.2014 In the halls of the second and third floors, a raised floor and a false ceiling are mounted, which will hide the bases of the showcases and allow the arrangement of artistic lighting equipment.

At the same time, unique display equipment is being manufactured in St. Petersburg. This is an extremely difficult job, since no showcase is repeated in configuration and size. The unusual shape of the showcases makes it possible to build a semblance of a fortification out of them, which will greatly enhance the emotional impact of the exposition as a whole, where the emphasis is on the spiritual power of Russian weapons in defending the Fatherland.

Specialists in the field of multimedia create programs for multimedia complexes based on materials provided by the museum. Such complexes will solve various problems. This is providing visitors with extensive information of an encyclopedic nature and information in a playful form, designed more for children, an introduction to dioramas of "living" historical characters and much more.

Museum staff continue to search for photographic documents that will allow them to see real people behind museum items who have developed, manufactured and used the weapons on display in different eras, because in many ways the motto of our new exposition will be the words "Man and Weapon: a feat for the sake of life!"

All exhibitions of the museum work as before in the halls of the fourth and fifth floors.

In the new permanent exhibition, the history of small arms and cold weapons will be shown from the period of its inception. The lack of museum items from this time will be compensated for with the help of multimedia.

The main idea of ​​the future exposition is the theme of the development of society and its weapons in the process of the formation of Russian civilization. This allows us to present the history of weapons as part of a general historical process based on the most important and characteristic phenomena in the history of the Russian army's weapons, the history of hunting and sports, as well as the history of Tula as the oldest center of the state arms production in Russia.

The art project of the exposition was developed by Alexander Nikitich Konov - Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia. A.N. Konov is constantly working on museum and exhibition projects of the largest museums in Moscow and Russia, including the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin, State Historical Museum, State Darwin Museum, State Borodino Military-Historical Museum-Reserve, Museum-Estate of L.N. Tolstoy "Yasnaya Polyana" and others.

A.N. Konov works a lot abroad. He is the author of the conceptual design of the artistic solution for the conference room of the UN Security Council (New York, USA). As part of the cultural programs of the Moscow Government, he created exhibition projects in England, France, Germany, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Yugoslavia, Poland, Korea, Latvia, China.

The artistic concept is based on the principle of building a fortification - a fortress, which is characterized by a large number of sharp corners of various configurations. Showcases in the middle part of the exposition are located in the likeness of a fortification. Their placement relative to each other in each room is different. If in the first hall they are located in close proximity to each other, then in the following halls the distance between them gradually increases. In the last hall, they resemble flying fragments, which symbolizes the disintegration of the aggressiveness inherent in the militaristic orientation of the windows, and realizes the main idea of ​​the exposition, which is that humanity has survived largely thanks to weapons.

Each display case is similar in design to a rifle. Its lower part is made of wood, which corresponds to the butt. The upper part is metal, symbolizing the trunk. The middle glazed part, in which the exhibits are located, is equated in importance with the receiver - the most important part of the weapon in terms of saturation with technical solutions.

The projected exposition is supposed to use the latest technical means of visualization. A significant role is given to artistic illustrative material, interactive accompaniment. The peripheral part of the halls will house installations that, in combination with projection screens, will provide the effect of presence, for example, in the workshop of a 19th century factory. or in the trench of the First World War. Part of the peripheral zone will be soundproofed, which will allow realizing play situations when working with children's groups.

The hall on the fifth floor is currently being actively used for various events, which is expected to be preserved in the future. In this regard, its thematic and artistic solution is taken out of the general context of the exposition, lined up in chronological order. It was decided to design this hall as the hall of fame of Russian weapons. Its central part will remain free, and around the circumference will be placed maps of the twelve most significant victories of Russia, as well as projection screens, with the help of which fragments of films about relevant events and newsreels will be shown.

The project of the new exposition was developed taking into account the latest achievements in the field of museum design. If the project is fully implemented, the Tula State Museum of Weapons will be able to compete with the best world-class museums.

Tula has long been famous not only for honey cakes and samovars, but also for an arms factory. Production was founded at the beginning of the 18th century, by decree of Emperor Peter I. And as soon as production was established, the Tula gunsmiths began to form a collection of samples of their products.

The collection gradually increased, and by order of Catherine II, a museum was founded on the basis of the collected exhibits, which still exists in our time. It must be said that the modern history of the museum begins in 1924. Since until that time the collection was not available to the general public, only honored guests of the plant could view it. It was only in the 20s that the museum opened its doors to the general public.

Today, the Tula State Museum of Weapons is the richest collection of unique exhibits that allows you to observe the evolution of the development of design ideas in the field of weapons creation.

Building

The exposition is quite extensive, so the museum is located at two addresses. The old building is located on the territory of the historical complex Tula Kremlin, and the new one is located in the city, address: st. Oktyabrskaya, house 2.

In the old building, there is an exhibition that allows you to observe how the technical thought in the field of creating weapons developed. The new building presents several thematic expositions: an exhibition of modern weapons produced at Tula factories, as well as samples of hunting and sporting weapons.

The old building of the museum is an architectural monument. It was founded in 1855, before it housed the Epiphany Cathedral. But since the number of exhibits is steadily growing, the area of ​​the old building was clearly not enough to accommodate the exposition.

The new building has six floors and a sufficient number of halls with a total area of ​​more than 14 thousand square meters. The building was built according to a unique design and its shape resembles a protective helmet of an ancient Russian warrior. On the territory of the complex, an open area is provided for demonstrating large-sized weapons.

The storage area is more than 650 square meters, there are technical workshops for restoration work.

Among other things, the new building houses a library, two comfortable conference rooms, and a cafe for visitors.

The Museum of Weapons today is a modern leisure center, where active research, social and pedagogical work is carried out.

Collection

During the year of its existence, an extensive collection was collected in the storerooms. It includes various types of weapons. In addition, there is a unique numismatic collection, as well as an archive containing unique handwritten and printed documents, drawings, graphics, lithographs.

Samples of muzzle-loading weapons include options for capsule, flint and match rifles and muskets. In addition to the samples produced at the Tula plant, there are also foreign-made weapons.

A significant place is reserved for automatic weapons. The first example of this type, which entered service with the army, is the Maxim easel machine gun. This is an invention of an American gunsmith, but its production was established at the Tula plant in 1905. The museum contains a unique exhibit at number 1.

The collection of sporting and hunting weapons is of great interest. The exhibits are systematized so that visitors can observe how the guns have changed and improved. The oldest example of this collection is the flint-type shotgun produced in 1716.

The collection of bladed and throwing weapons is extensive and varied. Here are the samples that entered service with the Russian army. These are swords, broadswords, swords. There are also samples of edged weapons used in European armies - halberds, protazans, etc.

Edged weapons of the second half of the last century are represented by a collection of daggers, which are an obligatory attribute of the dress uniform of an officer of some combat arms.

An extensive collection of and protective weapons used in the army. Here you can see both knightly armor and chain mail of Russian warriors. Throwing weapons are represented by bows and crossbows of various designs.

The part of the exposition dedicated to artillery weapons is presented mainly by samples of weapons produced at the Tula factories. The collection contains rare specimens that took part in the hostilities.

The numismatic part of the collection includes awards and souvenir badges. And in the funds of documentary sources are kept royal letters, documents describing the activities of the famous designers of weapons. The collection of graphics, a collection of drawings and albums is also interesting.

Permanent exhibition

The museum periodically presents new exhibitions. At the moment, the permanent exhibition is not only a unique collection displayed in showcases, but also an interactive platform.

So, entering the "Imagine Yourself" complex, you can transform into the image of a warrior from different eras. You can dress up as a dashing hussar or a fearless Bashkir cavalryman, put on a Cossack uniform or dress up in the uniform of an imperial grenadier.

Those wishing to test their knowledge of history can take part in the quiz. Questions and answer options are presented on the touch screen. Not everyone will be able to properly arm and equip a warrior of the chosen era the first time.

Children especially love time travel. Games in which historical battles are reconstructed were developed especially for the museum. Those who wish can try themselves as a gunsmith. Sitting at the touchscreen monoblock, you can try to disassemble and assemble various types of weapons, as well as learn interesting facts about the history of the creation of a particular type of weapon.

The invariable admiration of the museum guests is the collection of miniature weapons in Tula, there has long been a tradition of making exact miniature copies of their products. For example, visitors can see hairpin six-shot revolvers with a caliber of 1 mm, such a revolver easily fits in a matchbox. Moreover, this is a real weapon, equipped with special cartridges.

A separate section of the permanent exhibition is devoted to weapons used during the First World War. Here are presented both samples of domestic rifles, and imported weapons, which the empire was forced to purchase, since its own resources were sorely lacking.

On the third floor of the new building there is a composition reflecting the labor exploits of the population during the Great Patriotic War. On the diorama, you can observe the situation of the production workshop, which makes it possible to understand in what difficult conditions the workers worked.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to view thematic exhibitions that are regularly organized by the museum staff. The schedule of current and upcoming exhibitions can be viewed on the official website of the museum.

Helpful information

Both buildings of the museum have the same opening hours. Guests are welcome every day from 10 to 18, on Friday and Saturday, the opening hours are extended to 21 hours. The museum closes on a cleaning day on Monday in the last week of the month.

Tickets can be purchased on site, the cost of the visit depends on the chosen program. Children under 18 years old can visit the exposition free of charge, pupils, students and persons of retirement age purchase discounted tickets.

Additionally, you can order the following services:

• accompanying the inspection with an audio guide;

• shooting on the territory of the museum is paid. Amateur photography is paid when buying a ticket, the cost of carrying one unit of photographic equipment is 500 rubles. Professional photos using museum exhibits can be obtained by prior agreement with the museum (if preparation of exhibits for filming is required);

• consultations of the museum's research staff;

• visit to the play area (free for children);

• interactive theatrical program (for groups of visitors by prior agreement);

• visiting an airsoft shooting range;

• visiting a school of theater and duel fencing (perhaps a one-time lesson or a course of 4 or 8 lessons).

An evening program is offered on Fridays every week in the new building. Visitors will meet interesting people, contests, interactive games. A themed tour is offered on Saturday evenings.

The Armory Museum is taking part in the increasingly popular Museum Night event. In 2015, the thematic action was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory. During the promotion, you do not need to purchase tickets to enter the museum.

In the new building of the museum there is a theater that offers to watch performances of a military-historical nature, the most plausible reconstructions of historical events, concerts and theatrical performances. The theater creates projects designed for different age categories of guests. The program of performances is regularly updated. Performances are held by prior request for groups of 20 people, the time is agreed.

The museum souvenir shop will help to preserve the memory of the visit for a long time. The assortment of the shop offers famous printed gingerbread cookies, bright Filimonov toys, samovars and, of course, miniature copies of weapons and thematic literature.

And you can take a break from the impressions in the museum cafe, and right there you can order a special program “Birthday in the Museum”.