Monino Aviation Museum: tomorrow may be too late
Starting a series of articles devoted to this famous and wonderful museum, I want to say the following: appearance can be deceptive. In this case - to the greatest regret. That is why there will be a whole series of materials telling about the state of affairs in the museum.
I will begin with the prehistory, namely, from the moment when we first visited this museum (two years ago). Visited on a common basis, just buying tickets, going through all the halls and hangars, and plenty of work cameras. We did not shoot the video yet.
Everything is fine from this side. Great bright rooms with divine content, historical whose value is difficult to even evaluate. A magnificent hangar with planes of the Great Patriotic War, excellent guides from among the retired Air Force Academy and former employees. And, of course, an open-air exhibition, 90% consisting of unique devices.
Everything is beautiful at first glance.
Last year the news about the transfer of a part of the exhibition to Patriot Park somewhat overshadowed it. We also did not stand aside and, as far as we could, opposed this not the most wonderful idea. The result was that the exhibition in Monino was not touched, which is not to say about the exhibition in Kubinka. The BTV Museum had to part with a part of the exhibition in favor of the Patriot.
For me, it was unexpected information that one of the opponents of the transfer of aircraft to Alabino was ... the administration of the "Patriot"! In the park, there are definitely people who are well aware that carrying a tank is one thing, and the plane is completely different. Airplanes at the exhibition of the VKS cluster in the Patriot are a prime example of this. Removing this exhibition, I had to work hard to hide the obvious flaws in the assembly. And believe me, there were plenty of them.
However, the clouds hanging over the museum in Monino seemed to have diverged. It turned out no.
Our visit at the end of January was not entirely ordinary. We kind of got from the "back door". But we could not even imagine how the expression “black” could be applied to this situation. Emotions simply overlapped, and these emotions were not entirely joyful. More precisely, not at all joyful. But let's go in order.
We arrived at the museum at the invitation of the group of “museum volunteers” (I hate the word “volunteer”), as they are officially called.
These are divinely abnormal people. Having talked with them for more than an hour (and we spent their entire working day) you feel so inferior that you want to vomit and toss. What, in fact, we are going to do in this series of articles. But emotions are a little out of the way, let's go on the facts.
1. The museum and the exhibits are not one.
This, unfortunately, is a fact. All exhibits in the open area are kept thanks to the efforts of this group of volunteers. The management of the museum and its superiors (and the museum today has the status of a branch of the museum of the Armed Forces) have neither the means nor the human resources to properly maintain the exhibits. And, if it were not for volunteers, many of the exhibits today would really have been lost for us.
Although it is worth noting that some of the unique aircraft today are empty hull.
It turns out a very strange situation: there is a museum, there are airplanes at the site, but there is no aircraft museum.
Moreover, the administration’s strange policy regarding the exhibit site is simply surprising. It seems that the leadership is interested in the fact that the exhibits were destroyed. And, by the way, they are systematically and regularly destroyed by scum, only by chance, referred to as humans.
And for this, he created all the conditions.
There is no security at the site. Pensioners / pensioners sitting in the booth at the gate - you know what kind of reliable security ...
There are no surveillance cameras. As there is no protection in the form of the same private security company, capable of rushing in the case of penetration into the territory and, roughly speaking, to break the arms and legs of lovers of profit.
On the fence we saw a rather new barbed wire. A gift from one of the sponsors, established by volunteers. Lanterns at the very least illuminating the territory - from the same place. Lamps and cable donated by caring people, assembled by volunteers.
Cleaning airplanes from snow, and everyone knows that winter was more than snowy, is also the work of aircraft defenders. But this will be a separate story.
2. Who owns the exhibits?
Frankly stupid question. The museum is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense (according to the site of this department). So, the open area also belongs to the Ministry of Defense, right? However, not a penny for the maintenance of the exhibits is allocated. And if it stands out, I have not seen them among those who really work with planes for a long time. Yes, before the museum threw something. Today the situation is simple to ugliness: do you want the planes not to fall on the tail under the weight of snow (as happened in the same “Patriot”)? No problem. Your hands, your shovels - go ahead! Do you want to restore the aircraft so that there is something to show on the Open House Day (DOD)? No problem too! The administration will openly open the gate and allow to work with the aircraft.
For all this, the administration does not want to lift a finger in order to preserve at least a fraction of what was done by the volunteers. As an example, the story of three young people who came to clean planes in 14 years, and remained in the organization for 5 years. One, however, left the ranks, enrolling in a flight school. Hobbies and love for airplanes were dragged into the sky, but on the day of our visit, he was on vacation, too, on site.
The guys did a deal: they dragged the IL-86 cabin from the airport dump and dumped it completely. Exhibit lived less than a week, to the nearest DOD. On the night after the show, the cabin was opened and looted. Start all over again.
Strange position, is not it? People actually declared the exhibits belonging to the state to be objects of their care and work, but the state really doesn’t care about it. Moreover, without helping in the matter of voluntary assistants, the Ministry of Defense and the administration of the museum do not want to strike a finger on the finger, at least in the matter of preserving what has been done.
On the multiplication is not talking. You are interested, dear readers, and how many exhibits have appeared on the site over the past 15 years? I will reveal the secret. ONE. And then, neither the Ministry of Defense, nor the administration of the museum have anything to do with this. Yak-130 from the first demonstration copies donated to the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Yakolevites can afford it, as well as help with painting the aircraft, which is also a complicated matter, and we will also be talking about it.
The very same Ministry of Defense clearly does not care about the museum. They now have a "Patriot", and this says a lot. I will not criticize the idea of this park, there is indeed a lot of useful things in it, but why, in order to please the Patriot, destroy other museums?
It is clear that both Kubinka and Monino can be considered as donors for the Patriot. What the transfer of exhibits from Kubinka showed. In the end, the owner is the master, and the exhibits belong to the Ministry of Defense.
But who is well-versed, they will not let them lie: only small copies can be transferred from Monino. The big lot is prepared for the sad fate of the cut. This applies especially to those aircraft that can be cut, but hardly assembled. Tu-144, 3М, T-4, M-50 ... Who can assemble them? Yes, no one. These planes made their last landing already on the Air Force Academy runway that is not operating today, and can no longer be moved. And where to get those who can collect them?
It turns out a situation in which the owner of the exhibits to the exhibits do not care. And the future of the most unique museum in the hands of those who are practically on bird rights and at their own expense is trying to extend the life of exhibits that not only our grandchildren, but far more distant generations, have the right to be proud of. This is part of our history, moreover, this is the glorious part. This is our pride. But this pride strenuously trampled into the dirt with indifference.
3. About volunteers.
The easiest way is to give the floor to them. From their contact page (https://vk.com/aviarestorermonino)
"We are people of different ages and professions, but we are united by a common idea. We are engaged in the repair and restoration of exhibits of the Central Museum of the Air Force, helping to maintain the exhibition in good condition, we conduct tours in the open doors.
The volunteer work began on Saturday, 18 June 2005, when a group of volunteers washed several boards. Now, in addition to washing the planes in the summer and cleaning them from snow in the winter, we are engaged in restoring the interiors and equipment of the salons and cabins. More complex works include the restoration of the performance of components and systems, the repair and replacement of individual parts of aircraft, the manufacture of substitutes for missing parts, the bringing of individual exhibits to repair, the repair and refinement of heavy vehicles, generators, etc.
During 10 years of the organization’s existence, a huge amount of repair and restoration and restoration work has been performed on exhibits VK-1, Mi-2, Mi-6PJ2, Mi-8, Mi-12 (В-12), Mi-24А, Mi-24В, MiG -3, An-10, An-12, An-24, Li-2, Yak-17, Yak-40, Tu-95MS, Tu-104, Tu-114, Tu-144, Il-10М, Il-18 , IL-62. Work on them continues now. "
From myself we say: these are people who are fanatically adoring and infinitely devoted to their aircraft. It is his. Each exhibit is assigned a group of people, from 1 to 3 people. And they consider these planes to be theirs. Without regard to accessory.
On the day of the visit, we got acquainted with the groups working with Tu-144, Il-18, Yak-17, Tu-95MS and with two cabins, Il-86 and MiG-21П simulator. And we will tell about each of these groups and about their work. This is the least we can do for these People. It is with a capital letter.
I will not get ahead of myself in the stories, but how else can, for example, characterize the father and son of the Kudryavtsevs, who come every Saturday to their IL-18, who were burned by drug addicts who arranged a feast in him? Unique, from the first ten issued, the plane from the inside burned out all. And they calmly declare that in two years there will be a museum dedicated to the history of this aircraft.
And so with each exhibit ...
Moreover, no guide can compare with these specialists in knowledge of history and the technical part. No. You can memorize something, but KNOW ...
4. What kills the museum.
1) Of course, the main thing is the absence of any perspective. The Defense Ministry is clearly uninteresting, and the museum management, as it is, “is well settled.” The snow is removed, the exhibits are washed (more on this below), there is something to show on the DOD. And, most importantly - no cost! What more could you want? Lepotas ... Plus free tour guides, to whom they specially come not only from Russia. When we specifically for the Tu-144 came from the Baltic States. Drive, tell. And - for free, because they have no right to take money for it. And what is there in the museum's box office fell ... who knows?
2) External factors. In the winter - the snow, which must be quickly removed, in the summer there is another attack. Around the museum - the forest. Birch, linden, acacia, elm and other hardwood. In the spring, pollen flies, which gets stuck in the seams and rivets and turns into something like moss. I found it in my old photos, this is how it looks.
“Carcher” is not an assistant here, a strong jet can damage the coating and cause corrosion. So - a bucket of warm water, a sponge with a rough side and "forces" ... Well, the hands of volunteers.
3) Financing. What to say about him if he is not? Even taking into account the status of NGOs with volunteers, the same grant cannot be written. More precisely, it is possible to write something, but who among the officials in their right mind would consider it? Forgive money from the state for repairing and maintaining state-owned ... And, perhaps, money is being allocated for this just ...
In general, it is a dark matter, and it is easier for volunteers to get out themselves. That is, ask for help wherever possible. It is good that there are those who respond.
4) People. People are sorely lacking. More precisely, qualified hands and heads. I want to do a lot, but it is impossible because of the lack of documentation, they somehow manage to cope with this, but because of the lack of those who can do this or that action. There are not enough specialists.
Yes, and simple helpers too. It's one thing, to remove the snow, when we were in Monino, the landing from MTS suddenly fell, the 60-70 man, it was a holiday. Moreover, to the honor of the MTSovsky, they did not come for a couple of hours to popiarate, but plowed not as representatives of Mobile TeleSystems, but “machine-tractor station” on the day of the communist subbotnik.
5) Thieves. The museum, unfortunately, is under the scrutiny of thieves. And the raids are made systematically and regularly. Rob all that they can reach, and rob with pleasure. Fortunately, for this there are all the conditions created by the administration.
Yes, volunteers put protection on "their" planes, even equip some with alarms. But there are more exhibits than volunteers ...
For me it was a discovery that aircraft devices are in demand by one category of citizens. It turns out that in our time it is very fashionable to pack aircraft instruments into expensive jeeps. Compasses, artificial horizons, watches and more. And the prices, I must say, hoo ...
I learned about this from the veterans of our VASO plant, whom I asked for help for the guys. And in the beginning he was sent with such a bend, that he was already slightly stunned. Then the situation cleared, they promised to help. There is, thank God, what, after all, the Tu-144, and IL-86 and other aircraft made here in Voronezh. Hope to help.
* * *
In general, the situation is extremely difficult and negative. We, and by "we" I mean everyone who cares about this museum, we can just lose it. Just because a handful of volunteers can not drag this load. A load consisting of the achievements of our ancestors, from our history.
Voluntary defenders of historical aircraft is not easy. Lacks everything. But we understood one thing: just because they would not let go of their hands and not give up their business. Just because they love their planes with all their hearts.
And the fact that they consider them their own, supports life in these veterans and will allow our grandchildren to touch a part of our history through the years.
By the way, the leaders of the detachment offered a very attractive option for joint cooperation. They are ready once a month, naturally, on Saturday, to take us to visit. And, despite the fact that they have their own affairs in bulk, to devote this time to us, talking about their wards.
We will make several stories on the results of this trip, but these will be rather short materials, since on this day there was work on clearing the site and the aircraft after a heavy snowfall. But we tried not to interfere much under our feet. And on the same Tu-144 it will be necessary to allocate a whole day when it gets warmer, since there is an opportunity to get to those places where the correspondent’s foot has not stepped at all.
About M-50, 3M, T-4, Tu-4, “Ilya Muromets” we just keep silent. It burns themselves, to be honest ...
But it will depend primarily on your reaction and attention to these materials. We will follow closely, and if there is interest - you know, our film crew will be in Monino, and more than once.
The following material will be devoted to a more detailed account of the work of volunteer assistants to the museum. aviation. And then personal stories about Tu-144, Il-18 and Tu-95MS will follow.
So to be continued. For now at least.
Information