Nice Try, Russia!

[FlyGuy45]

http://www.tankmuseum.ru/inf-faq.html

http://www.tankmuseum.ru/inf.html

 

[Kelmola]

Foreigners need special permissions, applied well beforehand, to enter a museum?

WAT

[Mspfc Doc DuFresne]

I like how there is a separate category for visiting with your Russian girlfriend. Still, required Hotel information, areas of interest, and areas of expertise, just to access a museum?

[Fuchs]

We do all realize they also store modern equipment, in use with the Russian army right now, you could be a spy wanting to check out their tanks/APC's so you know the weak parts!!!!11

[Paasky]

The Russian military officials DO NOT LIKE the model makers (the regular violators of the museum rules)

Hah.


Well, there's another good reason not to go to Russia. If they are seriously that xenophobic I see no reason to have anything to do with them.

[DLFReporter]

Try to go onto a military base in any country and you will see similar restrictions.
That has nothing to do with being xenophobic.

[Paasky]

Kubinka is a military base? I thought it was the worlds largest tank museum...

And if they can't separate people taking pictures of tanks from the 1950's, and spying a military base with national secrets... I'm guessing idiotic would be a better word than xenophobic.

[siben]

Never seen a James Bond movie?? He always follows some tour for tourists, then enters some room in a sneeky way and finds a super secret lab. The KGB learned its lesson then

If it's a military base then it is not so strange there are strict rules. Most country's have them.

Not here tough, lol, i have been on so many bases and only once did i have to show my passport and register.

[ErnaSolberg]

Ah, good old crazy Mother Russia...
If this place is anything like the rest of Russia (even if it is a military base), if you give $50, max $100 to the guard at the door of the museum and/or to your tour guide, you can avoid all the "special permission" trouble.
And it says you can ride WWII tanks on their other military base, $1300 + $30 per shot fired. That's pretty sweet.

[Thorondor123]

Kubinka is a military base? I thought it was the worlds largest tank museum...

And if they can't separate people taking pictures of tanks from the 1950's, and spying a military base with national secrets... I'm guessing idiotic would be a better word than xenophobic.

The museum is located within a military base.

One does not simply walk into a military base of the vast colossal motherland!

[Ts4EVER]

The last guy who tried it got some 2cm rounds from taranov.

[Kelmola]

OK. So it's in a military base. Probably it's easier to keep all those tanks in working order that way, with trained personnel to service them...

...seriously, how difficult would it be to put a fence between the military base proper and the museum grounds, and not put "military secrets" on public display, or at least keep the latest developments (as opposed to "regular" equioment which everybody has seen and which the foreign powers have had access to ages ago) in a base which does not have a museum? Oh, they want to show off their latest hardware to fellow citizens... as if those same secrets could not be leaked by the supposedly loyal natives?

It's like the US Air Force Museum would be located within Area 51, but US citizens could still pass freely.

[Die Happy]

for quite a long time kubinka was owened/lead by one russian intelligence service called "GRU"
so i guess thats a good reason why

also quote from english wiki:

The Kubinka Tank Museum is located on a historically "secret" Russian Army armor testing reservation, staffed entirely by Russian military personnel, and access is strictly controlled. From August to October 2007 the Museum was closed to foreign visitors by order of the military to implement new anti-espionage  procedures, likely in response to cooling Russia – United States relations following the March 2007 announcement of the US's European ballistic missile defense program. The new restrictions require that all non-Russians visit only with pre-approved Russian tour groups during certain days and hours, submit a security application 3-4 weeks in advance, pay a special fee for a Federal Security Bureau officer to escort them the entire time they are in the museum, and agree to spend no more than a few minutes in each display area. "Professional" cameras (non-disposable with glass lenses larger than 10mm) or cameras which are easily concealed are also banned.

Although none of the vehicles in the museum are still used or fielded by the Russian military, many of the exhibits (particularly of one-of-a-kind experimental vehicles) are still considered secret by the museum. The website warns that foreign visitors are carefully watched by security cameras and Federal Security agents for evidence of spying. In particular, attempting to sketch or photograph the vehicles in detail for purposes of creating model military vehicles is considered espionage and will result in arrest.

[Zoologic]

In particular, attempting to sketch or photograph the vehicles in detail for purposes of creating model military vehicles is considered espionage and will result in arrest.

I'm good at memorizing, and i'm good at sketching... what's more, i'm a BIG FAN of RUSSIAN TANKS!!!

Ha! So suck on that! 

[ErnaSolberg]

IMO all these strict rules don't have much to do with national security and exist mostly to get some extra $$$ from the foreigners.
From the Kubinka site:

возможна (за дополнительную плату для иностранных граждан) на непрофессиональную камеру (типа "мыльница") при съемке посетителя, а техники в качестве заднего плана. Съемка без посетителя, с разных ракурсов считается технической и требует особой платы за съемку каждого объекта (для иностранцев 150$ за каждый образец техники) + специальное разрешение.

Translation: Foreigners (for an extra fee) can take pictures of themselves and the vehicle in the background on a non-professional camera. Taking pictures of a vehicle close up, from every angle costs $150 per each vehicle and may require special permission.


So it's all a matter of how much money you're willing to pay....