Exhibition “SMO. Z-Defenders of the Fatherland”

About exhibition

An exhibition “SMO. Z-Defenders of the Fatherland” opened at the Victory Museum, created at the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Project partners include the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the RIA Novosti news agency, the TASS news agency and the M.B. Grekov Studio of War Painters. The new large-scale project is presented in two locations: the museum’s main building on Poklonnaya Hill and the G.O.R.A. Museum. Using modern multimedia technologies, interactive installations and authentic artifacts, the exhibition tells the stories of real people and the feats of our contemporary soldiers who are protecting residents of the new subjects of the Russian Federation. In the main museum building the new space allows visitors to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of front-line daily life and fierce battles at the front in the SMO zone. The exhibition, consisting of six sections — “Operation Z,” “Voice of the Front,” “Chronicle of Feats,” “Saur-Mogila,” “Z Heroes,” and “Faith” — includes more than 250 artifacts. These include award documents, letters and items of equipment belonging to SMO participants, and objects of frontline life donated by service members and their families. Among the exhibits are samples of weapons and military equipment, including the unmanned aerial vehicles “Sibir-2” and “Sibiryachok-4.” The exhibition materials draw parallels between feats of the past and the present. For example, the interactive area presents the stories of Heroes who took part in the special operation alongside Heroes of the Soviet Union from the Great Patriotic War (World War II). Special attention is paid to Guards units: archival documents and photographs demonstrate the continuity of military traditions from the Great Patriotic War to the present day. The exhibition also includes liturgical items and materials on the activities of military clergy, among them a fragment of the gilded covering from the dome of the main cathedral of the Uspensky Nikolo-Vasilyevsky Monastery and a melted bell destroyed during fighting near Ugledar, along with other rarities. Visitors will also see works by contemporary painters from the M.B. Grekov Studio of War Painters dedicated to the events of the special military operation. A unique part of the exhibition is the “Interactive Map of the Special Operation of the Armed Forces of Russia in Ukraine,” created with the support of RIA Novosti; it reflects the dynamics of combat operations in real time. On a specially reconstructed brick wall pockmarked with bullet holes, a multimedia projector displays key events from 2014 to 2022. In the dedicated audio zone “Voice of the Front” modern frontline songs and poetry are presented. The central element of the exhibition is a sculptural group — a copy of the bas-relief from the Saur-Mogila Memorial Complex in Donbass, dedicated to the heroes of the SMO. The new exhibition is complemented by a display of destroyed captured military equipment presented at the G.O.R.A. Museum across an 8,000-square-meter outdoor area. Visitors will see more than 20 examples of combat vehicles produced by NATO countries and Ukraine that were destroyed during the SMO, which visually demonstrate the scale of foreign military involvement. Exhibits include a Mitsubishi L200, Kozak-5 armored vehicle, M113 and YPR-765 armored personnel carriers, BMC Kirpi, International MaxxPro, Mastiff, Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicle, M2A2 ODS-SA Bradley IFV, M1A1SA Abrams tank and others. The exhibition also features photographic works by war correspondents from RIA Novosti and TASS. Admission to the exhibition in the museum’s main building is by ticket; the outdoor site is open to visitors free of charge. More information is available on the website.