Ryazan Museum of Long-Range Aviation is a Russian thematic museum and exhibition complex located on the territory of the 43rd Air ForceFlight Training and Retraining Center at Dyagilevo air base, Ryazan. Exposition of the complex combines a large number of objects related to the history of the development and use of military aviation in the USSR and the Russian Federation. It includes domestic combat aircraft, samples of their weapons and equipment, military uniforms, equipment, personal belongings and awards to outstanding pilots. It also includes documents, maps, photographs, etc. Over the years the museum has conducted more than 6,000 tours, and the number of visitors has exceeded 120,000 people.
History
The museum was created on the initiative of Lieutenant Colonel Yuli Nikolayevich Yermakov, an instructor of the 43rd Military Training Center. This initiative was approved by Colonel-General Vasily Reshetnikov, the Commander of Long-Range Aviation of the Soviet Union, and by Lieutenant-General N. F. Malinovsky, head of the Long-Range Aviation's Political Department. By order of the Commander of Long-Range Aviation No. 058 of June 16, 1974, an initiative group was created consisting of Colonel V.P. Mikheev, Lieutenant Colonel A. A. Nekhaev, Major Yu. N. Yermakov and Major I. V. Kayurin. They were allocated highly qualified personnel in order to implement the project. The opening of the museum complex took place on April 29, 1975 and was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The first manager and tour guide was Lieutenant Colonel Yermakov. In accordance with the Directive of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation dated June 4, 2009, D-024, in the course of optimization of the organizational structure of military units, the Long-Range Aviation Museum was no longer part of the 43rd Combat Training Center, and its employees were dismissed. Nevertheless, the Long-Range Aviation Museum has continued to operate on a voluntary basis.
