Air Defense History Museum, Air defense museum in Zarya, Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, Russia

The Air Defense History Museum in Zarya, Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, occupies a two-story building and an open-air viewing platform, together covering nearly 3,000 square meters. Its two halls trace the history of the Air Defense Forces from December 1914 to 1945 and from the postwar period to the present. The outdoor display holds about 400 real examples of combat equipment and weapons, including aircraft, missiles, and anti-aircraft guns.

The museum was founded in January 1978 by Marshal of the Soviet Union P. F. Batitsky, commander of the Air Defense Forces. Planning began in 1968 under Marshal of Aviation Ye. Ya. Savitsky, and the building was constructed in 1975. The first visitors saw the exhibition on 4 April 1978, and in 2005 it was registered as a federal state institution in Balashikha.

The museum's name day is tied to the Day of the Air Defense Forces, introduced in 1975, and a government decree on that day is displayed at the entrance. Visitors can also try on a fighter pilot's high-altitude suit and sit in the cockpit of a MiG-23.

The museum stands in the Zarya district of Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, and is a branch of the Central Museum of the Russian Armed Forces. It opens Wednesday to Sunday in two sessions, 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–17:00, and closes on Monday and Tuesday. Visitors can climb into the gunner's seat of an anti-aircraft machine gun, the loader's position of a gun, or the cockpit of a MiG-23 in a high-altitude flight suit.

The museum preserves experimental aircraft models and Cold War artifacts that document the technological advances of Soviet aviation. These rare exhibits show innovations that surprise many visitors.