Музей истории Воздушно-десантных войск, Military history museum in Ryazan, Russia

The Airborne Forces Museum occupies a former theological seminary building from 1816 and houses extensive collections of military equipment, weapons, and parachuting gear across multiple exhibition halls. The structure itself is a well-preserved example of classical Russian architecture from the 19th century.

The museum was founded in 1972 under General Margelov's initiative and documents the development of Soviet Airborne Forces from their origins in the 1930s through modern operations. The collection has been continuously expanded since then to show the changing role of paratroopers in military history.

The museum displays insignia and uniforms that reveal how paratroopers served in different operations and eras. Visitors recognize in these objects the personal stories of individual soldiers.

The museum occupies a former theological seminary building on Semyonovskaya Street, though its legal address is on nearby Margelov Square. It has 12 exhibition halls, a cinema room showing films about airborne history and training, and a virtual tour available online. During the 2020 quarantine, visits resumed with a limit of one person per 20 square metres.

In one hall visitors may sit on and photograph a serving airborne-forces quad bike, an interactive exhibit open to adults as well as children. The World War II room displays a German MP-40 submachine gun on an open mount that visitors can also handle and photograph.