Museum of Kalinin Front (Tver)

 Museum of Kalinin Front (Tver)

 

Description of the Museum of Kalinin Front in Tver

Museum of Kalinin FrontMuseum of Kalinin Front is dedicated to a major battle that was fought here during World War II. Its location in a village of Emmaus is not coincidence. It was in 1941 Soviet soldiers of Kalinin Front broke through German lines on December 5th, 1941. It turned out to be a turning point in the history of Great Patriotic War as World War II is known in Russia. It broke the momentum of Blitzkrieg and saved Russian capital, Moscow from conquest. Museum of Kalinin Front was opened in 2002. It contains a exposition devoted to actions of various of divisions of the Kalinin Front from beginning of the war to the very end when it merged and became part of the Baltic Front.

 

The Kalinin Front Museum was opened in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in memory of the events that took place in 1941 on the right, northern flank of the Moscow battle.

The museum is located in the village of Emmaus, Kalininsky district, 16 km from the regional center - Tver, former Kalinin, after which a large military formation, the Kalininsky Front, created in the vicinity of the city was named. At this point, on December 5, 1941, the front troops broke through the defenses of the German troops, thereby starting a counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow.

The museum has two exposition, exhibition and lecture halls. The decoration and color scheme of the exhibition are aimed at recreating the spirit of wartime.

The materials of the first hall reflect the events of the first months of the Great Patriotic War, hostilities on the territory of the region, the defense and liberation of the city of Kalinin. The showcases show diagrams showing the plans of the German command in the Kalinin area, to trace the course of hostilities around the city. Photos and documents of the defenders and liberators of the city make it possible to find out their names, tell about specific examples of the heroism of Soviet people. A set of materials on the creation of the Kalinin Front is highlighted separately.

In one of the showcases of the hall, samples of weapons, items of equipment of the Wehrmacht soldiers are displayed. The other contains unique exhibits: a genuine red flag, which was hoisted over the River Station of the city of Kalinin on the day of its liberation on December 16, 1941, bloody Komsomol cards of soldiers who died in battles for the city.

The central place in the hall is occupied by the diorama "The Battle for Tveretsky Bridge". Its plot reflects the true fact when the artillerymen of the 5th battery of the 531st artillery regiment under the command of Lieutenant A.I. Katsitadze, with the support of the soldiers of the 4th company of the 937th rifle regiment under the command of Lieutenant N.M. Bukshenko in the vicinity of the Fire Square in Kalinin, for three days, the German troops were blocked the way to the Volga region through the Tveretsky bridge.

Exhibits in the second hall of the museum tell about the hostilities of the Kalinin Front in 1942-1943: eight offensive and one defensive operations carried out by the front's troops both independently and together with the troops of other fronts.

Bloody battles unfolded in the area of ​​the Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledge. Four difficult offensive operations were carried out here by the troops of the Kalinin and Western fronts.

For the first time, museum means told about the defensive operation of the front forces in July 1942 in the area of ​​Bely, which was hushed up in Soviet times.

After the liquidation of the German Rzhev-Vyazemsky bridgehead near Rzhev, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. came to the village of Khoroshevo on August 4-5, 1943. Stalin. In the exposition you can see photographs of the house where he stayed, the commander of the Kalinin Front, Colonel-General A.I. Eremenko, with whom Stalin met, the first artillery salute in the history of the Great Patriotic War, the decision on which was made during the stay of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief near Rzhev.

The central place in the second hall is occupied by a spatial artistic composition, which contains basic information about the Kalinin Front.

In the lecture hall of the museum, photographs of the correspondent of the Kalinin Front B. Vdovenko and the work of German photographers.

The exhibition hall houses the stationary exhibition "Childhood Scorched by War".

 

There are several objects on the territory of the museum: a mass grave where the soldiers who died in the battles for Emmaus are buried; a platform with samples of artillery pieces; a field kitchen under a camouflage net with wooden tables and benches.

INTERACTIVE PROGRAMS
"Aty-bats, soldiers were coming!" (5+)
Participants in the program try on the roles of soldiers of the Kalinin Front. To feel like real soldiers, they put on raincoats and caps. Ahead of them are a test of intellectual abilities; conditional crossing of the Volga, delivery of ammunition and medicines to the front line, shelling with a test of knowledge of mathematics, restoration of communications, answers to questions from the army headquarters and installation of a banner. The program will end with a real soldier's lunch - buckwheat porridge with stew, bread and sweet tea.

The program is designed for a group of up to 30 people, its duration is one and a half to two hours (depending on the number of participants). In the warm season, the program is held on the territory of the museum, in the open air, in the winter - in the lecture hall

Quest "From Kalinin to Königsberg" (16+)
Before the start of the game, all participants will have to visit an excursion in order to have a general idea of ​​the museum, to understand the layout of the exposition, the location of the halls and exhibits. The next stage is to receive a package with a task, which includes an individual card and a Red Army book with a tear-off coupon. In the task card, before each question, there is a fragment of the exposition, which visually orientates the participant of the game in the museum to the correct answer. 45 minutes are allotted to complete the quest, after which all mission cards are submitted for verification to the "military council". During the check, the participants of the game watch documentaries or chronicles of the Great Patriotic War in the lecture hall. The program ends with the awarding of the winners.

The program is designed for a group of up to 25 people, its duration is one and a half to two hours (depending on the number of participants).

"School of Santa Claus" (5+)
The program participants will celebrate the New Year in seven countries of the world, and then they will meet with Santa Claus. It will be a real forest holiday! Children will enter the edge of a pine forest over a carpet of spruce branches and enter the land of fabulous gnomes. Guests and participants of the program will experience a whirlwind of active games, laughter and fun, tasks for cunning and ingenuity, ice skating, a round dance around a decorated Christmas tree and much more. After all the tests for the excellent work done, Santa Claus will present the participants with Diplomas of graduation from the magic School and conferring the title "Assistant to Santa Claus".

The program is designed for a group of up to 50 people, its duration is one and a half to two hours (depending on the number of participants).

Lesson-holiday "Wide carnival" (5+)
Guests of the holiday will be greeted by fairytale heroes who will tell about the way of life and customs of our ancestors. On the picturesque territory of the museum, in a pine forest, the Slavic traditions of baking pancakes, arranging feasts, dancing, dressing up, burning an effigy of Maslenitsa and welcoming spring will be embodied! Guests will find hot pancakes and tea in the fresh frosty air, sale of souvenirs and photographing as a souvenir in the image of a Russian nesting doll.

The program is designed for a group of up to 50 people, its duration is one and a half to two hours (depending on the number of participants).