{"id":7416,"date":"2025-02-04T17:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T15:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/?p=7416"},"modified":"2025-02-05T16:56:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T14:56:49","slug":"article_park_patriot_na_tot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/almenda.org\/en\/article_park_patriot_na_tot\/","title":{"rendered":"Not theme park attractions, but weapons: How “Patriot” parks train children from occupied territories for war on Russia\u2019s side"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On January 15, 2025, the United States imposed new sanctions against Russia. This sanctions package, in particular, included<\/a> the Federal State Autonomous Institution “The Exhibition and Convention Center “Patriot”<\/a>, registration number 1023601560465, located in the Moscow region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center was established on 10.12.2015 by order<\/a> of the former Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu. The Center’s activities are focused on organizing international and national events in the field of congress and exhibition activities in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense<\/a>: exhibitions and conferences demonstrating the latest models of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation are held here. The Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center appeared the year after the start of the war against Ukraine, which may indicate its role in demonstrating Russia’s military power and influence in the international arena.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on the creation of The Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshot of the order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on the creation of The Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Today, the Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center is an object<\/a> of the Patriot Central Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Recreation of the Russian Armed Forces (hereinafter, the Patriot Central Military-Patriotic Park): the order<\/a> on its creation was issued on October 30, 2014. The laying of the memorial stone at the site of the future park took place with the participation of Sergei Shoigu and the Governor of the Moscow Region, Andrei Vorobyov, on June 09, 2014<\/a>. Its official opening took place on June 16, 2015.<\/a> In addition to the Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center, the Park also includes<\/a> a tank museum, a center for military tactical games, a multifunctional firing center, and an arms exhibition dedicated to the so-called \u201cspecial military operation\u201d, as well as an exhibition dedicated to the \u201cconflict in Syria\u201d and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children from the TOT also visit the Patriot Center. In July 2024, Sevastopol students \u2014 participants of the “Battle Pages of the History of the Fatherland” competition held in the Russian Federation \u2014 visited<\/a> the park. In the summer of 2022, the United Russia party organized<\/a> a trip to the park for 85 school graduates from the TOT of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Children from the TOT of Sevastopol during a visit<\/a> to the Patriot Centre, July 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Children from TOT of Luhansk and Donetsk regions during a visit<\/a> to the Patriot Centre, June 22<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The launch of the Patriot was the first stage in the creation of similar facilities by the Russian Ministry of Defense in other military districts of Russia (including the occupied territories of Ukraine). Thus, in 2018, the so-called “Patriot Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Recreation of the Southern Military District” was established in the TOT of Sevastopol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patriot Park in the TOT of Sevastopol: a history of its development<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"BOT8F62k5pI\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The so-called Patriot Park of the Southern Military District was created<\/a> in the TOT of Sevastopol on 03.10.2018 by order of the then Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu. The park was registered<\/a> on 20.05.2019 as a “federal state budgetary institution”.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main objectives of the “institution”<\/a>, in particular, are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n