I am, undisputedly, unequivocally, unmistakably against war, however, even I can appreciate a quality weapons museum when I see one. Tula, Russia – Albany’s sister-city, has such a place and it’s called the Armament Museum.
Inside the unusual-shaped building are five, exhaustive floors of small arms history, tradition and modern exhibits, unique guns with intricate engravings, and hunting weapons. There’s also a vast display of AK-47s named after the legendary designer, Mikhail Kalashnikov, a former WWII lieutenant general (Russians refer to WWII as the “Great Patriotic War”) who died at 94 years of age in 2013.
Other diverse hardware include vintage flintlocks, muskets, shells, mortars, pistols, launchers and yes, even modern-day missiles. If this proves overwhelming for a pacifist, imagine the reaction of a skilled military veteran. For more information, visit: http://www.museum-arms.ru/