Features of the Activities of Military Theme Parks in a Pandemic

Afonina Marina

, Skuridin Maksim

and Vetrova Natalya

Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, Yaroslavskoe shosse, 26, Moscow, 129337, Russia

V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, 4, Acad. Vernadsky ave, Simferopol, 295007, Russia

Keywords: Military Theme Parks, The Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve, The Covid 19 Pandemic, Virtual Tours, Polls,

Attendance, Prospects for The Development of The Territory.

Abstract:

The features of sustainable activity of military theme parks in the conditions of a pandemic are revealed on

the example of the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve, Tula Region, Russia. Similar foreign parks, their sizes

and attendance data are considered. Russian thematic objects were highlighted, a sociological survey of

students of the National Research University of the Moscow State Construction University was carried out to

identify the recognition and attendance of these public areas in the period 2020-2021. The reason for

considering this object was the results of a comprehensive analysis of military theme parks, among which

Kulikovo Field stood out for its innovative approaches to museum activities. The author's material clearly

demonstrates the transformation of the historical territory and its filling with new museum objects in a short

time. A diagram of the location of the main objects in the territory of the museum-reserve is presented and

their description is given. In the discussion of the results, it is offered to consider the use of virtual technologies

in the Kulikovo Field Museum. By the time the pandemic began, VR technologies had already been

introduced, which made it possible to continue the work of the museum-reserve in remote mode, providing

an opportunity to get acquainted with the exposition remotely. It is offered to consider the park attendance

schedules obtained as a result of online monitoring of Yandex electronic resources, carried out from the end

of 2020 to the present. As a result of the study, it was determined that the system has not yet been worked

out: the information does not reflect an objective picture in the form of numerical values, it is updated without

specifying the frequency of updates and is only informational in nature. The park administration facilitated

the work and provided official data, which helped to establish a significant difference between the sources of

information. As expected, there is seasonality and unevenness in visiting the territory, which is associated

with national holidays, vacations and weather conditions. This confirmed the need for material selection and

careful verification. Therefore, the study showed that, despite the difficult epidemiological situation, there is

an interest in visiting a military theme park, and hence the social demand for the complex. This feature

develops the tourist potential of the territory during the period of lifting of restrictive measures.

1 INTRODUCTION

The most important part of the state system of the

country is the armed forces, therefore the history of

military events, their objective presentation and

maintaining the interest of the country's citizens is

one of the most important tasks of any modern

society. The most effective way to solve this problem

is to create special exhibitions, museums, parks where

history can be presented with a memorial, historical,

military-applied, sports-training and other purposes.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9468-4308

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5820-6464

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7012-2359

For many years in different countries of the world,

specialized theme parks dedicated to military

operations have been created, which allows you to

visually understand specific facts, demonstrate

military equipment, weapons or conduct theatrical

thematic performances of a certain historical event. A

large number of museum complexes have been

created, funded by the state, military, military-

historical organizations and even private individuals.

There are special ratings of such museums and tourist

Marina, A., Maksim, S. and Natalya, V.

Features of the Activities of Military Theme Parks in a Pandemic.

DOI: 10.5220/0011111200003439

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference "COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals" (RTCOV 2021), pages 96-102

ISBN: 978-989-758-617-0

routes and electronic resources pay sufficient

attention to military-historical sights.

The aim of the study is to determine the features

of the activities and prospects for the development of

military theme parks in a pandemic using the example

of the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks were

solved:

- the analysis of foreign and Russian military

theme parks was carried out;

- identified the most significant Russian parks and

their features;

- a sociological survey was conducted among

students to identify the social relevance of the objects

under study;

- the data received from the museum

administration of the park Kulikovo Field was

analyzed, graphs, diagrams and comparative maps of

a specific area were compiled;

- the real conditions for the active activity of parks

in a pandemic have been determined.

2 METHODS

The development of military-themed memorial parks

in different countries develops on an individual basis,

this is due to the peculiarity of the interpretation of

military events and history. To understand the general

picture and prospects for the development of objects,

as large public areas used to demonstrate the events

of military history, it is necessary to consider the

experience of many countries, which the authors of

this work are trying to do.

The development of military-patriotic and theme

parks within cities has been studied for a long time

and fruitfully. Each specialist examines this from

different points of view.

The inclusion of military theme parks in tourist

routes allows you to better know the history of the

country, a specific place, as well as immerse yourself

in the atmosphere of a specific historical time.

However, the definition of the relationship between

social demand and the architectural and planning

component is still little studied, the difficulty is to

determine the relationship between the activities of

objects, taking into account the pandemic.

There are illustrative examples of the most

famous national military theme parks in the world,

Table 1 shows the most famous and their brief

characteristics.

Table 1: Military theme parks.

No. Name / country

Territory size,

ha (m2)

/opening, yea

Attendance

million

eople /yea

Gettysburg National

Military Park / USA

1600

(16000000)/

1895

1.0/2010

Pivka Park of

Military History

/Slovenia

5.9 (5900)

/2006

0.9/2017

Horseshoe Bend

National Military

Park/USA

825(8250000/

1923

4.2/2018

Royal Museum of

the Thai Arm

7.3(73217)/

1996

1.4/2017

Victory Park

Moscow

135(1350000)

/1995

5.8/2019

6 Patriot MO *

5414(541400

)

/2015

7.3/2019

* partially put into operation

In Russia, the theme of military history and the

memory of the war are reflected in memorable

objects: museums related to military events have been

created: Museum of Defense and Siege of Leningrad,

St. Petersburg; Central Museum of the Air Force,

Shchelkovo, Moscow region; Memorial complex

Sapun Mountain, Sevastopol; Mamaev Kurgan,

Volgograd; Museum reserve Kulikovo Field, Tula

region.

To understand the general demand for military

theme parks in the period 2020-2021 (during the

period of distance learning Covid-19), a survey was

conducted among students of the Moscow State

Construction University (MGSU) using the electronic

system Google Forms.

3 RESULTS

Let us consider the results of a sociological survey

that was conducted in 2020-2021, 169 people took

part in it. Most of the respondents are persons from

18 to 25 years old. During the survey, we identified

the following military theme parks: Memorial

complex Sapun-Mountain in Sevastopol, Mamaev

Kurgan in Volgograd, Museum-Reserve Borodino

Field of the Moscow Region, Museum-Reserve

Breaking the Siege of Leningrad, Museum-Reserve

Kulikovo Field, VPPKiO of the Armed Forces of the

Russian Federation Patriot Moscow Region, PKiO

Victory Park in Moscow.

An analysis of the recognition of military theme

parks showed that the most popular among young

people are the Park of Victory in Moscow and the

Features of the Activities of Military Theme Parks in a Pandemic

Borodinskoye Field Museum-Reserve in the Moscow

Region. This is easily explained by the fact that these

territories are located within the city limits, which is

convenient for visiting them. The students visited the

parks of the Park of Victory and the VPPKiO Patriot

(Fig. 1) (the respondents live in Moscow and the

Moscow Region).

Figure 1: Question No. 3. Recognition of objects (results of

a survey of students of NRU MGSU).

When analyzing the listed military theme parks, it

was possible to single out the Kulikovo Field

Museum-Reserve, which significantly differs from

other studied territories in the following parameters:

- considerable remoteness from big cities;

- lack of organization of public transport and

commercial routes within its location;

- the possibility of visiting the complex only by

private car or with organized excursions;

Despite its remoteness from the capital, the park

is popular among Moscow students. According to the

survey, the park's popularity is ahead of the Patriot

VPPKiO in the Moscow Region, the Leningrad

Blockade Breakthrough Museum in the Leningrad

Region, and the Sapun-Mountain Museum-Reserve

in Sevastopol. Among the respondents, 18.9 % visited

the territory of Kulikovo Field (Fig. 2). In terms of

Figure 2: Question No. 4. Attendance (results of a survey of

students of NRU MGSU).

attendance, it is only overtaken by the Patriot (29.6

%), Borodinskoe Field (34.4 %) and Victory Park

(62.1 %).

The Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve is located

in the Tula Region, Kurkinsky District, village

Mokhovoye (Fig. 3 A).

Creation of the State Museum-Reserve Kulikovo

Field is determined by the scale of the historical event

and the preservation of the memory of the Russian

people.

Figure 3: The location of the complex (A) – on the map of

the Russian Federation, (B) – on the plan of the General

land survey of the Tula province in 1790 (1 – Red Hill, 2 –

the village of Monastyrshchino).

Memories of the great Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

Back in the 19th century, the question of perpetuating

the memory of the heroes of Mamaev's massacre,

initiated by the Tula landowners, was raised.

Monument to Dmitry Donskoy, designed by architect

A.P. Bryullov, was installed on Red Hill in 1849.

Celebrations on this occasion were held in 1850 and

became the first festive events dedicated to the

anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo. In 1865-1896,

on the site of a wooden church in the village of

Monastyrshchino, a stone church of the Nativity of

the Virgin is being built.

RTCOV 2021 - II International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference " COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

(RTCOV )

By the end of the XX century, the objects of the

museum are falling into decay, the temples are being

closed, the obelisk on Red Hill is decaying. A brief

history of the museum-reserve is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: The history of the creation of the museum

Kulikovo Field in the XX-XXI centuries.

Date Historical event

1965

Opening of a branch of the Tula Regional

Museum of Local Lore.

1997

Transfer to the museum-reserve of the

building of the church and the former

parish school in the village of

Monast

rshchino.

1998

Transfer to the Museum-Reserve of the

Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the

monument in honor of Dmitr

Donsko

September

19, 2000

Opening the museum and memorial

complex in the village. Monastyrshchino.

2010

Transfer of the Church of St. Sergius of

Radonezh into the possession of the Holy

Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. Closing of the

museum on Red Hill.

2011

The beginning of works on creation of a

modern museum com

lex.

December

of 2015

Completion of the construction of the

museum buildin

May of

2016

Opening the first exhibition Artists of

Victory.

ctobe

25,

2016

Opening the exposition The Legend of the

Mamaev Massacre. New Readin

August 03,

2017

Opening of the Don exposition.

A new life to the historical site was given by the

decision of the government of the Russian Federation

to build a new generation museum on the Kulikovo

Field in the immediate vicinity of the place of the

legendary battle.

The territory of historical and cultural purposes

consists of a protected area of 3825 hectares. and

directly to the museum and park part of 48.6 hectares.

Average attendance is more than 97 thousand people

/ year.

A distinctive feature of the Museum-Reserve

Kulikovo Field from the fields of the great battles of

subsequent eras is the importance of the historical

natural landscape as the main and unique military-

historical and memorial monument.

Figure 4: Analysis of use of the territory of the museum and

park part - satellite image of the territory of 2019 (1.

Museum Kulikovo Field, 2 - Museum-quest, 3 -

Observation deck, 4 - Big pond, 5 - Lower pond, 6 - Guest

houses, 7 - Kitchen, 8 - Arboretum, 9 - Bicycle rental, 10 -

Sports ground, 11 - Museum Garden; 12 - Village cellar, 13

- Parking, B - Museum exposition).

Figure 4 clearly demonstrates the transformation

of the museum territory filled with objects. The

territory of the museum-reserve contains 13 objects

for various purposes:

1. Museum Kulikovo Field (Fig. 5A): the

exhibits tell about the principality of the XIV century.

Visitors will be able to learn the true story of how the

capital of the Golden Horde, the city of Saray, looked

like, what forces collided on the Field. In the hall of

relics, tourists will get acquainted with archaeological

finds that determine the site of the battle. The main

exhibit of the museum is a model of the Battle of

Kulikovo, which reflects all the locations and

movements of the sides (Fig. 5B). The underground

floor is devoted to information about modern

sciences, which contribute to a deeper study of the

events of past years.

2. The quest museum allows children to get

acquainted with the events of the Battle of Kulikovo

through play. They have the opportunity to decipher

the predictions of Sergius of Radonezh, solve riddles

dedicated to the actions of Dmitry Donskoy and visit

the monastic cell.

3. The observation deck allows to see the

panorama of the Kulikov field from a height. It is

equipped with ramps for people with limited mobility

and equipped with safe fences.

4. The large pond has been cleared and

deepened, equipped with a modern drainage system

and convenient fishing grounds. It is created with the

aim of providing people with places of recreation and

quiet rest.

Features of the Activities of Military Theme Parks in a Pandemic

Figure 5: The main objects of the park (A) – general view.

1. Museum Kulikovo Field, (B) – Museum exposition.

5. The lower pond, with an area of 0.7 hectares,

is located to the west of the large one and is also

adapted to provide comfortable conditions for the

recreation of visitors.

6. One-story and two-story Guest houses are

located directly on the territory under consideration.

There is an option with increased comfort – a two-

storey house with a private terrace. Guest houses are

in great demand in all seasons.

7. The cuisine of the Kulikovo Field military

theme park invites visitors to taste a huge number of

dishes, including historical ones.

8. Plants of most regions and climatic zones of

Russia grow in the arboretum. Oak alleys, cherry and

apple orchards were created here.

9. Bicycle rental allows tourists to travel

around the entire territory of the museum in a short

period of time.

10. The sports ground is located not far from the

guest houses and invites tourists to lead an active

lifestyle on the territory of the museum-reserve.

11. The Museum Garden is an area of planted

trees, where tourists can immerse themselves in

silence in an atmosphere of tranquility.

12. The village cellar above the Lower Pond was

rebuilt according to the fragments of the surviving

walls after the residents left Mokhovoye.

13. The parking lot is located at the entrance to

the territory, it can accommodate more than 100 cars,

and is designed taking into account the traffic load.

4 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Development of virtual technologies in the Museum-

Reserve Kulikovo Field

In modern conditions, it is already accepted to use

new techniques in the museum sphere. In a pandemic,

when many public places are closed, it becomes

necessary to find an alternative to face-to-face visits.

An actual and distinctive feature of the Museum-

Reserve Kulikovo Field is the widespread use of VR

technologies. In the context of a pandemic (2020)

caused by a coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the

park administration decided to arrange free virtual

tours around the museum, using the latest equipment

for panoramic photography. This helped everyone,

being at home, to visit the temporarily closed

exhibition centers and create the illusion of a face-to-

face visit.

According to the results of a sociological survey,

it turned out that the majority of students (75.1 %) are

aware of the possibilities of virtual visits to museums,

parks and historical sites. More than half of the survey

participants (53.3 %) have not yet used virtual

museums, respondents believe that it is almost

impossible to replace face-to-face visits with virtual

ones (66.3 %).

On the official website of the Museum-Reserve

Kulikovo Field, guests have the opportunity to take a

virtual tour, get acquainted with the exhibits and learn

the history of past events. The database of free VR

excursions contains about 169 exhibits, many of

which have a guided tour. You can get acquainted

with the complex using any electronic device with

Internet access (Fig. 6 A and B).

The study showed that only 20 % of respondents

knew about the possibility of a virtual visit to the

Museum Kulikovo Field and only 6.5% used it.

Having learned about such an opportunity, 13 % of

respondents decided to visit the museum remotely,

which indicates a high potential for the development

of VR excursions and not only among young people.

The next stage of our research was the search for

up-to-date data on the attendance of the Kulikovo

Field park.

RTCOV 2021 - II International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference " COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

(RTCOV )

100

Figure 6: Virtual tour. A – screensaver. B – demonstration

of exhibition exhibits.

The study showed that only 20 % of respondents

knew about the possibility of a virtual visit to the

Museum Kulikovo Field and only 6.5% used it.

Having learned about such an opportunity, 13 % of

respondents decided to visit the museum remotely,

which indicates a high potential for the development

of VR excursions and not only among young people.

The next stage of our research was the search for

up-to-date data on the attendance of the Kulikovo

Field park.

Electronic monitoring of the facility began at the

end of 2020 and continues at the present time. We

analyzed and processed data in the form of graphs

from open electronic sources (Fig. 7). On the basis of

the received graphic materials, it is possible to

determine the dynamics of visits to the territory (time)

and approximate characteristics.

Figure 7: Schedules of attendance of the Museum-Reserve

Kulikovo Field, which are freely available

However, the system has not yet been worked out:

the information does not reflect an objective picture

in the form of numerical values and is updated

without specifying the frequency of updates and is

only informational in nature. Therefore, use of these

sources does not satisfy the task at hand.

The authors turned to the management of the

museum-reserve for help in our research work. The

administration of Kulikovo Field, which provided

internal data on the attendance of the museum-reserve

for 2020 and 2021.

Comparing the official data presented in Figure 8

with publicly available, it was concluded that open

sources differ significantly from internal ones. This

confirmed the need for material selection and careful

verification.

Figure 8: Analysis of attendance. A – December of 2020 B

– May of 2021 [from the archive of the Museum Kulikovo

Field].

Features of the Activities of Military Theme Parks in a Pandemic

101

In the period from March 30, 2020 to July 2, 2020,

face-to-face visits to the park were prohibited. With

the lifting of quarantine and a gradual return to the

usual active life, the attendance of the museum

increased sharply (Fig. 9) and already in July of 2020

the number of visitors per month exceeded the

number of tourists before the pandemic.

In the reports received, as expected, there is

seasonality in visiting the territory, which is

associated with national holidays, vacations and

weather conditions. However, despite the difficult

epidemiological situation, the figures indicate the

interest in visiting, and, therefore, the social demand

for the complex.

The lack of convenient transport accessibility

with large settlements with a developed

infrastructure, as it seemed to us, was the reason for a

decrease in interest in visiting such a remote object.

Figure 9: The total attendance of the Museum-Reserve for

2020 and 2021 [from the archive of the Museum Kulikovo

Field].

However, after working through the materials, it

became clear that the facility was functioning

successfully and the erected low-floor guest houses

were booked six months in advance.

5 CONCLUSIONS

As a result of the study, the following conclusions are

offered:

- the combined mode of activity under quarantine

conditions using the example of the military theme

park Kulikovo Field showed the possibility of

sustainable operation of the facility during a

pandemic;

- the geographical location of public areas

(remoteness from big cities), makes us look for new

forms of “self-presentation” and namely the

development of Internet and VR technologies,

including online excursions;

- use of innovative technologies makes it possible,

in a pandemic, to visit museums remotely, which

develops the tourist potential in full-time visits during

the period of lifting restrictive measures.

REFERENCES

Nelsina, O., 2017. The basic patterns of development

historical and patriotic theme parks in Russia: a

comparative analysis of activity and prospects of

development. Cultural heritage of Russia, 4. pages 86-

92.

Afonina M., Aleksashina V., Skuridin M., 2020.

Stimulating the development of public territories by

creating theme parks on the example of Khodynskoe

park at the Moscow city. Biospheric compatibility:

human, region, technologies,. №3 (31). pages 68-79.

Maksimova, T., 2013. Virtual museums vs traditional

museums: virtual exhibits advantages. Scientific-

Theoretical and Applied Journal, 3-4 (30). pages 109-

111.

Afonina M., Vetrova N., 2019. Tubing facilities in the

system of recreational urban territories. E3S Web of

Conferences. 2018 Topical Problems of Architecture,

Civil Engineering and Environmental Economics,

TPACEE 2018: 05033.

Montusiewicz, J., Miłosz, M., Kęsik, J., Kayumov, R.,

2018. Multidisciplinary technologies for creating

virtual museums – a case of archaeological museum

development. INTED2018 Proceedings. pages 326-

336.

Ivanova, Z., Afonina, M., 2016. Setting objectives and

developing planning concepts as part of the process of

design of Russian urban recreation areas (the social

aspect). Procedia Engineering. 165. pages 1402-1409.

Jianghai, Zh., 2012. Designing Virtual Museum Using

Web3D Technology, 33. pages 1596-1602.

Barbieri, L, Fabio, B, Muzzapa, M., 2017. Virtual museum

system evaluation through user studies. Journal of

Cultural Heritage, 26. pages 101-108.

Styliani, S, Fotis, L, Kostas, K, Petros, P., 2009. Virtual

museums, a survey and some issues for consideration.

Journal of Cultural Heritage, 10. pages 520-528.

RTCOV 2021 - II International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference " COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

(RTCOV )

102