Now, looking at the title of this post, one might ask, why on earth would two such drastically different museums be clumped together in one post?
The answer, of course, is that Princess and I visited these museums the same day. And lord almighty, was THAT a paranoia inducing experience.
The first museum we saw was the Museum of the Secret Police. I have no pictures, nor would they be strictly-speaking necessary; the museum set-up itself wasn't very impressive. What made this museum unique, however, is that they give a very realistic impersonation of how it would feel to be hunted down by the Russian secret police.
And no, they didn't do this on purpose.
The security in this museum was absolutely ridiculous-- it overshadowed the entire experience. Putting it mildly, the tour guide wasn't there to explain things to us-- she was there to make sure we didn't accidentally trip any of the security measures. You would see something fascinating-- a hand grenade used by secret agents; the old-fashioned uniform; a cool, high-tech watch like in the James Bond films, except something that was actually used by agents-- and if you were to lean forward, even, to get a better look, the tour guide would rush over and urge, "Back away! You almost tripped the sensors!" One time, I was four inches away from the display case, but I was wearing my jacket open and the button brushed against the case; the lady acted as if the world was about to end.
The best moment of all in the museum was when Princess and I entered the room housing a replica of the Secret Police's quarters during their foundation; before we even walked in, the tour guide quickly jumped over and explained, "Be careful-- if you lean against any part of this wall, you'll trip the sensors." Princess and I seriously wondered if leaning against the wall would cause the entire building to explode in self-defense; and especially after we heard the tour guide talking about acts done by the Secret Police in response to their American counterparts, we decided it would probably be best if we fled. Which we promptly did.
Take that, and compare it to the Popov Museum of Communications: open, kid-friendly, interactive. Sure, we got glared at and even yelled at for having forgotten to take off our coats; but the exhibits were really cool, they had a great layout, great examples, and the entire experience was fun.
So, for the first time ever, I do NOT recommend a museum (the Museum of the Secret Police), though I do highly recommend the Museum of Communications. I'm a person who normally doesn't have the attention span for museums such as this; so if I found it interesting, if you're a person actually INTERESTED in communications, it should be like paradise.
The answer, of course, is that Princess and I visited these museums the same day. And lord almighty, was THAT a paranoia inducing experience.
The first museum we saw was the Museum of the Secret Police. I have no pictures, nor would they be strictly-speaking necessary; the museum set-up itself wasn't very impressive. What made this museum unique, however, is that they give a very realistic impersonation of how it would feel to be hunted down by the Russian secret police.
And no, they didn't do this on purpose.
The security in this museum was absolutely ridiculous-- it overshadowed the entire experience. Putting it mildly, the tour guide wasn't there to explain things to us-- she was there to make sure we didn't accidentally trip any of the security measures. You would see something fascinating-- a hand grenade used by secret agents; the old-fashioned uniform; a cool, high-tech watch like in the James Bond films, except something that was actually used by agents-- and if you were to lean forward, even, to get a better look, the tour guide would rush over and urge, "Back away! You almost tripped the sensors!" One time, I was four inches away from the display case, but I was wearing my jacket open and the button brushed against the case; the lady acted as if the world was about to end.
The best moment of all in the museum was when Princess and I entered the room housing a replica of the Secret Police's quarters during their foundation; before we even walked in, the tour guide quickly jumped over and explained, "Be careful-- if you lean against any part of this wall, you'll trip the sensors." Princess and I seriously wondered if leaning against the wall would cause the entire building to explode in self-defense; and especially after we heard the tour guide talking about acts done by the Secret Police in response to their American counterparts, we decided it would probably be best if we fled. Which we promptly did.
Take that, and compare it to the Popov Museum of Communications: open, kid-friendly, interactive. Sure, we got glared at and even yelled at for having forgotten to take off our coats; but the exhibits were really cool, they had a great layout, great examples, and the entire experience was fun.
So, for the first time ever, I do NOT recommend a museum (the Museum of the Secret Police), though I do highly recommend the Museum of Communications. I'm a person who normally doesn't have the attention span for museums such as this; so if I found it interesting, if you're a person actually INTERESTED in communications, it should be like paradise.
scary museum
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