This journey will give you the chance to leave the city behind and find out a bit more about Russia's military history, especially the World War II period. We're going to a village with a typical Soviet era name, Lenino, where a grandiose war memorial was erected in honor of the Soviet Army's immortal exploits, fending off the Nazis outside Moscow in 1941. To get there, you can take a regular bus from Tushinskaya metro station to Lenino station. Alternatively take a local train, or electrichka, from the Rizhsky Railway Terminus to Snegiri station. The museum is a 10-minute walk from the station, the Trains are quicker and more frequent.

A memorial cemetery stands at the western outskirts of the village — the first part of the Military Historical Memorial Complex. Twice a year, the cemetery hosts ceremonies, burying the remains of Russian soldiers and officers found by enthusiasts across the vast fields of the Moscow region, site of severe fighting during the war.

The most interesting site is the Military Historical Memorial Complex, which includes the Lenino-Snegiri Museum of Military History in Lenino. For inquiries, call (09631) 6-6284. The museum is open daily, except Monday and the last Wednesday of every month, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry is 7 rubles and free for soldiers, NCOs of the Russian Armed Forces, disabled people, World War II veterans and orphans.

A T-34 tank stands at the roadside at the 42nd kilometer of the Volokolamskoye Highway. The tank's pedestal is inscribed: "It was here that the glorious warriors of the 16th Army stopped the enemy in the perilous days of the fall of 1941. From here on December 6, 1941, the Soviet Army's offensive began, leading to the defeat of the Nazi invaders."

In a small pine grove, some 100 meters from the tank memorial, there is a long building – once a school, which the Nazis made into their stronghold during the battles of 1941. On May 9, 1967, the building was made into a museum of battle glory displaying over 10,000 items, including books, documents, a big collection of orders and medals, trophies of war and personal effects of soldiers and officers: everything from guns to a soldier's spoon.

There are two unique outdoor exhibitions, at Tank Square and Artillery Square, displaying dozens of items of military equipment, both Soviet and German, mainly tanks and self-propelled artillery. The museum boasts that it has an unrivalled display of military hardware, and some of the exhibits actually helped forge history having been used during the war.

The pride of Tank Square is the German Tiger tank. There are only four of these tanks remaining in the world – one in Great Britain, one in Germany and two in Russia. Other exhibits include two Sherman tanks received from the United States during the war under a lend-lease agreement.

Some of the most spectacular Soviet items are a T-26 tank found near Novgorod, where the 2nd Red Army Division fought; and self-propelled artillery including the famous Katyusha rocket launchers.