M. Krasinets Open-air Automobile Museum

In the village of Chernousovo in the Tula region, the Mikhail Krasinets Museum is located in an open-air field. The exhibition includes Soviet-era cars and trucks untouched by restoration. In total, there are more than 300 copies in various states. Some of the cars were the heroes of films, participated in exhibitions and rallies of rare cars. Mikhail Krasinets died at the age of 63 from the effects of the coronavirus, and along with his death, the Museum of automotive technology began to rapidly decline. People have different opinions about this: some believe that the collection is rusty junk, while others consider it to be a valuable historical exhibit.

How it all started

Mikhail's life has been connected with cars since the age of three. When he was a kid, his father took him to an automobile exhibition in Sokolniki. Krasinets's later life became connected with cars: he entered a road college, was a driver in the army, worked as a test pilot, and participated in track races. At this time, he had the idea to collect the entire collection of "Muscovites".

The museum's history began in 1991, when Mikhail retired from big-time sports and became involved in collecting. There were a lot of cars — they occupied one of the Moscow streets. Residents of nearby houses did not like this neighborhood, which caused them to damage cars: robbed, smashed, set on fire. On election day, the authorities sent half of the collection to the landfill. This was a turning point: Mikhail and his wife sold their apartment in Moscow, bought several more rare cars and left for the village of Chernousovo.

Continuation of the history of the Automobile Museum

Mikhail bought almost all the exhibits for 150-200 dollars. He was looking for rare or expired cars, negotiated with their owners. He drove the cars under his own power or on a rigid coupling — it all depended on the technical condition of the vehicles. So over time, the fleet of 30 cars exceeded three hundred.

They are standing in the open air next to the house in the field. The collection contains almost all the cars produced at the famous AZLK. There are rows of "Zaporozhets", "Volga", "Winter", "Victory". Police—themed cars with a "red stripe" lined up in a separate line. Heavy machinery is located along the edge. On the high bank of the Ugot River there are special specimens: the firstborn of the Moskvich collection, a 1964 Mercedes for $1,500, and Mikhail's wife's favorite car , the Chaika.

There are many mass-produced copies in the auto museum, but there are also unique models, for example, the experienced Moskvich 3-5-5. Mikhail bought it from the museum at the automobile plant. Another interesting exhibit is the bodywork of a Moskvich-415 jeep. It was a military order that never went into production. Among the rare models are the Pobeda GAZ—72, the Moskvich station wagon M-411 and the M-410N sedan with a 4x4 wheel formula.

Plans that never came true

Mikhail Krasinets had a lot of ideas: he wanted to create a hangar with a workshop and a body painting chamber, where he planned to restore cars that had faded over time. He also wanted to pave the way to make a convenient entrance to the museum, and protect all the equipment with the help of an indoor complex. However, no work has been completed due to lack of funding. The museum does not make much profit: the entire income is the salary of the caretaker (no more than 5,000 rubles) and donations from visitors.

Krasinets died in August 2021. The exhibits of the automobile museum were left to rust in the open air. Many people condemn the collector and believe that he did not create a museum, but a cemetery of old equipment, which turns into junk every year. However, even during his lifetime, Mikhail said that the car cemetery was in people's heads. He also saved unique cars from the press and helped preserve a piece of history.

13 years ago, Mikhail was asked what would become of the collection after his death. He replied: "The museum will remain in place, it has no right to close, ban or cancel. Cars will not be touched: none will be released either to the right or to the left. The collection will not be lost, it will be developed by those who inherit it." However, for now, the M. Krasinets museum is gradually dying: rare cars are rusting, hundreds of silhouettes of old cars are turning into a pile of scrap metal, overgrown with grass. No wonder, because it takes a lot of time and effort to keep track of a huge collection, which no one wants to invest.

The museum is open in 2024. You can come here to admire rare cars, their unique styles and take original photos.

Note to tourists. You can get to the museum by following the M2 highway (Simferopol highway) to the town of Cherny, then turn onto Efremov and navigate to the coordinates N 53 23,897. E 036 55,357. It is better to drive in dry weather, only a four—wheel drive car will pass here in the rain.