Moscow looks to boost support for Syria campaign with traveling exhibit
As the Russian public's enthusiasm for the Syria campaign wanes, Moscow has sought to rally support for its Syria successes by hosting a traveling exhibit of war spoils.
MOSCOW — The Russian Defense Ministry has launched its latest public relations campaign: a traveling exhibit of weaponry and equipment captured in Syria from opposition militants and terrorist groups.
On Feb. 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day, the military equipment was loaded onto a train that also doubles as a museum exhibit, titled “Syria’s turning point.” It was first displayed at Moscow's Kazansky railway terminal. The train will travel to about a dozen other cities, from Sevastopol in Crimea all the way to Vladivostok in the far east, covering more than 17,000 miles. The mobile exhibit will run until April 17, when Syria celebrates its independence day. The schedule and route of the train can be traced online.
Maj. Gen. Alexander Yaroshevich, the Defense Ministry's chief transport official, said the display aims “to offer a sense of what the army encounters in Syria,” according to Haaretz.
Soldiers and military officials who accompany the train will recount to visitors stories of how the equipment was seized.
