"So that they can walk on them": Penza's governor handed over documents of "liquidated Ukrainian servicemen" to the "SVO Museum" and demanded that they be placed on the floor.

Governor of the Penza Region Oleg Melnichenko He handed over to the museum staff two identification cards of "liquidated Bandera punitive forces," as well as "patches with Nazi symbols and a Bandera helmet." He demanded that all this "enemy ammunition" be placed on the floor, under glass, "so that every step taken over them would serve as a reminder of the strength of spirit of our people in the struggle for independence."

“These are the stripes of our enemies, these are Bandera-Nazi symbols,” He explained Melnichenko during the transfer of ammunition to the museum. So, put it on the floor, under the glass. For people to walk on. Two ID cards of liquidated Ukrainian soldiers. Well, what kind of soldiers? Not soldiers—Banderite punitive forces. I'm also giving the ID cards to the museum, for you to throw at their feet. And this Bandera helmet, put it there too, on the floor."

The Penza Region Governor also donated a Ukrainian 10th-grade school textbook on the subject "Defense of the Fatherland" to the museum.

The SVO Museum is located in the new building of the State Museum of Local History on Belinsky Street. It features over 500 exhibits, including personal belongings of soldiers, awards, weaponry, and materials about the volunteers' work.

In 1865, the same building housed the treasury chamber, where the famous satirist Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin served (he later explained that the legendary city of Foolov was based, among other things, on Penza).

Oleg Melnichenko has headed the region since 2021 and is currently running for a second term. Since June, residents have reported mass raids on men, allegedly forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and volunteer for war. Among the furnishings in the governor's office are a bust of Stalin and an NKVD officer's cap.

There are currently more than 150 "SVO museums" operating in Russia. Furthermore, according to government data, as of the end of last year, there were another 18 museums, exhibits, and spaces dedicated to the "SVO." worked in Russian educational institutions.

Also "SVO Museum" open in the DPRK - it contains urns with the ashes of almost two thousand North Korean soldiers who died in the Kursk area.