Kremlin Opens 'Heroes of the Special Operation' Museum Wing Dedicated Entirely to Foreign Volunteers' Mothers

The Kremlin has inaugurated the «Heroes of the Special Operation» museum wing, a permanent exhibition dedicated exclusively to the mothers of foreign volunteers who died fighting for Russia in Ukraine, complete with a 24-hour hotline and mandatory weekly visits for the honorees.

The wing, located in a former munitions depot outside Moscow, features life-size wax figures of each mother in their native dress, a diorama of a British living room with a kettle perpetually boiling, and an interactive exhibit where visitors can press a button to hear a recorded sigh. «These women gave us their sons, and we will give them our undying gratitude,» said Kremlin cultural attaché Dmitri Volkov at the ribbon-cutting, «and also this schedule of required appearances.»

The first inductee is the mother of the first Briton to die fighting for Putin, who was told by her son he was going to Romania. She now receives a monthly stipend of 30,000 rubles, a lifetime pass to the museum's gift shop, and a personal Kremlin handler who calls her every morning at 6 a.m. to confirm she has not forgotten her son's sacrifice. «The calls are a comfort,» she told state media, «though I do wish they would stop asking me to rate my grief on a scale of one to ten.»

Next week, the museum will add a new wing for fathers, featuring a hall of mirrors where visitors can watch themselves age in real time. The Kremlin has also announced plans to extend the program to all foreign volunteers, with a target of 500 mothers by year's end, each required to attend a monthly «gratitude seminar» where they will be taught to properly thank the Russian state for the opportunity.

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