Inside Russia's 'military Disneyland,' a Manhattan-sized theme park that puts the country's deadly weaponry on display

<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Visitors climb atop Russian tanks and military vehicles on display at Patriot Park.Nikita Shvetsov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The head of a Russian military theme park was arrested on fraud charges amid a corruption crackdown.</li><li>Vyacheslav Akhmedov was accused of embezzling government funds set aside for Patriot Park.</li></ul><p>The head of a Russian theme park dubbed a "<a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weird-amusement-park-attractions-2013-8">military Disneyland</a>" was placed under house arrest Tuesday amid a <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-arrested-5-mod-officials-many-yet-to-come-2024-5">crackdown on corruption</a> in Moscow's defense ministry.</p><p>Patriot Park director Vyacheslav Akhmedov and top defense official Vladimir Shesterov were arrested last month on <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ex-fm-kozyrev-miitary-failing-budget-spent-yachts-2022-3">fraud charges</a> related to the park, Russia's top criminal investigation agency announced.</p><p>Former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was later detained on similar charges as a corruption probe of the country's defense ministry continues.</p><p>Akhmedov and Shesterov were accused of embezzling government funds allocated for the exhibition park. Popov was accused of using his position as deputy defense minister to coerce park contractors to do unpaid construction at his personal residence in Moscow.</p><p>The latest arrest renews attention on the government-funded military attraction, where visitors have been seen climbing atop tanks and armored vehicles, taking selfies with captured Ukrainian weapons, and posing for photos with costumed theme park mascots.</p>