Prosecution Blames Museum Head for Teen's Death in NATO Tank

The prosecutor«s office in Yakutia has issued a notice to the director of the »Russia Is My History« museum complex regarding an accident in which a schoolboy climbed into an exhibition NATO tank and died. This was reported by the prosecutor»s office press service on February 2.

The incident occurred on January 20, when two ninth-grade students came to the museum grounds to view military equipment. They climbed into the compartment of the exhibition tank through an emergency exit hatch in the hull«s bottom, where one of the teenagers was crushed by a moving part. The boy died from his injuries.

«This was made possible due to the unfastened emergency exit hatch, open access to the equipment, lack of special fencing, and failure to ensure proper control over the exhibit,» the department«s statement said.

The prosecutor«s office has submitted the notice to the museum director, which is currently under consideration. In addition, warnings have been issued to the director of the Yakutsk Cadet Boarding School and the director of the Parks and Public Spaces Directorate, as the military equipment exhibits are on their managed territories. The exhibition of NATO military trophies opened on the museum grounds in November 2025 for the Day of National Unity and the anti-fascist forum »The People and the Army Are One — 2025«.

An investigation is currently underway into a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 109 of the Russian Criminal Code, «Causing Death by Negligence.»

As told by 14.RU, the sister of the deceased boy said he was 16 years old and studied at School No. 2. This year, he was supposed to take exams and enter the Yakutsk Cadet School; the boy dreamed of becoming a soldier and serving in the special military operation.