KGB Espionage Museum


The KGB Espionage Museum was a museum dedicated to the unbiased presentation of historical and contemporary KGB espionage equipment and tradecraft. The museum opened in the Chelsea and Greenwich Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City on January 17, 2019, and featured the world's largest collection of KGB-specific spy equipment. The museum offered interactive exhibits and guided tours. The museum closed in fall 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 and its contents were auctioned.

History and formation

The museum in Manhattan was founded in 2019 by Lithuanian father and daughter team Julius Urbaitis and Agne Urbaityte. The collection began under private ownership by Mr. Urbaitis in Lithuania where their first museum opened in an old KGB bunker. The majority of the collection was brought to the United States and was available for public view for the first time.

Permanent collection

The KGB Espionage Museum was 4,000 sq. feet and exhibited over 3900 objects. The collection consists of original pieces and two replicas. Prize objects include a lipstick gun known as the "Kiss of Death", a Fialka Machine, and a suicide tooth filled with poison.

Exhibitions

The museum divided their collection into the following rough categories:

Interactive exhibits

The KGB Espionage Museum offered several areas of interactivity for visitors such as:

Tours