From Russia With Love
I‘ve always been fascinated by Russia. The nation has a remarkable history. Some of the greatest thinkers, writers and scientists hail from Russia, but some of the worst men imaginable have been born of Russia as well. It is a country of extremes; loved by its own people and perhaps not always well understood by foreigners. Back in the days when people were actively prevented from leaving Russia the KGB had a peculiar way of finding out which travelers planned on permanently fleeing the country. The ones who planned not to return would usually have a small container of Russian soil hidden carefully in their belongings. So great is the love of Russians for their country that even upon fleeing a repressive dictatorship the desire to take a small piece of the country with them still loomed large. Anyway, enough of the nostalgia. Russia today is still full of entertaining idiosyncracies. Behold:
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Techno and rock music blared away as the bare-chested Russian policeman lay on his back on a pile of broken glass and nails. A colleague dropped three daggers, point down, on his stomach and trampled on his chest. Russia’s special police, the OMON, were showing what they are made of.
“This is a warning,” said an OMON colonel who called himself Vladimir Antonovich as he watched three policemen smash flaming bricks with their bare fists.
“We want to show off what we can do.”
Apparently Russian police were accused of using “excessive force” recently to break up a riot, so they’ve shifted gears and have focused on preemptive intimidation…
In the sprawling, wooded base, a 1-1/2 hour drive from central Moscow the police reveled in showing their muscle.
Unarmed police karate-kicked and punched “criminals” armed with knives, pistols and machineguns.
They broke planks of wood over each others’ backs, smashed glass jars filled with water with their bare hands, fired magazines of ammunition into the air and demonstrated various ways to break an aggressor’s legs, arms and neck.
I’m sure Tolstoy would be proud.