PUTIN'S TINY ARMY
Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms. Military sports club, ‘Berkut’, (meaning golden eagle), trains up tiny Vlads and Boris’, who dream of joining the elite units of the Russian army and fighting under the command of President Vladimir Putin. Pictured on their website brandishing a hand gun, is a young boy, dressed in military fatigues with his finger over the trigger. Children as young a five are sent on forced marches, given battlefield training, taught hand to hand combat, and how to use military equipment. 12 year olds are also taught to fire Kalashnikov assault rifles and other small arms. During the clubs regular camps some children are given the opportunity to parachute jump during their paratrooper training. The club based in Zhukovsky, Russia, claims to provide military training designed to develop the younger generation of the “motherland” - a term synonymous with the former Soviet Union and the communist rule of the last century.
Other great stories
THANKSGIVING DINNER PREPARED BY ARTISTS
An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .
RAINBOW CAVES
WELCOME to the 750-foot deep rainbow cave that leaves visitors bewildered by its multi-coloured mood lighting .
DARK DISNEY
THESE are the Disney Princesses you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley .
AMAZING 3D DRAWINGS
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
WOMAN TOLD BY EMIRATES STAFF SHE’D BE ‘BANGED UP ABROAD’ OVER DIAZEPAM
A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .
MENINGITIS TOT TAKES FIRST STEPS ON NEW LEGS
A little girl who lost all four limbs to meningitis has taken her first steps since the illness thanks to her new 'Princess legs' .
FORGETFUL PARENT’S LIVING TIMEKEEPER
FOR TWO memory-impaired parents their new-born baby Cian is a living timekeeper .
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
ADORABLE NEWBORN SEALS PLAY IN SNOW
WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .
BODYBUILDER SQUIRREL
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
IN FLIGHT MEAL
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
GIRL NICKNAMED JAWS BITES BACK AFTER SURGERY
A GIRL nicknamed JAWS by bullies who taunted her because of her underbite is em-bracing her new post-surgery life .