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
FIRST SHOES, FIRST STEPS FOR MENINGITIS TOT
Oday she is a picture of health - a happy, smiling child, enjoying life to the full .
ARTIST NAILS IT- BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS CREATED FROM NAILS
An artist has NAILED IT by creating beautiful and perfectly precise artwork using a hammer and 30,000 nails .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
LOVERAT BF HAD SEX IN PUBLIC WITH WOMAN HE’D MET AT GYM AND I FOUND OUT AFTER STRANGERS SENT ME VIDEOS
Katie Thompson, 22, met Joe Firby, now 23, in April 2020 on Tinder .
MY 20 YEAR SECRET - IT'S NOT ALOPECIA OR CANCER, I HAVE TRICHOTILLOMANIA
A mum who has hid behind the hair loss condition alopecia for the last 20 years has bravely revealed a secret compulsion to tear out her own hair that has tormented her since she was a child .
LEAPING WOOD MOUSE
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
THE UNDERWATER WONDERLAND
SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .
LIFE ON THE LINE: SLUM LIES NEXT TO ACTIVE RAILWAY
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .
SEAL GETS READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
BUG LOOKS JUST LIKE SATAN
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
ROMANIAN CELEBRATES NEW JOB AS KNIFE THROWER'S ASSISTANT
A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .