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
PLAYFUL OWL PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
WORLD’S ONLY ONE ARMED PRO-DJ
DANCE guru Matt Howes leaves crowds in a spin when he gets behind the decks - as the world's only one-armed professional DJ .
ADORABLE POLAR BEAR CUBS PLAY-FIGHT IN THE SNOW
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
REAL LIFE VICTORIAN
A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home .
MY CONTRACTIONS LASTED TWO MONTHS
AN expectant mum suffered crippling contractions lasting a gruelling two months, due to complications from a rare condition .
ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
FACES OF ORPHAN VICTIMS OF AGENT ORANGE
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
WIDOW AWARDED £300K AFTER EX CONNED HER OUT OF THOUSANDS
A widow whose love rat ex-boyfriend left her homeless has had the last laugh after a judge ordered her ex to pay back £300,000 .
RING OF FIRE ECLIPSE IN OZ
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE
A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .
DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .