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
YOGI - BEAR - POLAR CUBS MORNING BEAR-ROBICS

A young polar bear cub becomes the yogi bear as she stretches off for a morning aerobics session .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .

EYE-OPENING INSIGHT INTO KENYA’S LARGEST DUMPING GROUND

PILES of trash provide a living for thousands in Nairobi, Kenya .

GIANT CANYON SWING

FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .

SEXUALLY ABUSED AT 9 BY GRANDAD

A survivor of abuse has bravely waived her anonymity to tell how she was sexually assaulted from the age of nine - by her depraved grandad .

AMAZING THUNDERSTORM LIGHTS UP THE SARDINIAN COAST

POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .

SPRITE LIGHTNING CAPTURED IN AURORA LIGHTS

The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .

YOGA BEAR

A bear cub unwinds in a forest in eastern Finland by practicing yoga with a series of stretches .

NEW DELHI CHILD RAPE PROTESTS

NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .

SQUIRRELS SQUABBLE OVER LUNCH

SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .

“HOTDOG” EUROPES BIGGEST CHILLI DOG IS NO WIENER AT 13,000 CALORIES

A restaurant famed for creating the 3lb cheeseburger has unveiled its latest culinary challenge – the largest chilli cheese hotdog in Europe .

KRYPONITE BEACH

LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .