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
BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN: Leighton Brownrigg, 2 .
ON A WINGSUIT AND A PRAYER - FASTEST FLYING WOMAN IN THE WORLD
SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .
BRITAIN'S LOST MILITARY HOSPITAL
WELCOME to all that remains of Britain's once state-of-the-art military hospital where plastic surgery was pioneered for injured WW1 troops who survived the SOMME .
PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM
A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .
A POOL WITH A VIEW
The view from this rooftop pool is sure to make most holidaymakers envious .
SINGING STOAT
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
PEE-TRIFIED: WOMAN HAS IRRATIONAL FEAR OF TOILETS
A woman with an irrational fear of toilets goes POTTY on the loo and runs away when she flushes, terrified it will swallow her up .
BRANDED BY VICIOUS BOYFRIEND'S SOVEREIGN RING
A deranged dad beat his girlfriend so savagely in a vicious 30 minute attack that the indent of his sovereign ring was left on her face .
VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
CALIFORNIAN GHOST TOWN OF BODIE HILLS FROZEN IN TIME
An intrepid photographer travelled to the abandoned ghost town of Bodie in northern California to capture the historic buildings that are trapped in time .
HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
I’M NOT DRUNK, I'M A REAL LIFE SLEEPING BEAUTY!
Several times a year, Gemma, 21, can be found mumbling her words and struggling to concentrate as she walks around in a dream-like state .