September 03, 2021

Grace, Poise, and Firepower


Grace, Poise, and Firepower
All that's missing are bears and vodka and you have the greatest Russian stereotype we've ever encountered. Youtube, Виктор Коняев

 

Each year, Russia's tank biathlon draws tank drivers from throughout Eastern Europe, the former Soviet states, and the wider world to compete in driving and shooting competitions. Spectators this year, however, were treated to high culture alongside forty-ton killing machines.

The Belarusan team (from Russia's mustache-sporting-dictator-ruled westerly ally) produced a team of ballet dancers for the second day of festivities, who performed a section from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake on the rear of two T-72 tanks.

The dancers were from the Imperial Russian Ballet, and, frankly, their adeptness at navigating the turret and top of the tank was rather impressive.

The video shows both tanks and APCs driving synchronized into a muddy area. Then, the dancers emerge from the tank's hatch: young men in tanker's coveralls, and women in white tutus. They then dance gracefully, no doubt avoiding falling into what appears to be very wet, brown muck. At the same time, other tanks drive in formation along to the music.

At the end, they slink back into the tank's hatch, the ballerinas holding flowers to congratulate them on a successful show. In true Tchaikovsky fashion, the display closes with the firing of a self-propelled artillery piece.

Oh, Russia. Never, ever change.

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955