October 30, 2020

Don't Drive Tanked


Don't Drive Tanked
Vroom, vroom. Vitaly V. Kuzmin, Wikimedia Commons

A pair of Russian soldiers were detained in Volgograd following an incident that, as is wont to happen these days, has made them internet celebrities overnight.

A 29-year-old corporal, operating a BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle, lost control at 55 mph and plowed into a perimeter wall at Volgograd's international airport. Operations at the airport reportedly continued unaffected, and the vehicle itself, which weighs over twenty heavily-armored tons, sustained little damage.

Those at the scene, as well as a growing internet audience, were quick to pin the accident on prodigious consumption of alcohol. Video of the incident is, if nothing else, impressive, as the vehicle plows through a concrete barrier with ease.

Russia's defense ministry has not confirmed local (and internet) rumors that the driver was intoxicated, but that's never stopped the internet before, has it?

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Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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