A Russian Tank ballet, choreographed by Andrei Melanyin, head of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia.

From Popular Mechanics:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/russian-tank-ballet-video

It's hard to look away when a 45-ton tank takes a 4-foot jump. And as it lands, more than 15 feet away from where it took off, you feel the force of the impact migrate through the metal bleachers into your feet, legs and gut.

I'm at a dress rehearsal at Zhukovsky test center, about 25 miles outside Moscow, for a theatrical performance called The Invincible and the Legendary, set to debut the next day at a Russian arms exposition. The dry name of the Russian expo—the Engineering Technologies International Forum 2010—belies its military focus and mass-market entertainment value. One part defense-technology trade show and one part summertime festival, the Forum's first two days are designated to showcase modern military hardware for potential foreign customers, but over the weekend the Forum becomes a patriotic pep rally. To get people's attention, the organizers at the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) need a show. Russian entertainment is not known for subtlety: Enter the T-90s, stage left.

Andrei Melanyin, seated with his legs crossed, watches the tanks practice from inside a beige tent in the bleachers. As the director of The Invincible and the Legendary, he's looking for mistakes with a practiced eye. Melanyin is the head of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia, which includes the world-famous Bolshoi Theater, and a professor at the Institute of Modern Art. "They asked me to come in and do something theatrical," he says of the government organizers of the event. "They wanted something more than just a technical demonstration." The show he produced skips like a fake gemstone across Russian history, from the violent founding of the nation out of the Kiev city-state in the 12th century to demonstrations of hand-to-hand combat, set to the music of Ravel's Bolero, by modern paratroopers. The program also includes a reenactment of a raid on a terrorist camp by attack helicopters, a display by combat dogs and a parade of heavy vehicles running obstacles. And the tanks—not just jumping ramps, but choreographed in a synchronized dance routine.

"I have rehearsed a lot with the tanks, but I had never sat inside one until this morning," Melanyin says, standing in the empty stands under the cool shadow of a flapping Russian flag. "If I had, I would not have asked the drivers for so much." Indeed, it's hard not to feel bad for the crews inside given the cramped interiors and padded cloth helmets endured by the tank crews.

The military technology festival comes at a pivotal time in Russia's history. After a long, painful slide, the government has nationalized the defense industry, reformed the military leadership structure and has set its sights—and oil revenues—on rearmament. Until recently, new materials were sold to other nations before they were delivered to the military. Now, military purchases for the domestic services have restarted. The need to sell weapons, which served as an economic foundation during the depression that swept Russia after the fall of communism, is being eclipsed by more domestic ambitions. Russia is rearming with modern weapons, but to do so means buying from abroad. For example, Russian tanks are nearly legendary, but their sensors are outdated and their armor is substandard. The government recently announced that it was considering purchasing kits from Germany to modernize its fleet and is buying Italian armored vehicles outright. This is a blow to Russian pride, given the country's proud history of weapon design.

Still, Russia is very much interested in selling its wares. Delegations from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and India, among other nations, were on hand at the forum, seen wandering the expo and chatting with marketing spokesmen and booth bunnies at the displays. (Most interestingly, a handful of staff from an Iranian university were asking questions, in English, of the makers of sophisticated antiaircraft missiles.) Russia exported $5.3 billion worth of weapons-related production in the first six months of 2010 alone, according to an announcement made at the forum by the head of the FSMTC.

The show opens the next day. Stuntmen run around wielding flaming clubs, large squibs simulate cannonball impacts, paratroopers break bricks and tanks dance in their odd, clumsy way, waving their turrets in a coordinated, bizarre display. The 2-hour show ends with a curtain-call parade of the heavy vehicles, rolling past the stands while the Russian anthem plays and the crowd stands to cheer. It is all very inspiring and interesting, but I never feel the patriotism displayed by those in the stands. I just feel left out.