it's an animation of the Tsar hydrogen bomb, here's the real deal:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=FfoQsZa8F1c

>> ^CaBhaal:
The music is from the 1981 film "Excalibur".


Actually, it is from Wagner's Gotterdammerung. It was "used" in Excalibur, but I would hardly call it that movie's music.

Stay in school kids!

I agree that breaking free of a political tradition is hard for a nation that has been under state control since the Tsar times, the problem is that Putin has all but assured that tradition will only continue for the next 10 to 15 years (though probably even longer).

Today Russia is doing well with regards to recovering from the turmoil of the early 90s, but what will happen tomorrow when economic shocks occur when the food prices rise (currently placed on hold via political pressure from the Kremlin), the oil and gas prices fall or any other shock to the system? Will Putin and his FSB cronies simply stand aside in view of public disapproval or clamp down hard on political dissenters?

I agree that what Putin is doing is insidious and that he has taken full advantage of the circumstances, but to be honest I'm not sure the democratic process that we recognise in the west will become institutionalised in Russia for a long time.

I'm generalising, but Russia has always done things her way and in nearly all cases that has meant the state is the power and the people are the tools. I just think that it would be very hard for any population to completely break from that political tradition in a short space of time. I was tempted to say that the Russian people have been under one form of authoritarian regime or another since the first Tsar.

I watch Russian television on regular basis and keep informed via their press, over the last few years you saw a systematic propaganda movement to convince the Russian population of the same things that are hit within this documentary, that service in Russia is to "Land, Church and Tsar" or specifically the former KGB cronies who now occupy all government posts headed by Putin within the Kremlin. The stability most people talk about is not stability, its fear and respect to the old ways of Russian control much the same way that has been ingrained in the population over 100 years of centralized soviet communist and previous to that Tsar rule.

There is no tradition of peaceful power passage within the Russian government, because for Russians the modus operandi has been either revolt or submission. But its very simplistic to assume that it's what Russian want or understand much in the same way it was simplistic for the Neo-cons to assume that Arabs only understand brute force.

They have not been informed or given the opportunity to see that there are other choices beyond Putin or even Yeltsin, who after a disastrous first term was elected for a second term. The press apparatus was ineffective in informing the citizens that there was another choice, and now has been wholly seized by the state, thus you see the development of anti-western rhetoric that even Legacy employs, that Kasparov and other democratic parties are 'super-western'. It's merely a revival of the age old Soviet stance of 'enemies aboard', 'western intervention' and so on, but merely is a guise for assumption of totalitarian power, much in the same way 'war on terror' and fear mongering tactics were used by the White house to justify intervention into Iraq and the dismantling of key civil liberties.

When Yeltsin assumed power it was recommended to him that he disband the KGB and former secret service apparatus, but he did not take these steps, and over the years the KGB reformed as the FSB encroached on more positions of power and control within the government. Year on year the number of high positions held by former members of the KGB/FSB increased, far in excess of even the times of Gorbachev and the USSR.

Electroal laws have been changed to create a perpetual one party state under "United Russia" - from Putin machine squeezes opponents

* Increasing the minimum percentage of votes required for a party to enter parliament from 5% to 7% and banning parties from forming coalitions in order to break through the higher threshold

* Increasing the minimum number of members a party must have in order to be officially registered by the authorities, from 10,000 to 50,000

* Banning independent candidates from running for parliament.

Russians know this and voice their views, the economic success that so many people tout as being Putins are not his really, it was merely the time when benefits of centralized market systems moving into free market reforms completed laid in by Yeltsin, and of course the benefit of high oil prices and gas prices. All development has been concentrated in Moscow, travel to the rural areas and you instantly start to wonder what had changed from 1991 other then the abundance of mobile phones.

History shows that for totalitarian rulers to come into power require the convergence of time and opportunity, and this is Putin's time, over the last 6 years he has successfully dismantled any way of opposing him, and centralized power under himself, the election that is taking place is already called he will become prime minister, the population lulled while the engine of economy purrs well seemingly, but once the oil boom stops, food prices locks are removed and the population will start to revolt against their leader, there is no doubt in my mind that Putin will use whatever means necessary to suppress the population citing western intervention, orange revolution and using the secret police that even now are breaking up opposition demonstrations.

The title is the title. I'm not changing it. If people need the word "Putin" in the title before they click, they can fuck off.

I think the main reason why people don't upvote is that it's long and it requires brainpower to appreciate. Simple as that. The Sift has a bias towards short comedy instead.

Yes i am becoming a videosift snob, i am pretty sick of finding gems that don't sift because of length and complexity.

dag doesn't seem interested in doing anything about it, on the basis that it would be unfair to lolcats.

Oh well.


In reply to this comment by Farhad2000:
Keep requeue it till it makes it! I suggest changing the title a little bit to fit the video more, I think alot of people are missing the actual point of the video via the name. Maybe something like "Democracy in Russia - Tsar, Faith and Putin" - that other title for it.

Very good sift, I wonder if there are more Why Demcoracy series up on Google Video

In reply to this comment by MINK:
*requeue
there's nothing else like this on the Sift.

Keep requeue it till it makes it! I suggest changing the title a little bit to fit the video more, I think alot of people are missing the actual point of the video via the name. Maybe something like "Democracy in Russia - Tsar, Faith and Putin" - that other title for it.

Very good sift, I wonder if there are more Why Demcoracy series up on Google Video

In reply to this comment by MINK:
*requeue
there's nothing else like this on the Sift.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'nuke, nuclear, bomb, tsar, discovery' to 'nuke, nuclear, bomb, tsar, discovery, tu 95, bear, bomber' - edited by calvados

When interviewed, Jar Jar said "Meesa thinks Tsar Bomba makesa big boomski!"

Here is the Wikipedia entry and more footage.

dupe innit? (haven't actually watched this one but there are 2 other tsar bomba clips on the Sift, see related videos below)