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Friday, November 28, 2008

The Best of Russia (Series)


DRB Popular Series
link


More than meets the eye, tovarisch

Answering numerous requests from our readers, we came up with the specific sub-category (part of our "Travel" section) that shows the wonders and idiosyncrasies (and sometimes "idiosyn-craziness") of what's going on in Russia, including its haunting history, rich culture and fascinating technology.



This page will be constantly updated (just like our Best of Japan page), as we add the material, so bookmark it, or mark its location on our homepage (inside "Features") and come back often. Let's start with unique science/technology originating from Russia:

Technology (incl. military, vintage & futuristic)
(in Soviet Russia, technology re-invents you)

Rare Photos of the Russian "Buran" Space Program

The Largest and Most Expensive in Soviet Space Exploration History
Ekranoplans Showcase

Airplane or Hovercraft?
Unique Soviet Snowmobiles

Weird, giant, fantastic machines
Russian Ballistic Missile Carriers

The Big, the Bad and the Ugly
Soviet Army Super Vehicles

Ballistic rocket carriers (part 2), and more

Presidential Planes, Parts 1-2

Including: Putin's presidential plane
Russian Nuclear Icebreakers:
To the North Pole!


Odyssey in the Arctic with Russian Icebreaker Fleet
Amazing Submarine Concepts

Including many from Russia
Flying Submarines!

Soviet-era "Sky Captain" dreams
Steampunk'd Airplane

Ukrainian Flying Contraption
Power Enforcers:
Anti-Riot Police Vehicles


Incl. powerful Russian police machines

Architecture: Past & Future
(surprisingly unorthodox)

Communist Gothic:
Architecture by Yakov Chernikhov


Soaring Palaces of Communism in Gothic Style
Amazing UFO-shaped Complex to be Built in Moscow

Alien encounter of an architectural kind
Most Elegant Proposed Skyscrapers

incl. new concepts from Russia

Abandoned Sites (scientific, military and civilian)
(favorite urban exploring haunts)

Extreme Exploration:
Russian Nuclear Research Facilities


Some of it's abandoned, some still in use
The Biochemical "Oops" List

Incl. abandoned Russian bio-laboratory
Nightmare Playgrounds

(Mostly abandoned) disturbing sculptures for kids
Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 2

Manic-Depressive Creativity
Abandoned Castles of Russian Countryside

Most improbable, haunted locations
Creepy High Voltage Installations

Close Encounters of the "Tesla" Kind
Abandoned Ionospheric Research Station

Rusting Giant Antennas in the Middle of Ukrainian Forest
Abandoned Tunnels &
Vast Underground Spaces


incl. abandoned Soviet submarine base
Fear & Loathing inside
Abandoned Stalin's Mines


Fire & Ice Underground
The Rusting Monsters of Lopatino's Mines

More skeletons in Russia's haunted countryside
Ballistic News

incl. abandoned Soviet nuclear missile base

Retro-future and Russian fantastic illustration
(a big part of this series consists of the Soviet-era futurism graphics)

Soviet Futuristic Illustration:
Oodles of Optimism


Black-and-white rare series of images
Retro-Future: To the Stars!

Part 1: rare vintage space graphics
Retro-Future: Glorious Urbanism

Part 2: When living in mega-cities was considered a privilege
Retro-Future:
Mind-boggling Transportation


Not your average Jetsons flying car
Moscow: Futuristic Concepts from 1900 (!)

If not for the October Revolution...

Travel in and around Russia
(so much land, it truly has everything)


Top 5 Most Dangerous Roads in the World

incl. unbelievable road to Yakutsk
Siberian No-Road Adventures

The concept of "road" does not seem to apply in Siberia
"One Day in the Life of a Russian Motorist"

Collection of funny pictures

Stunning In-flight Photography

"Letchik Lekha" is a Russian commercial pilot who also happens to be an avid photographer.
Kamchatka - The Magnificent Russian Far East

Wilderness without bounds
Miniature Crimean Castle

"Swallow's Nest": Little-known Romantic Destination
Moscow Metro People-Watching

Some faces funny, some just tired...

History: Turbulence and Meditation
(epic history for an epic land)

Stalin's Personal Possessions

Surprisingly sentimental things
Cold War: Gas Mask Fashions

incl. Soviet civil defense training
Retro Technology: Cold War Phones
Plus Dialup Computer Mods
Faces of Putin
Agent Smith or a Russian King?

Arts & Culture
(rich tapestry of expression)

Russian Imperial Faberge Eggs

Nestled Wonders, killed by Revolution
Russian Vintage Advertising Posters

Tzarist and Communist Eye Candy
Surreal & Spectacular Art of V. Kush

Russian-born creator of dream-like landscapes


Also Read: "The Best of Japan!" ->

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Fall in Love with SF Again!

Two of the most entertaining SF novels from the 1980s
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Fiction Reviews: Alastair Reynolds "Chasm City"
Short Fiction Reviews: Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (with pics)
New Fiction Reviews: The Surreal Office

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Flags of Forgotten Countries

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Spectacular Steampunk Art Update

Part 2 of this eye-popping, mind-boggling series


Anything for the Perfect Shot! - Part 3

Photographers can be crazy, with a good reason


Charmed by the Unknown Brazil

Incredibly colorful festival Boi-Bumba! and more


Ekranoplans Showcase, Part 2

Mind-boggling, unique concepts


Riot Vehicle with Water Cannon (used in Colombia)

A detailed look at the newest SWAT truck


Thrilling Vintage Movie Posters

Spewed from Intergalactic Space!..


Cheers to Beers!

A selection of world's beers that simply boggle the mind


World's Most Interesting Bridges, Part 3

Awe-inspiring Construction of Mountain Bridges in China, and more


Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculptures

Living independent from their creators?


Real Life Spy Gadgets - For the secret agent in all of us

Ignorance is bliss... no more


Cable Blues: Tangled & Crazy Wiring

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Underground Cities and Bunkers: Living Down Below

Deep calls to deep...


Extraordinary Clocks and Watches

"Time does not exist. Clocks exist."


The Pasta Monster (and Other Strange Food Art)

Don't stare at your food, or it will stare back


How Morgan Cars Are Made: By Hand, Out of Wood

Doing what they do best, refusing to change...


Abandoned Boeing 747 Restaurant
(& Other Plane Conversions)


A plane with unique history, haunted by kitchen smells


Surprised Astronauts
(Funny Pics)


"My God, it's full of stars!"


One-Track Wonders: Early Monorails

Past, Present and Retro-future


Komodo Dragons: They Eat Meat

Marauding Dragons on a Desolate Island


Spring Cleaning of the Mind: Surreal Art Update

Visual kick included


People Are Strange (Crazy Faces, Part 5)

Throw the switch, Igor!..


Wonder Weapons of World War Two

Made in Germany, 1940-1945


Narrow Buildings in Japan and Around the World

Skinny living can be... fascinating


The Cutting Edge of Retro Tech

They will be renaming HiFi to HyFy, starting April 1st


Bladerunner Tokyo (in Large-Format Photography)

The future began a long time ago in Tokyo...


Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 3

More entertaining than creepy? I'd say both


Victorian Flea Circuses: A Lost Art Form

Death-defying acts of flea heroism!


Strangest Music Scores, Part 2

It's a mad, mad, mad music!


Monstrous Aviation, Part 2: Huge Helicopters!

"Let's see how insanely huge we can make them!"

MORE OF THE RECENT POSTS:








Sculptural Weirdness
One-in-a-Million Collisions
Walls of Death
Apocalyptic Experiments
Cosmic Motors
Train Wrecks!
Phantasmagorical Art
Abandoned Substations
Mysterious Mima Mounds
Strange Theme Parks
Architecture of the Third Reich
Three Dimensional Fractals
Medieval Armor
Crazy Covered Cars
Painted Castles
Chrome-Delicious Robot Art
Awesome Octopi
Weirdest Accidents, Part 5
Architectural Horrors (Series)
Huggable Primates
Most Powerful Supercomputers
Curious Ephemera, Part 2
You Used It For WHAT??
Steam-Powered Tractors
Abandoned Amusement Parks
New Horrors in Construction
What Kids Wish For
Weird "Walking" Frogfish
- many more in the Archives and in the Contents Index (left bar)


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August 2008 -- July 2008 -- June 2008
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February 2008 -- January 2008 -- Dec, 2007
November 2007 -- October 2007 -- Sept, 2007
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February 2007 -- January 2007 -- Dec, 2006
November 2006 -- October 2006 -- Link Lattes




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Avi Abrams
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M. Christian
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  • Mysterious objest is one of US bomblets, not sure about this type, but it seems to be scaterable anti-personel mine. When hitting ground, holder (five star-like objects held together) falls off releasing spring-fired tripwires. After shord delay needed to settle down, mine is ready, so hitting tripwire mahes it BOOM
    Read more

  • The Flying Penguin video was an April's fools production by BBC this spring, as can be seen on this Telegraph link:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583517/Flying-penguins-found-by-BBC-programme.html

    Thanks for a great site, by the way!
    Read more

  • Pettter - I am curious if anybody would believe it's true. I'd like to speak with this person :)

    glad you like DRB
    Read more

  • Engineer Xavier Borg doesn't convince me that his ideas comprise anything that is not already known to science. In fact I don't even see a theory in his 2 pages of writings.
    Read more

  • The image in the The Smallest Refrigerator (Cooler) is actually a Scanning Electron Microscope image.
    Read more

  • Hobbiton's in the Midlands, or just possibly the Cotswolds, not where London is!
    Read more

  • I've been to the Marrakech market, and those stall owners are the best salesmen I've seen. If you simply pass by them and glance their way, they make you feel guilty for not buying.
    Read more

  • Anonymous post 1 is correct on the unknown object it is most definitly a bomblet, to be precise it is a cluster bomblet. They are used both as anti-personel and anti-vehicle devices.
    Read more

  • Avi:

    Oh, I have no doubt whatsoever about that, considering the beliefs of some people,

    On the other hand, my faith in humanity may not be on the most healthy of levels ;)
    Read more

  • Anonymous picture is a CBU-26 cluster bomblet, american, vietnam era.

    http://www.vietnamgear.com/kit.aspx?kit=511
    Read more

  • I am quite disappointed with all of you. The "Mystereous object" is OBVIOUSLY the Holy Handgrenade of Antioch!"
    Bah! People these days. No sense of history.


    ;)
    Read more

  • Hmm, about the image with the foot- and wingprints in the snow... couldn't it just have been a bird landing and walking through the snow?
    Read more

  • ha... I think you nailed it
    Read more

  • Ebeneezer you beat me to it!
    Read more

  • Its a cluster bomb unit "bomblet". But I'm not sure whose it is -- It doesn't look like the US ones, and might be a Russian or Eastern Bloc unit CBUs were manufactuered by 34 different countries, and have been used by a number of countries and non-state organizations (such as Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006).
    Read more

  • Thank you guys - you got the answer - post updated.
    Read more

  • the "Bender" picture is superimposed over a scene in a movie titled "Casablanca".
    Read more

  • You mean Bender wasn't really in it? :(
    Read more

  • Gorgeous pictures! Who knew life so small could be so pretty =).
    Read more

  • Wow dude that is way cool. Pretty neat stuff.

    jess
    Read more

  • wow, just looking at that pollen makes me want to sneeze - very pretty though.
    Read more

  • An incredible light microscopic images

    Pictured above are some of this year's entries in the light micro photography contest held by Olympus.the beauty of the natural world.
    Read more

  • OK - that does it for me. I'll never look at a frozen pizza the same way again.
    Read more

  • Hi all at drb. You have all put together one of the BEST Websites EVER. Just a note to say how much i enjoy your site. Thank You

    regards,
    Read more

  • when these types of machines were reported on 'alternative news' websites (read: conspiracy theory) decades ago, the posters were called nuts, tin hat wearing conspiracy theorists.

    i guess you're one as well, even though you have pictures :)
    Read more

  • 19m diameter... that is insane

    I was totally unprepared for that. This type of stuff is truly hard-core engineering (no pun intended, but I'll enjoy the serendipity of it)

    I can barely even fathom what the project management is like for the design and development of those (both TBMs and tunnel systems alike.) One minor error could be hugely compounded. Remarkable, great post!
    Read more

  • Hi there. I've been a huge fan of DRB for years now, and it's this kind of post that I love. Fantastic, imagination-catching stuff. Wow, can you imagine the consequences of forgetting to carry the 1 on an alignment equation??
    Read more

  • "when these types of machines were reported on 'alternative news' websites (read: conspiracy theory) decades ago..."

    Huh? Which sites were you on in the 70s and 80s?
    Read more

  • "when these types of machines were reported on 'alternative news' websites (read: conspiracy theory) decades ago..."

    Huh? Which sites were you on in the 70s and 80s?


    LOL, nice catch!

    OT: Love the post. Incredible machines!
    Read more

  • Look here for a view of what looks to be an endpoint for the Little Skull Mountain tunnel.

    The internet (combining various maps and commentaries) suggests that the area in question is Nevada Test Site Area 25, and given the fact that that's a tunnel, the best guess is it is or was used for underground depleted uranium testing (of projectiles or armor or both).
    Read more

  • To all the fans - thank you! your good words keep us going.
    Read more

  • thank you for all. great site!!:)
    Read more

  • Thank you for the great post.
    Read more

  • Strabag AG is not the type of the machine but the construction company which owns it (www.strabag.com)

    But anyhow nice article.
    Read more

  • Really nice blog!

    I have seen the original photo 'an inquisitive cat' on Flickr... This is the link :)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinsteele/231795031/
    Read more

  • Thank you Marie, credit added.
    Read more

  • What's under the photos of Africa stops being funny after seeing that poor child shot in the legs.
    Read more

  • My dog can out-wise that one.
    Read more

  • Hey - those cartoons are great! I love that black Humor. It reminds me a bit of the old "Parking Lot is full" cartoons - http://plif.courageunfettered.com/ - worth a look if you haven't seen them already!
    Read more

  • The truck tire hole looks suspicious to me. Why is the rubber inside the hole the same color and wear as the outside of the tire? Shouldn't it be somewhat cleaner rubber?
    Read more

  • I agree that the punctured tire photo is almost certainly fake.

    Not only is the image dubious, but the physics behind it doesn't make sense.

    Those traffic cones are relatively flexible, and hollow all the way through; a tire like that would smash it flat, not be cut through by it.

    (And especially not in such a regular way, and while STILL smashing the cone flat and off to one side.)
    Read more

  • Sigivald...
    It's possible the orange cones were placed there to mark the spot of the STEEL PIPE STICKING VERTICALLY FROM THE GROUND which may, or may not, be able to cut a piece of rubber out of a tire that has several tons of pressure on it.

    As for the cut being dirty, the tire probably made quite a few rotations over dirt after the puncture was made. Since it's part of a dual they took the truck off the site to fix it.
    Read more

  • the truck tire hole is a fake. period.
    Read more

  • The last pic is from The Creature From The Haunted Sea. Really bad old horror movie.
    Read more

  • The 'Deadly Surveillance' robot guy was shot by me, thanks for consideration! Original flickr can be found here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/floze/1588186509/

    There's some more shots of his fellas right here:

    http://www.floze.org/2008/04/big-brothers-work-in-progress.html

    Thanks again, cheers
    Read more

  • Thank you Floze, credit added, plus link to your other images. The Big Brother never slumbers, nor sleeps.
    Read more

  • I love those speed-stacking-cup kids! Imagine practicing a routine like that when they should be sitting in front of a TV playing video games!
    Read more

  • A desktop that pours beer? Yess!!
    Read more

  • The USB copying device looks useful to me - for organisations that give away USB drives with presentations on as an advertising gimmick.
    Read more

  • 31 USB ports? not 32?
    Read more

  • See USB horn-doggies at
    http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/japanfan/9c89/
    Read more

  • Usb.brando.com mixer would be great alarm for morning:

    Get up and turn it off quickly, because otherwise you'll have to pick up the balls all around your room!
    Read more

  • Y'all know the USB Grill is an April Fool's Joke, right?
    Read more

  • Oh lord, that video, when the geek squeaks his cheeks to get moving & the music pauses was too funny. Thanks for the laugh! :D
    Read more

  • Probably a parking garage, not a vending machine.
    Read more

  • It's not a parking garage. Vending machine isn't too far off. The picture is of Palette Town in Odaiba, Tokyo and the cars are part of the Mega Web Toyota showroom. You pick a car you want to see by pushing a button and a giant conveyor belt system rotates the vehicles around until your selection is in view. It's pretty awesome.
    Read more

  • I like the video on the Pimped Office Cubicles link where the office workers show how they converted their colleague's cube into a tiny house while he was on vacation.
    Read more

  • Japan is small, but creative !
    Read more

  • Creepy. Nice post!
    Read more

  • all coasters has been manufactured by italian industry Zamperla
    http://www.zamperla.it/

    ciao
    Read more

  • It´s remember me the movie "Chihiro´s travel" from Miyazaki.
    Read more

  • Wow..! Great post, that place must be creepy at night
    ;)
    Read more

  • Okpo Land was very peaceful at night. We went up there at 2am while very drunk. The third picture from the bottom with the swirling lights was taken from the ride as it was rotating, and we could see the city way below.
    Read more

  • FYI,
    I would like to correct
    some mistakes here.

    First of all, the author of this post was not actually supposed
    to go inside. It's forbidden
    to go inside as it will be
    under construction very soon.

    Second, it's not likely abandoned.
    Around the resort, there are gonna
    be new housing area(apartments), and the resort will be transformed
    to bigger park!
    hope this helped u guys understand!


    if you wanna see pictures,
    pls refer to the pictures below.

    http://pds54.cafe.daum.net/image/10/cafe/2008/06/28/17/57/4865fccfe88fe

    http://pds83.cafe.daum.net/image/14/cafe/2008/07/28/15/47/488d6b848cb1f
    Read more

  • Hey Anonymous,

    You obviously have no idea what urban exploring is if you think I made a mistake.

    There were no signs, in Korean or otherwise, forbidding entrance. Nobody stopped us, despite the fact we were crawling around there for several hours and seen by many people.

    Thanks for posting your pictures. If there is anything South Korea needs more of, it's soulless highrises.
    Read more

  • It's great that you guys were able to take pictures of this place, since this place will be gone soon due to the apartment complex construction plan throughout the area. The price of the land in Seoul and its suburban areas including Suwon is considerably expensive because of "supply and demand". (e.g. 1300 ft2 of apartment, not a house, costs minimum $300,000 average and up.-plz google the population density in these areas if interested.) And that's why people would like to utilize this piece of land to build more housing to live.

    By the way, FYI, it's kind of sad and true that Koreans really don't talk to Foreigners because of the language barrier. Don't be surprised!
    Read more

  • Just so everyone's clear:

    -A city of 1 million may be large by western standards, but in Asia it's relatively small, especially when it's a little south of a city of 10 million.
    -A site is abandoned if it has been vacated and is awaiting demolition. The two significantly large neighbourhoods of vacated houses awaiting demolition that are within five minutes of my home are abandoned.
    -Not everyone sees beauty the same way. The Japanese have a word, haikyo, which relates to the hidden beauty found in sites like this. There are hundreds of people all over the world who seek out places like this. Korea is not unique in this way.
    Read more

  • I want that big, green gargoyle! ^_^
    Read more

  • Remember the movie "Big", with T Hanks...the wish machine is somewhere in those parks.
    Read more

  • Anonymous,
    we see the beauty in these places. When we say weird or creepy we really mean cool. :)
    Where are these abandoned neighborhoods you speak of?
    Read more

  • "It´s remember me the movie "Chihiro´s travel" from Miyazaki."

    I believe this film was released in the U.S. as "Spirited Away."
    (Chihiro's Dad mistakes a portal to the spirit world for the entrance to an abandoned amusement park; surreal eerieness ensues).

    Yes, I had the same thought, looking at those pictures.

    This and "Castle in the Sky" by Miyazagi are amazing, and well worth renting; but do not select the English language version: it changes the stories too much. Read subtitles on the original Japanese-soundtracks.
    Read more

  • awesome
    Read more

  • I'm sad to report that the front gate arch has been removed.

    South Korea is filled with large abandoned neighbourhoods. In the near future I'm thinking of putting together a report on them for this site, but for now you can see a ton of photos on my site.
    Read more

  • Too bad you weren't able to get inside the floating restaurant with the windmill. Maybe come back at night and borrow one of the boats to get across. Would suck if the door leading up turned out to be locked.
    Read more

  • Oh, I later got into two of the floating restaurants. The one titled "...and another one" has some pretty cool stuff inside.
    Read more


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