Photo: English Russia
Soviet tanks and armored vehicles used to be feared and dreaded by all during the Cold War period. Armies in Britain, France and the US endlessly prepared for the moment when Russian armies would race across the border and into Western Germany.
After the Iron Curtain fell though, Russia's vast arsenal became military surplus, available to anybody with deep-enough pockets.
In what can only be described as the coolest story we've read all week, a Russian blogger who calls himself ntv recently explained how he bought the menacing looking machine that you can see him sitting on.
According to an English Russia report, ntv had to go to Belarus, where army surplus is much cheaper. The country even has a dedicated website where you can buy anything from pots and pans to artillery and trucks.
The BRDM-2 armored vehicle he decided on cost him 100 million Belorussian rubles. That sounds like a huge amount of money, until you actually convert it and find out it's actually about $9,500 or €7,300. You can barely buy a new car for that, but ntv got 7.7 tons of awesome. Smart buyer!
However, the problem he faced was that he couldn't pay by bank transfer and the biggest paper money in the country is a 200,000 ruble bill. Credit car and currency exchange limits also wreaked havoc on the Muscovite's plans.
Eventually, he managed to pay for it and used a trailer to bring the tank back to Moscow. As you can see, it's being accompanied by a brand new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a crashed Porsche Cayenne.
The BRDM-2 is classed as a combat reconnaissance and patrol vehicle. It's light and has amphibious capabilities. Unfortunately, it won't stand up to the same heavy arms fire as an actual tank. Over seven thousand of them were made between 1962 and 1989. It seats four people driver, co-driver, commander, gunner) and measures, 5.75 meters in length, just to give you an idea of its proportions. Power comes from a 5.5-liter engine producing 140 horsepower.
In what can only be described as the coolest story we've read all week, a Russian blogger who calls himself ntv recently explained how he bought the menacing looking machine that you can see him sitting on.
According to an English Russia report, ntv had to go to Belarus, where army surplus is much cheaper. The country even has a dedicated website where you can buy anything from pots and pans to artillery and trucks.
The BRDM-2 armored vehicle he decided on cost him 100 million Belorussian rubles. That sounds like a huge amount of money, until you actually convert it and find out it's actually about $9,500 or €7,300. You can barely buy a new car for that, but ntv got 7.7 tons of awesome. Smart buyer!
However, the problem he faced was that he couldn't pay by bank transfer and the biggest paper money in the country is a 200,000 ruble bill. Credit car and currency exchange limits also wreaked havoc on the Muscovite's plans.
Eventually, he managed to pay for it and used a trailer to bring the tank back to Moscow. As you can see, it's being accompanied by a brand new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a crashed Porsche Cayenne.
The BRDM-2 is classed as a combat reconnaissance and patrol vehicle. It's light and has amphibious capabilities. Unfortunately, it won't stand up to the same heavy arms fire as an actual tank. Over seven thousand of them were made between 1962 and 1989. It seats four people driver, co-driver, commander, gunner) and measures, 5.75 meters in length, just to give you an idea of its proportions. Power comes from a 5.5-liter engine producing 140 horsepower.
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