Russia’s staggering numbers—about 144 million people, a landmass of 16,376,870 km² (6,323,142 mi²) and a mere nine souls per square kilometre (23 mi²)—mean there’s plenty of room for bizarre behaviour. It’s no wonder that the nation churns out a steady stream of out‑of‑the‑ordinary headlines that could give any “Florida Man” a run for his money. Below, we dive into 10 more insane Russian news stories that prove reality can be stranger than fiction.
10 More Insane Russian Stories
If you ever imagined living next to a stadium could be louder than a rock concert, Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg will change your mind. In June 2019 the venue switched on a brand‑new bird‑deterrent system that unleashes the mournful wails of dying birds and occasional gunfire bursts, all designed to keep feathered intruders at bay.
Local residents flooded police stations with complaints, claiming the eerie chorus kept children awake, whispering, “Why are the birds suffering?” One disgruntled neighbor, Anastasia, explained that the sounds were so unsettling that bedtime turned into a nightly debate. Zenit officials declined to confirm whether any actual birds were harmed during the recordings, and a promised volume reduction only seemed to amplify the annoyance.
St. Petersburg isn’t alone in battling avian nuisances; the Moscow metro recently plastered nearly 300 stickers of predatory birds across 21 station lobbies, hoping the visual threat will keep pigeons from colliding with glass panes and meeting untimely ends.
9 Former Teacher Kills Friend Who Claimed That Poetry Is Not Real Literature
In early 2014, a 53‑year‑old resident of Irbit, a small town tucked in the Sverdlovsk region of the Urals, was arrested for the murder of a 67‑year‑old acquaintance. The fatal dispute erupted over a seemingly innocuous literary debate: the victim insisted that only prose qualified as “real literature,” dismissing poetry as a lesser art.
Federal police reports detail how the conversation spiraled into a heated argument, with the host defending prose and the guest championing poetry. The former teacher, a passionate lover of verse, allegedly seized a knife and stabbed his friend, sealing the tragedy with a blade.
After the crime, the perpetrator fled, only to be discovered hiding at a neighbor’s house in a nearby village. He eventually confessed, facing a potential 15‑year prison sentence for his lethal defense of poetic ideals.
8 Two Drunk Men Cut Off Their Ears For A Bet
Early 2014 saw a bizarre episode unfold in a mining settlement deep within Siberia. Two men, heavily intoxicated, decided to settle an arm‑wrestling contest with a gruesome wager: the loser would amputate his own ear.
The first bout ended with one competitor victorious, but the defeated opponent demanded a rematch. When the second round concluded with the same result, both participants invoked the agreement, insisting that each must now sever his left ear. Police later confirmed that one man removed his ear entirely, while the other managed only a partial slice.
The duo were rushed to a local hospital with their self‑inflicted injuries, leaving medical staff to treat the shocking spectacle of two grown men nursing freshly cut ears.
7 Naked Cheesemakers Take Photos In A Vat Filled With Milk
In a daring publicity stunt that made waves across the internet in early 2014, a group of Omsk cheesemakers decided to celebrate the new year by plunging—clad in nothing but a few towels—into a massive vat of fresh milk used for cheese production. The resulting photos, featuring a half‑naked crew striking poses amid swirling dairy, quickly went viral.
Artem Romanov, the mastermind behind the photos, posted the images on VKontakte with the caption, “Yeah, our job is really boring.” One participant even hoisted his shorts for the camera, adding a cheeky touch to the otherwise surreal tableau. Although the original uploads were later removed, countless reposts spread across social media, sparking jokes about the salty taste of the cheese possibly being a side effect of the stunt.
The incident raised eyebrows among industry insiders, with The Moscow Times warning consumers to verify the origin of string cheese, suggesting that Omsk‑produced varieties might have been compromised by the unconventional photoshoot.
6 Man Fights Off Siberian Bear By Biting Its Tongue Off
In 2019, Nikolay Irgit, a 30‑year‑old from the Tuva region, and two companions set out to harvest deer and moose antlers without the proper permits—a lucrative black‑market trade. While scouting the forest reserve, Irgit stumbled upon a massive brown bear, weighing up to 600 kg (1,323 lb).
Attempting to frighten the beast, Irgit shouted, but the bear charged, clamping down on his face, head, hands and even his stomach. In a desperate, adrenaline‑fueled move, Irgit managed to bite off the bear’s tongue, a brutal act that finally forced the animal to retreat.
Bleeding and shaken, Irgit called for help; his friends arrived and summoned an ambulance. Though he survived the savage encounter, authorities opened an administrative case against him for illegal foraging within the protected reserve.
5 Clairvoyant Purchases Psychic Cat For $84,000
At the dawn of 2017, a bizarre headline emerged from Russia: a clairvoyant had purchased a “psychic” cat for a staggering five million rubles (about $84,000). The feline, owned by Dimitry after inheriting it from his late aunt, allegedly possessed uncanny abilities—appearing mysteriously behind locked doors and compelling its owner to make midnight trips for fish and sausage, foods the man professed to despise.
Dimitry recounted how the cat would wake him at 5 a.m., igniting an intense craving for the very foods he loathed. Once he satisfied the feline’s appetite, his own hunger vanished. The cat also stared into empty spaces, as if perceiving unseen entities. The strange behavior strained Dimitry’s marriage, with his wife uneasy around the purportedly supernatural pet.
News of the cat’s talents traveled across 4,500 km to Novosibirsk, where a local clairvoyant—dubbed a “witch” by the media—arrived, examined the animal, and promptly bought it, intending to employ its psychic powers during seances.
4 Cargo Plane Drops Three Tons Of Gold Over Siberia
On March 15 2018, the skies above Siberia glittered with an unexpected treasure. A Cold‑War‑era cargo aircraft, departing Yakutsk Airport, was laden with an estimated $378 million worth of gold, platinum and diamonds for a private mining firm. During takeoff, a catastrophic failure ripped open the cargo hatch, spilling nearly 200 gold bars.
Many of the glittering ingots crashed onto the runway, yet the plane, still airborne, covered another 16 km (10 mi) before performing an emergency landing, shedding more precious cargo along the way. Police confirmed there were no injuries, and the lost treasure was eventually recovered. Investigations pointed to a maintenance crew’s negligence in securing the cargo.
3 Dagestan Hosts Sheep Beauty Queen Contest
In August 2018, the Muslim “Festival of Sacrifice” (Eid al‑Adha, or Kurban Bayram) inspired the city of Dagestan to stage an unusual celebration: a beauty pageant for sheep. The contest, held at a bustling livestock market, tasked a jury with selecting the most aesthetically pleasing animal among ten decoratively adorned ewes.
After careful deliberation, the title of “Most Beautiful Sheep” was awarded to a ewe named “Princess Aisha,” whose owner received a handcrafted dagger as a prize. While the festival traditionally sees roughly 300,000 sheep slaughtered across the region, the fate of Princess Aisha after the competition remained undisclosed.
2 World Chess President Claims He Was Abducted And Aliens Invented Chess
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who helmed the World Chess Federation from 1995 to 2018 and served as president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia from 1993 to 2010, made a claim that would astonish both gamers and UFO enthusiasts alike. He asserted that in September 1997, extraterrestrials clad in yellow space suits abducted him from his Moscow apartment and whisked him aboard a spacecraft.
During the alleged interstellar journey, Ilyumzhinov conversed with the beings, who he described as possessing minds akin to humans. He emerged convinced that humanity is not alone, and that the universe teems with intelligent life.
Linking his otherworldly encounter to his lifelong passion, Ilyumzhinov proposed that chess itself originated from space. He argued that the game’s universal rules—64 squares, black and white pieces, consistent gameplay across continents—pointed to an extraterrestrial source.
1 Bag Of 54 Severed Human Hands Found In Siberia
In March 2018, a fisherman trekking along the icy banks of the Amur River near Khabarovsk stumbled upon a chilling sight: a single hand protruding from the snow on a tiny island. Further investigation revealed a bag containing 27 pairs of human hands, each severed cleanly at the wrist.
The macabre collection, neatly arranged in rows, quickly attracted media attention. However, Russian authorities traced the origins to a local forensics laboratory, which had improperly disposed of medical waste—including bandages and plastic shoe covers—alongside the hands.
Investigators concluded that the hands were not the product of a murderous individual but rather the result of illegal biowaste disposal practices. The precise reason for the laboratory’s dismemberment of the specimens remains unknown.