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Russian (Nuclear?) Missile Explosion Incident (2019)

With apologies for the source, footage here:

 
That does look like a small battlefield nuke going off.
 
With apologies for the source, footage here:


I think that's footage of the Siberian ammo dump which went up recently & not the nuclear powered missile they're connecting it to. Not nuclear. Impressive shockwave though..

This one. There's other footage of it around on the net.

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With apologies for the source, footage here:


That’s not a nuke. Any large explosion, filmed correctly, will show the propagation of a blast wave. Here’s a large VBIED detonating:


maximus otter
 
Russia keeping tight-lipped about the recent nuclear incident: ...

A clean-up operation is in progress ...
Nuclear cleanup on coast of White Sea

Video footage from a beach near weapon’s testing area Nenoksa shows helicopters, excavators and men in protection gear involved in the removing of radioactive debris from last month’s nuclear accident.

A helicopter fly in over the beach of Nenoksa and put large metal containers on the shore. Four people dressed in special clothes remove materials from one of the two barges that have been abandoned on site following last month’s nuclear accident.

An excavator move the dangerous scrap into the containers and helicopters subsequently fly it all away.

It was the first part of a clean-up process on site, Region29 reports. The news agency has obtained exclusive video footage that shows how the beach of Nenoksa is being cleaned up after the explosion in nearby White Sea waters. ...
SOURCE: https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/s...-cleanup-coast-white-sea#.XYk9zxRhMCY.twitter
 
Russia. *Sigh*. Russian never changes.

The Russians have recently invested in a new generation of weapons:
New Russian Weapons

Putin is trying hard to trigger a new Cold War, because...idk? Nostalgia? It seems to be a major motivator for Conservatives. The nuclear accident near Nenoska/Arkangelsk comes close on the heels of their recent submarine accident July 2nd 2019.

But here's the rub... Because of the Firehose of Falsehood Propaganda Model nobody really thinks Russia has managed to achieve anything substantial, other than substantial nuclear contamination of their land... again... and yet again... While it is unfair to compare Russia with the old Upper Volta with Nukes slur, Russia's economy continues to perform well under South Korea's, which is 1/100 the size and 1/3rd the population. So Russia remains an enormous but impoverished, shabby white trash giant country that cannot even be recommended by its cuisine, the friendliness of its people, or its recent cultural achievements (Russian cheating in sport has banned them from international competition among nations). In short, Russia is a pariah state, and seems determined to remain so, having squandered the good will of the 1990s long ago, in favor of ludicrous "Strongman" politics and gangster capitalism.
 
its cuisine, the friendliness of its people
Протестую! While I agree with your broad thrust about the reactionary regime failing to bring about any meaningful improvements, I cannot agree with either of these two points. Whilst the liver in aspic that was once presented to me in Obninsk would have been a lowpoint at any time, not only on that particularly hungover morning, I have eaten tremendously well in Russia: borsch might be a cliche, but a well-cooked bowlful is a genuine treat. The salmon-stuffed pelmeni I had in Perm were likewise a revelation. Smoked Adygea cheese could hold its own against any Roquefort. I had never eaten a fresh fig until I went to Russia, nor had I experienced tomatoes, melons or strawberries which burst with such flavour. Granted, it's becoming more difficult to find decent ingredients as the sanctions bite, but still that's a misinformed remark.

I also protest at the idea that the inhabitants of Russia are unfriendly. Yes, their public persona is dour, and so would yours be if you and your family had lived through decades of surveillance and ideological judgement, with horrible consequences if you were weighed and found wanting - and, let's face it, as soon as you were weighed, you would be found wanting. But if you can manage to get past the acquaintance stage and into friendship, then you'll tend to find people who cannot do enough for you. I have spent enough time in and around Russia to understand that the English concept of friendship woefully fails to convey the strength of the Russian relationship.

Obviously, some of them are horrible arseholes - Alexei, my last landlord in St Petersburg, is living proof - and many of these latter gravitate towards policing or political roles, but it is just plain wrong to generalise that Russians are not friendly. Don't mistake the government for its people...
 
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I also protest at the idea that the inhabitants of Russia are unfriendly. Yes, their public persona is dour, and so would yours be if you and your family had lived through decades of surveillance and ideological judgement, with horrible consequences if you were weighed and found wanting - and, let's face it, as soon as you were weighed, you would be found wanting. But if you can manage to get past the acquaintance stage and into friendship, then you'll tend to find people who cannot do enough for you. I have spent enough time in and around Russia to understand that the English concept of friendship woefully fails to convey the strength of the Russian relationship.
I have met and worked with some very friendly Russians. I did work with one who was a little bit of an arsehole, fairly arrogant/hypercritical fellow, but he wasn't completely awful.
 
Протестую! While I agree with your broad thrust about the reactionary regime failing to bring about any meaningful improvements, I cannot agree with either of these two points. Whilst the liver in aspic that was once presented to me in Obninsk would have been a lowpoint at any time, not only on that particularly hungover morning, I have eaten tremendously well in Russia: borsch might be a cliche, but a well-cooked bowlful is a genuine treat. The salmon-stuffed pelmeni I had in Perm were likewise a revelation. Smoked Adygea cheese could hold its own against any Roquefort. I had never eaten a fresh fig until I went to Russia, nor had I experienced tomatoes, melons or strawberries which burst with such flavour. Granted, it's becoming more difficult to find decent ingredients as the sanctions bite, but still that's a misinformed remark.
Please take my remarks in the spirit of satire they were intended. I was mainly jokingly suggesting that Russia would struggle to get by economically as a tourist destination. As to Russian cuisine, it has its high points and low points, but it isn't much to my liking on the whole, and I am abnormal for an American, as having spent time in Melbourne Australia (which is a hub for international chefs), I developed a cosmopolitan appreciation for the food of the world, so it isn't just me being a parochial Yankee redneck. The main drive of my comments were intended not to be specifically insulting to Russia, so much as to underline how they have failed to adapt to a non-Soviet worldview. I find it frustrating that rather than realizing much of Russia's economic potential, or its potential for soft power projection thru "academic muscle" (which Russia has a great deal of), the Putin regime has sidelined, dismissed, and undercut its intellectuals consistently. Frankly the Soviet Union had greater soft power thru ideology than present-day Russia has, and that is a tragedy. I too have met friendly Russians, but mainly after everyone had been drinking, and I do admire the Russian hospitality for getting me about as drunk as I have ever been in my life.

More importantly, as you fairly and correctly suggest Krepostnoi I am sure that Russians in general feel pretty frustrated about their political situation, whether living in Russia or abroad. I know as an American, often living abroad, I often shudder in horror at the often idiotic politics of my country. Sadly I am sure that there were many people in Russia who saw the collapse of the Soviet union as a huge blow to national prestige that affected their own self-image, and now feel their country needs to play catch-up to its former glories, despite the awful cost those achievements so frequently came at. I have never reconciled how Russia can be so profligate with the lives of its people, or why, considering they struggle not to served burned Kompot, why they feel they need to bully and subdue their neighbors, rather than learning from them.

I would like to wish Russia well, but with Putin in charge, pressing a nationalist agenda, I don't see how I can. On reflection, the world has some appalling leadership at the moment, and few nations have managed to escape the plague.
 
Here's a more recent item about the cleanup effort. It includes some tidbits I'd never seen before ...
Crews cleaning up site of nuclear accident in Russia

Crews have begun to clean up the site of a nuclear accident in Russia this summer that killed seven people and caused a brief release of radiation into the atmosphere.

Helicopters, soil excavators and crews in hazmat suits have been working at the site in Nenoska, in northwest Russia, since last weekend. U.S. satellite photos indicate the presence of a nuclear-powered cruise missile at the bottom of the White Sea at the time of the Aug. 8 explosion.

The missile is believed to be the SSC-X-9 Skyfall -- an experimental, nuclear-powered missile with unlimited range -- and authorities believe Russia was trying to salvage the weapon when the accident occurred.

A video broadcast by a Russian news agency showed an excavating vehicle depositing scrap metal into a shipping container, which was then removed by helicopter. The footage shows crews aboard barges holding the containers wearing protective equipment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the accident occurred while testing a new weapons systems.

Background radiation levels climbed as much as 16 times higher than normal after the accident. Four Russian monitoring stations offered no data in the days after the explosion, and local doctors said they weren't advised of any patients with radiation poisoning. ...
SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...accident-in-Russia/6091569425911/?ts_tn_int=9
 
Update (of sort ...). Putin extolled the killed researchers' work and its prospective benefits in a ceremony awarding medals to the widows.
Putin: Scientists killed in blast were working on 'unparalleled' weapon

Russian scientists killed in a nuclear explosion at a secret military testing site in August were working on "unparalleled" weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We're talking about the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions, about weapons designed to ensure Russia's sovereignty and security for decades to come," Putin said during a ceremony at the Kremlin on Thursday honoring the victims of the mysterious accident.

The Aug. 8 explosion of a liquid propulsion system in Nyonoksa killed five scientists and two defense ministry officials and led to international concern about a brief spike in radiation levels reported by the Russian meteorological agency Rosgidomet.

Information about the incident will remain "strictly classified," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, according to Russian news agency TASS.

"Tests of new weapon systems were involved. For this reason it is only natural that the investigation being carried out in this connection cannot be public," Peskov said.

U.S. officials previously said they believed the incident involved a nuclear-powered cruise missile Putin said was under development last year.

Putin presented posthumous orders of courage awards Thursday to the widows of the scientists killed in the blast.

"They were working on a very difficult, important and critical assignment," Putin said at the ceremony. "We're talking about the most advanced and cutting-edge technical ideas and solutions, unequaled anywhere in the world; the weapon that is entitled to ensure sovereignty, security of Russia for decades to come."
SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...g-on-unparalleled-weapon/9331574458050/?ts_=7
 
Update (of sort ...). Putin extolled the killed researchers' work and its prospective benefits in a ceremony awarding medals to the widows. SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...g-on-unparalleled-weapon/9331574458050/?ts_=7
Potentially it is a pretty impressive weapon, but it is so ecologically irresponsible it is mind blowing. It uses a nuclear engine that allows it to remain in the air for about 3 days. On the other hand, forces air over a nuclear core to do it, and what happens to all that fissionable material as a result? Nothing good.
 
Came late to this.

`So American remains a vast bloated nation of obese resource guzzlers wallowing in their own trash culture and acting as though they own the world, despite the fact that most of them don't even own a passport`.

[cf post 8 above by alcho Pwn]

This stuff's so easy to do, Alchho.

It's a shame because your comments on the Putin regime and its motivations are really quite on the ball. I just get tired of having to remind people not to conflate a whole people with their rulers and their government. But here I go again

To get out of this way of thinking - try doing it in reverse. Think of a country whose leaders you think of as relatively decent - then ask yourself if you also like all the people of that country.

I can think of a country whose leader I broadly approve of (I won't name it to avoid a political subthread fro breaking out). It so happens that I know a few people from that particular nation and they comprise of arses, people who I'm just indifferent to and one or two okay sorts. Nothing special therefore.

I will just say one thing about Russians. As someone who teaches them I can tell you that they make far, far more decent students than do my fellow Brits (of whom I have also had experience of attempting to teach). Generally speaking, they are attentive, respectful, studious, hard -working and polite. Not always, of course - but for the most part.

Now that may seem like a trivial, minor thing to endorse them about, but I do think that the educational, attitude of the people of any country points to something of larger significance about its social framework as a whole.

As for Russia's `recent cultural achievements` - well, I set up a blog specifically to record and evaluste some of these. Do have a look sometime:

www.alternativerussianculture.space
 
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Протестую! While I agree with your broad thrust about the reactionary regime failing to bring about any meaningful improvements, I cannot agree with either of these two points. Whilst the liver in aspic that was once presented to me in Obninsk would have been a lowpoint at any time, not only on that particularly hungover morning, I have eaten tremendously well in Russia: borsch might be a cliche, but a well-cooked bowlful is a genuine treat. The salmon-stuffed pelmeni I had in Perm were likewise a revelation. Smoked Adygea cheese could hold its own against any Roquefort. I had never eaten a fresh fig until I went to Russia, nor had I experienced tomatoes, melons or strawberries which burst with such flavour. Granted, it's becoming more difficult to find decent ingredients as the sanctions bite, but still that's a misinformed remark.

I also protest at the idea that the inhabitants of Russia are unfriendly. Yes, their public persona is dour, and so would yours be if you and your family had lived through decades of surveillance and ideological judgement, with horrible consequences if you were weighed and found wanting - and, let's face it, as soon as you were weighed, you would be found wanting. But if you can manage to get past the acquaintance stage and into friendship, then you'll tend to find people who cannot do enough for you. I have spent enough time in and around Russia to understand that the English concept of friendship woefully fails to convey the strength of the Russian relationship.

Obviously, some of them are horrible arseholes - Alexei, my last landlord in St Petersburg, is living proof - and many of these latter gravitate towards policing or political roles, but it is just plain wrong to generalise that Russians are not friendly. Don't mistake the government for its people...
I've had the pleasant opportunity to work with numerous engineers that emigrated from the former Soviet Union. They were nice guys and very solid engineers. I also worked with students at RIT from Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine etc. All hard working and friendly folk.
A former boss actually slipped out of the USSR some 60 years ago at great personal peril (he's since passed on) and he was my favorite supervisor to date.
To twine a country politics and their citizens together is utter bunk.
By the way the anti-US sentiment I sense on the forum towards our citizens is crap. Come over for a visit and see. Personally each is entitled to personal political views - opinions, but lets not insult our people.
 
By the way the anti-US sentiment I sense on the forum towards our citizens is crap. Come over for a visit and see. Personally each is entitled to personal political views - opinions, but lets not insult our people.

If that's a reference to my post above then please let me explain.

The sentence in which I make sweeping generalisations about Americans was a direct parody of something that AlchoPwn had said - in post 8 - about Russians. My intention was to use the Quotation facility to twin our two remarks together so that this paralell would be obvious and not need explaining. (The point being: `see-how-you-like-it`kinda thing),

However, at the time I was experiencing a strange technical glitch whereby, whenever I tried to quote something, the whole text (including my own writing) would come out as a `quotation`. I tried to overcome this but it kept on happening, so then I deleted the quotation part and left my comment on it s own - but in inverted commas to indicate that these weren't my own views.

So Russia remains an enormous but impoverished, shabby white trash giant country that cannot even be recommended by its cuisine, the friendliness of its people, or its recent cultural achievements.

The above is the quotation that I had in mind.

Apart from that what anti-American prejudice have you come across elsewhere on this site? Perhaps you could provide us with some examples.
 
The above is the quotation that I had in mind.Apart from that what anti-American prejudice have you come across elsewhere on this site? Perhaps you could provide us with some examples.
LOL the USA is a big girl and she can take care of herself. I don't need to get bent out of shape about people talking smack about Aunty Samantha, but apparently you can't cope when someone talks about the Russian bear hitting on all the twinks in its neighborhood.
 
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