---
title: "These Russian Special Forces Gunfighting Moves Are Beautiful And Ridiculous"
date: "2018-03-06"
modified: "2018-03-06"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russian-special-forces-gunfighting-moves/"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "Guns"
  - "Humor"
  - "Tactics"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
  - "Training"
  - "Weapons"
tags:
  - "European Command"
---

# These Russian Special Forces Gunfighting Moves Are Beautiful And Ridiculous

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/18987273-1.png>)

If a modern measure of power is the capacity to dominate the attention of others, then the Russia Ministry of Defense is a hot, powerful mess. Russian mercenaries rolling deep in Syria! Russian cargo planes [crashing in Syria](<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/russian-transport-plane-crashes-syria-killing-32-aboard-180306135456936.html>)! Russian leaders [pounding down popcorn](<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/us/politics/trump-nuclear-russia-containment.html>) while Washington spirals deeper and deeper into a pit of feverish despair. I am goddamn sick and tired of hearing about Russia doing all sorts of cool shit.

What’s that? Have you a brief video to allay my rage and lighten my spirits? Glory fucking be, tell me more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHhLQx4Nnac

Look, defensive handgun combatives are no joke, especially in the close-quarters of room-clearing in urban shooting galleries like, say, Mosul or Raqqa. But damn, there’s just something about a grizzled Russian, likely stinking of vodka, rolling around on the floor in search of a quick and effective dick punch. It’s very reminiscent (or so I’m told by our mustachioed commandant) of David Carradine’s [bullet dodging](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6bov4MvlI>) in *Kung Fu: The Legend Continues*.

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-167.gif>)

Anyway, Russia’ elite KSSO special operations forces turned five last week, so there’s that. But at least their regular routines are as dumb and weird as ours!

**WATCH NEXT:**

## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbkeller/>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jaredbkelller/>)