On Manuvers

In an effort to reduce DWI-related traffic fatalities, the Russian government has issued armored vehicles to protect its soldiers while they are requisitioning adult beverages. This is an enormously successful program - no Russian soldiers have died in alcohol-related accidents within the past 20 minutes.

Moscow - An apparently drunk Russian tank driver rammed his 25-tonne fighting machine into a remote village cottage while on a vodka run, footage aired Friday on state television showed.

The soldier was filmed driving the tank, armed with an anti-aircraft gun, through a tiny street in Oktyabrskaya, in the Ural mountains' Sverdlovsk region.

He clambered unsteadily into his vehicle with two freshly purchased bottles, then rammed a fence and a house while attempting to leave.

"He was drunk," a villager said on Channel One television.

An assistant at the local shop said the soldier had purchased two bottles of vodka.

Army spokesperson Konstantin Lazutkin promised the military would pay for repairs.

Watch the video here.

The following two photos are of common Russian anti-aircraft amored vehicles. The first is a ZSU-23. The second is the 2S6M.