Russian roulette is a terrible game with death. Roulette Rules

How you want to shoot, or men's games in modern style

“Like all men in Babylon, I was a proconsul; like everyone else - a slave; I have known omnipotence, and disgrace, and prison. Look, on my right hand I don't have index finger. Look, through the hole in the raincoat, a red tattoo on the stomach is visible - this is the second letter, "bet". On full moon nights, she gives me power over people whose sign is the letter "gimel", but subjugates me to people with "aleph", who on moonless nights must submit to people with "gimel" ...

Fantasizing on the theme of “fate is a game,” the remarkable writer Jorge Luis Borges noted, not without reason, that only the thrower of lots is capable of completely capturing and subjugating a person, who, next to winnings, puts losses, keeps score not only for money, but takes into circulation success and failure, life and death.

"The Lottery in Babylon" is a figment of the imagination of the great Argentine myth-maker. But among the games of chance ever invented by people, there is one, if not embodying the idea of ​​Borges, then at least hinting at it. We are talking about Russian roulette (it's funny, but in Russia it is sometimes called American roulette - just like the "roller coaster" - roller coaster).

The history of Russian roulette begins in the 70s of the XIX century, in the days of wars with Ottoman Empire, endless battles for the independence of Bulgaria and other Slavic countries when in service with the officer corps Russian army Smith & Wesson revolvers arrived. Then everyone was desperate brave men - flaunting their courage, teasing death, was considered fashionable and stylish. After all, the commander-in-chief Mikhail Skobelev served as a role model - a truly legendary figure in the history of the army. Skobelev liked to dine with champagne on a high hill at the hour of an enemy attack or ride a white horse in a snow-white dress uniform under heavy fire from Turkish batteries.

General M.D. Skobelev on horseback. Hood. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky N. 1883.

Russian roulette fit into this series. She easily became a kind of beautiful gesture in the game with luck and death. A single bullet was loaded into the drum of the revolver, the player rotated the drum, put the gun to his temple and fired. If he remained alive, he passed the weapon to a comrade ...

a favorable outcome of the roulette, everyone went to drink champagne. If unfavorable, they buried a friend and recorded the loss at the expense of the "stray bullet of the enemy." They also drank champagne, which is understandable.

The command quickly found out about the new officer amusements. And, although Skobelev himself treated them condescendingly - he recognized any, even the most absurd manifestations of courage - by special order of the Sovereign Emperor, the courts of officer honor ruthlessly cut off shoulder straps and orders “for roulette”.

10.67 mm revolver "Smith-Wesson II sample" (1872)

The famous game received a slightly different character in the decadent era, on turn of XIX and XX centuries. Changed partly and its rules, and the weapon itself. The pistol of the Belgian Leon Nagant, model 1895, entered mass use.

But, most importantly, the mood and goals of the players have changed.

Decadent poets and macabre moralist mystics ensured the popularity of aestheticized suicide. Shooting all and sundry - pimply high school students and regulars of secular salons, muslin young ladies and artists coming into fashion with writers. Russian roulette has become one of the ways, and in a very intriguing way, to settle scores with life. Now it was often used as an answer to the fatal question: does fate love me, does life have any meaning? They also played for money, gathered at night in twos and threes, made wills against each other, and for a revolver.

There had to be only one survivor. One can easily add to oneself how many dizzying plots were generated by these vigils with a revolver in the right hand. Such stories are worth remembering, especially since they convey the unique atmosphere of the era...

Nagan samples

On the full moon of May 1912, three very young people from good families- Nikolai Ipatiev, Vasily Nedumov and Irakli Gomreklidze. It so happened that all of them were left without parents and themselves could dispose of large fortunes. The papers were signed and duly executed, all that was left was to play the game.

The gun didn't misfire. The lucky lot fell to Kolya Ipatiev. When he tried to take possession of a fairly won inheritance, the relatives of one of his late partners went to court. The circumstances of the case received unpleasant publicity, but the jury found no corpus delicti. Ipatiev, and previously a very non-poor young man, became fabulously rich.

During the First World War, Nikolai went to the front, served in the cavalry, earned two George Cross for desperate courage. In 1915 he was shell-shocked, returned to the capital and closed in own house on the Moika. The long history of Russian roulette haunted him, and after the overthrow of the monarchy in February 1917, he went to a monastery in the city of Zadonsk, Voronezh province. He took the tonsure with the name Nicodemus.

When the Civil War began, the Bolsheviks destroyed the monastery, and the monks who did not renounce the faith were buried alive in the ground on the steep bank of the Don. Among them was Nikodim (Ipatiev)...

Imperial army officers

There are several legends about the origin of the game. Obviously, most of them connect the emergence of Russian roulette with Russia, Russian soldiers and officers. Here are some of the versions.

1. In the 19th century, Russian prisoners were forced to play Russian roulette while the guards placed bets.

2. According to another version, the officers of the Russian army played this game on own will to impress others with their bravery.

3. The third version says that when the trigger is not cocked, the revolver drum rotates freely. Therefore, if the drum is well lubricated, after stopping the cartridge will be at the bottom. That is, Russian roulette is a spectacular but safe trick. But this is nothing more than a legend, after conducting an experiment with a real Nagan, it is easy to verify that the drum does not rotate freely and the mass of the cartridge cannot have a noticeable effect on it.

The first written mention of the term "Russian roulette" refers to January 30, 1937. Georges Surdez, in the article “Russian Roulette” in the American magazine Collier’s Weekly, cites the following dialogue with a French sergeant who served in the Russian army in the Foreign Legion:

“Feldheim… Have you ever heard of Russian Roulette?” When I said that I had not heard, he told me everything about her. When he served in the Russian army in Romania, around 1917, when everything around was falling apart, and Russian officers believed that they were losing not only prestige, money, family, country, but also honor in the face of the Allies. Some of them, sitting anywhere - at a table, in a cafe, with friends - suddenly took out a revolver, took out a cartridge from the drum, twisted it, put the muzzle to their head and pulled the trigger. There was a five out of six chance that a shot would be fired and the officer's brains scattered all over the place. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't.

Probabilities

Russian roulette obeys the general laws of mathematical statistics. If we consider the revolver to be six-shot with one cartridge in the drum and if the drum is not rotated by hand after each trigger release, then the probabilities of a shot will be distributed as follows:

Move Probability
1 1/6 = 0,16(6) = 16,(6)%
2 1/5 = 0,2 = 20%

3 1/4 = 0,25 = 25%
4 1/3 = 0,3(3) = 33,(3)%
5 1/2 = 0,5 = 50%
6 1/1 = 1 = 100%

Thus, if a revolver fails to fire five times, it is known that it will fire on the sixth attempt. A variant of the game is known, in which the drum is rotated after each move, equalizing the probabilities at each move.

In Lermontov's novel A Hero of Our Time, a bet was described that vaguely resembled this game. The first written mention of this term dates back to January 30, 1937, when George Sourdez's "Russian Roulette" appeared in the American magazine Collier's Weekly. It told about how, around 1917, Russian officers, disappointed in life, suddenly took out a revolver, took out only one cartridge from it, and then, spinning the drum, put the muzzle to the temple and pulled the trigger. The chances of it ending in death were five out of six.

How the game Russian roulette appeared

No one can accurately answer this question. There are three common versions of the appearance of this deadly game:

1. Russian roulette was invented by prison guards at the end of the 19th century. Allegedly, the prisoners were given a pistol with one cartridge. The game continued until it ended with someone's death. The overseers made bets and placed bets on which prisoner they thought should emerge victorious.


2. This game was invented by officers of the Russian army. Playing Russian roulette, they demonstrated their courage and fearlessness.


3. According to the third version, this game was conceived as a spectacular trick. The drum of the revolver was carefully lubricated. It turned out that under the weight of one cartridge it scrolled and was always at the bottom. This is how the picture appears: the amazed lady faints after the officer, in a fit of passion, decides to tempt fate and put her life on the line before her eyes.

Russian Roulette Rules

One cartridge is inserted into a six-shot revolver, then the drum is spun. The muzzle of the pistol is placed against the chest or head and the trigger is pulled. If the participant remains alive, then the game continues. The revolver is passed to the next.

There are varieties of these rules. For example, not one, but several cartridges are inserted into the drum.

There are more humane rules when the muzzle of a pistol is put to other parts of the body, wounds in which will not be fatal.

How is Russian Roulette played today?

Russian roulette is most popular among people prone to suicide. In particular, the organizers of the Darwin Award, which is awarded posthumously to people who died the most ridiculous death, argue that Russian roulette is one of the most original ways of suicide.

An unusual incident occurred in Cambodia. On March 22, 1999, three peasants in a bar were playing some kind of Russian roulette: they alternately kicked an anti-tank mine that was under their table. In this game, the winner could not be identified: a powerful explosion caused such destruction that none of the participants in this fun was ever found.

Pale as a sheet, a man in uniform white officer. A shaking hand with a revolver at the temple, large drops of sweat roll down it. Click. Misfire. A joyful sigh and the gun goes to the next "player" ... Usually, this is how the game of "Russian roulette" is described, although there were other games with death in the history of the Russian army.

Non-Russian game of Russian officers

The most surprising thing is that the “Russian roulette”, sung in cinema and literature, has the most remote relation to Russia. It appeared in the USA, and they played it in the most different countries peace. At the same time, this death game, indeed, received in our country during the Civil War. From the first days of entering Russia, only officers of the tsarist army could play Russian roulette. The fact is that in 1876 Russia purchased 130,000 Smith-Wesson III revolvers. Having entered the troops, weapons were intended exclusively for the officer corps. In this regard, the fatal game has become widespread only among officers. We played Russian roulette in different ways. As a rule, six players participated in the deadly fun. All cartridges were removed from the revolver except for one. Then, each of the players in turn turned the drum, brought the muzzle to the temple and nervously pulled the trigger. If the player remained alive, the weapon passed to the next officer in turn. They played either for a certain number of shot attempts or until the first victim. In rare cases, they shot not in the temple, but in the arm or even in the air.

What are the chances of surviving playing Russian roulette?

The most interesting thing is that, according to mathematicians, when playing Russian roulette using a six-shot revolver with one cartridge in the drum, without additional scrolling before each shot, the chances of dying are quite high. The first tempting fate has a 16% chance of being killed, the second has 20%, the third has 25%, the fourth has 33%, the fifth has 50%, and the sixth has no chance of surviving. If, according to the rules of the game, the drum was spun after each shot, then the chances of staying alive increased significantly. In this case, the first player could leave this light with 33% probability, the second 40%, the third 48%, the fourth 57%, the fifth 69%, the sixth 83%. If, according to the terms of the game, each of the participants pulled the trigger only once per game, then there was 17% that everyone would survive.

Schuler

The most amazing thing is that even when playing "Russian roulette" there were cheaters. They were people who did not want to die or tickle their nerves at all. Their task was only to show their feigned courage without risk to life or to shock the public. For their low purposes, they used a revolver. In it, as in a revolver, a drum rotated, but there was one difference. In a revolver, the drum scrolls with a click, and in a revolver, freely. Therefore, according to the law of physics, a bullet, if it is alone in the drum during its spin-up, will always remain in its lower part, and not at the muzzle. Thus, the player risks almost nothing.

"Cuckoo" of death

No less popular than Russian roulette in Russia at the beginning of the last century was a game with the harmless name "cuckoo". Played during: the First World War, the Revolution and the Civil War. After sunset, the officers, the participants in the game, gathered near a barn standing in the distance, an abandoned house or a barn. Among the players, lots were cast for which of them to be the cuckoo. After the roles were distributed, the players entered the room, lighting their way with candles. Before the start of the game, the lights were turned off, and the players dispersed around the room. In total darkness, the officer appointed by the cuckoo cuckooed, announcing the start of the game. They shot at him. He fell silent, changed his location and cuckooed again. Players again fired at his voice. The game continued until the cuckoo was alive, or until dawn broke. It is noteworthy that during the game both the “cuckoo” and the other players, who were often hit by a stray bullet, took the same risk. Moreover, oddly enough, the cuckoo quite often survived, which cannot be said about the rest of the players who found themselves under crossfire in a closed room.

Nicholas

4.9

Russian roulette (song of white emigrants)
Merkulov E.Yu.

In 1871, Smith-Wesson revolvers of the 1869 model were introduced into the Russian army. They were called the 4.2-linear (10.67 mm) Smith-Wesson III revolver (Smith & Wesson). Until 1876, Russia purchased 130,000 Smith & Wessons for officers. So quietly began the history of "Russian roulette", about which there are many myths and legends.

According to the classic rules of the game of "Russian roulette" (hussar roulette), one cartridge is loaded into an empty drum of a revolver and the drum is spinning. The location of the cartridge becomes unknown. After that, the players take turns bringing the muzzle of the revolver to their temples and pulling the trigger. The most common number of cartridges is one of six, if a 6-shot revolver is meant. Sometimes several cartridges are inserted. The deadliest combination is when only one empty space remains in the drum. Sometimes after each move the drum is spun - this increases the chances of staying alive, but the result becomes less predictable. Some variants of the game of roulette are not fatal, this is when the muzzle of a revolver is brought not to the temple, but to the hand or even to the side.

The history of revolvers and the emergence of Russian roulette.

We are driven here like animals in a cage,
It's over, we've got nothing to lose
And we were left with Russian roulette -
Simple gambling way die.
"Epitaph to passeism" Yuri Nesterenko.

Revolver Smith-Wesson received in America the name number 3 Russian First Model (No. 3 Russian First Model). Smith-Wesson revolvers were divided into three models, adopted in 1871, 1872 and 1880, and differed in barrel size and minor changes in details.

• Weight, kg: 1.20
• Length, mm: 300
• Barrel length, mm: 203/178/167
• Cartridge: .44 Russian (44 Smith-Wesson Russian)
• Caliber, mm: 10.67 mm (Real bullet caliber: 10.9 mm)
• Operating Principles: Single Action Trigger
• starting speed bullets, m/s: 200
• Type of ammunition: drum for 6 rounds
• Sight: Rear sight and front sight

It is known that a bullet from a revolver from a distance of 20 m pierced 3-4 pine boards 2.5 cm thick.

In Russia, roulette was called "hussar". There are many legends explaining the origin of this game. According to one, Russian roulette originated in the 19th century, when prisoners were forced to play Russian roulette, and the guards placed bets on the life or death of the prisoners.

Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev or "White General"

According to another, more beautiful legend, it is said that Russian officers played Russian roulette to show their courage and fearlessness.

At that time, there was a war with the Ottoman Empire, and in the wake of the game with death, the officers came up with at least gambling with life than war itself. Heroism was held in high esteem, especially since there were plenty of examples. Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev, an outstanding military leader, who was awarded a golden sword with diamonds for military operations on the Balkan Peninsula, was one of the most desperate generals. He went down in history with the title "white general", because he participated in the battles in a white uniform and on a white horse, representing an excellent target for the enemy.

Why did he only wear white? Skobelev was superstitious, followed signs and forebodings. In one of the battles against the Turks, Skobelev was shell-shocked by a bullet. The general explained this by wearing a black sheepskin coat, a gift from his father, and declared that from now on he would only wear white. Skobelev often risked his life and climbed onto the parapet, exposing himself to enemy bullets, but he seemed to be under a spell. The general committed many desperate acts and repeatedly went on the attack at the head of the detachment.

The desperate gesture and complete disregard for life looked strange against the backdrop of raging wars. The life of the military at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was not very diverse, and often even in the war, officers were forced to be bored. Those who did not participate in the battles, or languished in anticipation of hostilities, indulged in all serious. Drinking, playing cards and brothels could not stop the constant craving of youth for exploits and recklessness.

In addition to the manifestation of bravado, this was one of the options for a duel, for which at that time the survivors were mercilessly punished. The loser was declared dead from a "stray bullet" if they were at the front, or suicidal if there were no hostilities nearby.

The heroic defense of the Shipka mountain pass in Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878

The Ottoman archives preserved information that during the Russian-Ottoman war, captured Russian officers played roulette, surprising the recklessness of the Turks.

Istanbul school history teacher Nihat Kaan says: “For the first time, people learned about Russian roulette in Turkey at the end of the nineteenth century, during the next Russian-Ottoman war. There are records of this in the Ottoman archives. In those years, brand new Smith-Wesson revolvers entered service with many European armies. The captured Russian officers staged real performances with pistols. The prisoners spun the drums, and the Turkish corporals twisted their fingers to their heads, suggesting that the Russians simply have such a strange tradition, like drinking vodka for breakfast…”

The next weapon of Russian roulette lovers was the legendary revolver Nagant.

7.62 mm Nagant revolver model 1895.

TO late XIX century Russian empire was forced to start mass rearmament of its army. An outdated model of a 4.2-linear (10.67 mm) revolver of the Smith-Wesson III system of the 1880 model of the year fell under it. The revolver never fell in love with the officers, despite the good lethality and ease of reloading, the gun was too heavy.

May 13, 1895 by decree Nicholas II the Nagant revolver was adopted by the Russian army on May 13, 1895, and the Smith-Wesson remained in service with the police. By July 20, 1914, according to the report card, there were 424,434 units of the Nagant revolver of all modifications in the troops.

Nagant is a revolver developed by Belgian gunsmiths brothers Emil and Leon Nagant.

• Weight, kg: Weight of the revolver without cartridges, kg: 0.75
• The mass of the equipped revolver, kg: 0.835
• Length, mm: 235 mm
• Barrel length, mm: 114 mm (number of grooves 4)
• Cartridge: 7.62 × 38 mm Nagant (initial bullet speed, m / s 290
• Bullet energy, J 290)
• Caliber, mm: 7.62 mm
• Operating principles: double action mechanism
• Rate of fire, shots / min: 14-21
• Muzzle velocity, m/s: 272
• Sighting range, m: 50
• Maximum range, m: 250
• Type of ammunition: drum for 7 rounds

At the beginning of the 20th century, the game of Russian roulette began to gain momentum. If earlier it was bravado, then at that time it became one of the most common suicide options. Nagan, in the wake of the idea of ​​​​fatalism, relished the general population. Students, female students, high school and high school students, cadets, cadets, young ladies, businessmen, intellectuals, anarchists and many others tempted fate with the help of a revolver. The game has become fashionable because of unrequited love, money, an attempt to test your luck, even at the cost of mortal risk.

The October Revolution of 1917 knocked many out of the saddle and desperate white officers increasingly took up the revolver. In a hopeless situation in a crumbling empire, or in exile and desperately homesick, the military played with life in order to commit suicide.

During civil war Between two and three million refugees left the country. Many White Guards settled in Constantinople (Istanbul) and on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey and, losing everything, put a revolver to the temple with a single bullet. To stop the game among your officers, General Wrangel even issued a special decree, but this did little to help, according to the recollections of the Wrangel soldiers in exile, white officers sometimes chose the most deadly option with a single empty nest in the drum. Many later moved to Europe.

Emigrant Paris is spinning like a carousel,
Hysteria of fun behind every window...
Why are you sad, my young lieutenant,
Do you remember the house again?

You leave your sentiments to the grisettes,
Aren't you sick of this holiday bell?
Better play roulette with me
Loading his last round into his revolver.

Faces blurred in cigarette smoke
On the stage, a gypsy woman sings about Moscow...
As if we are there again, in our ancient capital,
Only all this is a lie or hops in the head.

So come on, lieutenant, be sad for Russia,
Forget it like a pipe dream.
Drown your nostalgia in champagne
If it doesn't work out - get the last cartridge ...

I spin the barrel of my revolver
I will estimate the thickness of a hair from fate.
I'm playing for broke, gentlemen officers,
The rate is life, gentlemen, the rest is melancholy!
Russian roulette (song of white emigrants) Merkulov E.Yu.

Written evidence of the game appeared in 1937, but just about these events of 1917.

January 30, 1937. George Surdez(Eng. Georges Surdez) in the article "Russian roulette" in an American magazine Collier's Weekly talks about a dialogue with a French sergeant who served in the Russian army in the Foreign Legion:

"Feldheim... Have you ever heard of Russian roulette?" When I said that I had not heard, he told me everything about her. When he served in the Russian army in Romania, around 1917, when everything around was falling apart, and Russian officers believed that they were losing not only prestige, money, family, country, but also honor in the face of the Allies. Some of them, sitting anywhere - at a table, in a cafe, with friends - suddenly took out a revolver, took out a cartridge from the drum, twisted it, put the muzzle to their head and pulled the trigger. There was a five out of six chance that a shot would be fired and the officer's brains scattered all over the place. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't.

Maybe, we are talking about the old 6 - charging revolvers Smith-Wesson 1869, and not 7 - charging revolvers of the Nagant system of the 1895 model.

“Gentlemen! why empty arguments? You want proof: I suggest you try for yourself whether a person can arbitrarily dispose of his life, or whether each of us has a fateful minute in advance ... ”“ A hero of our time. M. Yu. Lermontov.

I wrote about one of the variants of Russian roulette M.Yu. Lermontov in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" in the chapter "The Fatalist". Lieutenant Vulich, seized with a passion for the game, took a pistol with a flintlock, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. No one remembered whether it was loaded, in addition, flintlock weapons were not very reliable: the gunpowder dampened over time and often misfired. The pistol did not fire and the lieutenant won. The officers decided that it was not loaded, but Vulich cocked the hammer a second time and aimed this time at the wall. This time there was no misfire and a shot rang out. Lieutenant Vulich, smiling smugly, told about the sensations from this version of Russian roulette: “This is better than a bank and shtoss. Stoss - favorite gambling card game officers in early XIX century.

... often there is some strange imprint of inevitable fate on the face of a person who is supposed to die in a few hours ... "A hero of our time." M. Yu. Lermontov.

Lieutenant Vulich died on the same day from the checker of a Cossack ...

Russian roulette and mathematics.

The probability of getting a bullet is quite high and it increases with each new attempt, if you do not turn the drum. The first player risks the most and to equalize the risk, the second player does not have to spin the reel.

Russian roulette with one cartridge:

1. Probability of hitting a bullet if you do not rotate the cylinder of a six-shot pistol after each move:

P = 1 / (N - n), where P is the probability of a shot, N is the number of nests in the drum, n is the number of moves made.
1. 1/6 = 0,1(6) = 16,(6)%
2. 1/5 = 0,2 = 20%
3. 1/4 = 0,25 = 25%
4. 1/3 = 0,(3) = 33,(3)%
5. 1/2 = 0,5 = 50%
6. 1/1 = 1 = 100%

2. If after each pull of the trigger to rotate the drum, the chances of surviving:
P(n) = (1 - p)^n, where n is the number of attempts, p is the probability of a shot.
1. 5 / 6 = 83,3%
2. (5 / 6)2 = 69,4%
3. (5 / 6)3 = 57,9%
4. (5 / 6)4 = 48,2%
5. (5 / 6)5 = 40,2%
6. (5 / 6)6 = 33,5%

This is when using a six-shot revolver, and if you use the "Nagant", then the probability of successfully playing a little more, but not much.

If you play Russian roulette with a six-shot revolver once a year, starting at age 20, then the chance of reaching the 50th birthday will be 0.42%, and if with a revolver (7 rounds) 0.98%, the same chances of survival will be if you play every day within a month.

Russian roulette in people's lives.

Vladimir Mayakovsky

Many people played Russian roulette, but most of the stories remained under the cover of mystery. The idea that people gathered and put their lives on the line, with a revolver, excites the minds of many generations. But history has preserved some facts, conjectures and legends about the participants in the deadly games.

According to studies, about 80% of Russian roulette players are men over the age of 25.

It is known that Vladimir Mayakovsky I played Russian roulette twice in my youth and told Lila Brik about it. April 14, 1930 Vladimir Mayakovsky again took up the revolver. Presumably, he decided to try his luck again and pulled the trigger, but luck was not on the side of the poet.

As they say - "the incident is over",
love boat crashed into life.
I'm counting on life, and there's no need for a list
Mutual pain, troubles and insults.
Happy to stay. Vladimir Mayakovsky. 12.IV.30 (poet's suicide letter).

Mamed, son of an Azerbaijani millionaire, philanthropist and real state councilor in Baku (1907) Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, being an officer of the "Wild Division" dies because of Russian roulette.

Graham Greene – English writer, a British intelligence officer who has repeatedly been in "hot spots" stated that in his youth he played "Russian roulette" to get rid of boredom. And after clicking on the empty nest, he felt "a feeling of complete delight and relief."

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) wrote that William Bradford Shockley, American physicist, laureate Nobel Prize in physics, he tried to commit suicide with the help of Russian roulette.

Malcolm X- An American fighter for the rights of blacks, during the days of gangster youth, to prove fearlessness before death, he pulled the trigger three times in front of gang members.

The game of roulette is deadly popular in our time. In 2004, at the Summer Olympics in Greece, a policeman and an ordinary soldier played roulette out of boredom. The policeman was luckier, and the 25-year-old soldier received 9 grams of lead.

In Turkey, Russian roulette is still popular among golden youth. Turkish girls also play, not wanting to lag behind dashing guys, which often ends in death. Turkish police often detain young people playing the deadly Russian game. The legend of Russian roulette and the desperate recklessness of Russian officers in Turkey, from the Russian-Ottoman war to the civil one, is too strong.

Did the officers have a secret when playing Russian roulette?

The drum, some models of a revolver, when the trigger is set to the safety cock, can rotate freely on its axis. When a well-lubricated drum rotated, under the influence of its mass, one cartridge, with a high probability, stood at the bottom of the revolver, and the nest on top was empty. These include the Model III 4.2-line Smith-Wesson revolver. But the revolver of the Nagant system of the 1895 model had a special lock, and the mass of the cartridge did not significantly affect the result.

If it was a deadly trick - it remains to envy the composure of the officers, if not - recklessness.

Russian roulette, instilled by the brave officers of tsarist times, will forever remain in history as one of the most desperate and mind-boggling games when life is at stake.

Remember what the most famous Russian roulette player wrote: “It is not difficult to die in this life. Make life much more difficult" Vladimir Mayakovsky.