3 Dec, 2016 16:34

Russian military cadets' epic #MannequinChallenge to the sound of Tchaikovsky (VIDEO)

Cadets from a Russian military youth organization have “picked up the baton” in the Mannequin Challenge by performing an impressive sequence featuring floating weaponry and Tchaikovsky’s classic, The Nutcracker.

The internet phenomenon, which involves people taking up various frozen poses while being slowly filmed by a roving camera, has resulted in countless viral videos, including a Moscow metro Mannequin Challenge and an ill-thought-out attempt by Syria’s white helmets.

Now Russia’s Yunarmii youth are getting in on the game, carrying out their own version of the ‘challenge’ at their Moscow headquarters.

Footage of the challenge is set to the dulcet tones of the Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the nation’s greatest composers.

In the video, young cadets can be seen dressed in red berets performing medical procedures on a resuscitation dummy. The footage also, rather amazingly, features a ‘floating’ rifle.

The youth group tweeted out their stellar work, telling followers it had “picked up the baton” and “halted time.”

The Yunarmii youth movement began earlier this year to “promote Russian values and traditions.” According Yunarmii’s website, the group works closely with military “educational institutions,” as well as the Russian Air Force and Navy.

It accepts children aged 13 to 17, who are encouraged to participate in sports clubs and games.