Support The Moscow Times!

Villagers Strip Plane

MOSCOW -- Greedy villagers stripped a Russian military plane that landed in eastern Kazakhstan of almost everything on board, including silk parachutes and the flight recorder, Itar-Tass said Wednesday. The unmanned plane took off from a military airfield at Astrakhan in southern Russia and made a parachute landing near the village of Stary Dzhambai across the border in eastern Kazakhstan after running out of fuel. When Kazakh security officials arrived at the site they found virtually nothing in the plane, the agency said. Village women took a fancy to the silk of the 100-square-meter parachute, while children liked the electronic equipment, according to Itar-Tass.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more