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2034
2035

Photo from the open casket funeral of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, who died when his craft crashed during re-entry (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by HoHoNOPE

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[–]Obnoxious_liberal 1709 points1710 points ago

I may have my cosmonauts mixed up, but I think that is the gentleman that knew he was going to die when he launched. They knew the craft would not make it through re-entry, but the back up pilot was his best friend, so if he did not go his bff would have to go. So he went, and cussed the Russian leaders the whole way down.

Edit for addition/context: When the Challenger exploded engineers at NASA had warned that it was not safe to launch, but because of political pressure the launch went on as scheduled. America is not above accidents of this nature. source- one of my MPA profs.

[–]HoHoNOPE[S] 1062 points1063 points ago

You are correct.

[–]cyberslick188 710 points711 points ago

Wow, that is fucking insane.

I'm literally buying that book right now.

[–]NumberOneAsshole 361 points362 points ago

I demand proof that you bought the book.

[–]ctornync 1026 points1027 points ago

NOW WHAT

[–]iLLusive240 310 points311 points ago

this guy isnt even the same guy...

[–]ElephantRefrigerator 235 points236 points ago

Doesn't matter, got receipt.

[–]aendegrest 27 points28 points ago

I like it so hard when redditors deliver.

[–]idrinkmusic 71 points72 points ago

Now if only Amazon would deliver...

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    [–]TheLemonKing 255 points256 points ago

    TIL that 81 karma costs $9.67.

    [–]NeptunesWrath 86 points87 points ago

    Freedom isn't free, costs a $1.03

    [–]CaptainTheGabe 91 points92 points ago

    Freedom costs a buck o five.

    [–]hereforthemoney 15 points16 points ago

    What about $0.89 for a man's final words?

    [–]realfinkployd 67 points68 points ago

    Best I can do is $0.25

    [–]mwmwmwmwmmdw 64 points65 points ago

    let me go call over a buddy of mine he is an expert at freedom measured in monetary value.

    [–]IvyLeagueBro 3 points4 points ago

    I'm sorry to say, your freedom is a replica. I see them made all the time, they are pretty common around freedom enthusiasts.

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            [–]1Ender 104 points105 points ago

            I WANT CREDIT CARD INFO FOR PROFI... I MEAN PROOF!

            [–]wootykins 424 points425 points ago

            Today not-OP delivered

            [–]mach-2 130 points131 points ago

            Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

            [–]digitalbowtie 38 points39 points ago

            Ground control to major tom.

            [–]Kelvara 32 points33 points ago

            Stalin more relevant than usual.

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              [–]slapded 70 points71 points ago

              straight pimp

              [–]mach-2 57 points58 points ago

              Nigga checks out.

              [–]niggadatass 10 points11 points ago

              Move along, move along

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                [–]1337Lulz 18 points19 points ago

                Dont forget this

                [–]berensflame 36 points37 points ago

                I find it sickening that this is for sale. The poor guy's last words turned into a commercial sound clip.

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                  [–]CrazyOldRussian 11 points12 points ago

                  You're pretty fly Ctornync

                  [–]figbash137 14 points15 points ago

                  Nice try, amazon troll salesman.

                  Edit: I now imagine a guy trying to sell Trolls.

                  [–]BackScratcher 3 points4 points ago

                  All for Karma.

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                    [–]ranger922 74 points75 points ago

                    Look what was on my desk!

                    [–]suo 12 points13 points ago

                    Kudos man! Care to share any insight on how good it is? It sounds quite fascinating and I might make the purchase myself.

                    [–]ranger922 12 points13 points ago

                    I bought the book not knowing much about the Soviet space program during the 1960s. I of course knew all about the story of NASA, so reading this book was extremely fascinating to hear about the early years of the space race from the 'other side' if you will. Everything from the recruitment, selection, and training of the Cosmonauts was very eye opening and very, very Russian.

                    If you are a geek about all things space race, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

                    [–]FmMan3 19 points20 points ago

                    You have a really nice thumb. I want to lick it; can I lick it?

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                        [–]Konstantynopolitancz 30 points31 points ago

                        Oh yeah, well I'm figuratively buying that book right now.

                        [–]nstroud 33 points34 points ago

                        Or, you can literally check it out (or order it) from a library near you. Free karma for free advice about a free service, plz?

                        Edit: forgot link http://www.worldcat.org/title/starman-the-truth-behind-the-legend-of-yuri-gagarin/oclc/711758313&referer=brief_results

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                          [–]desynch 18 points19 points ago

                          Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin

                          link to the book on amazon. i am really considering this purchase because space is awesome, and it sounds like a very interesting read.

                          [–]jdmCrush 21 points22 points ago

                          Wow, that is fucking insane. I'm literally responding to your comment right now.

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                            [–]PlaySalieri 29 points30 points ago

                            That moon disaster speech that Nixon didn't have to give is incredibly powerful. Thank you for the whole link.

                            [–]calamormine 193 points194 points ago

                            This story flat-out made me cry when I read it the first time. And it highlights an important fact: People are people, regardless of what border they live inside. For all the paranoia and insanity revolving around the Russia/US space race(s), these men were brave and admirable individuals who laid their lives on the line to benefit humanity.

                            [–]Joke_Getter 215 points216 points ago

                            In fairness, at least one of them was a dog.

                            [–]Incursus 496 points497 points ago

                            Laika boss.

                            [–]jackcardiff 118 points119 points ago

                            For those who don't know. Laika was the Dog that went to space.

                            [–]Cthulhu_Bloop 32 points33 points ago

                            She wasn't a dog that came back, however :'(

                            [–]minervamoon 86 points87 points ago

                            For those who don't know. jackcardiff was Captian Obvious on the Obvious Ship.

                            [–]jackcardiff 37 points38 points ago

                            Just going off the lack of upvotes for the poor guy. Way to be a dick, pal.

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                                [–]eleventeenth_beatle 11 points12 points ago

                                Nicely done.

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                                  [–]Forkler 12 points13 points ago

                                  And a monkey!

                                  [–]zombie_toddler 4 points5 points ago

                                  With a banana dispenser and only two buttons, according to a British professor.

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                                    [–]Blake83 26 points27 points ago

                                    yes, russian men tend to be less than attractive, much of it stems from their inferior socialist nutrition

                                    [–]illusiveab 25 points26 points ago

                                    In Soviet Russia, nutrition eat you.

                                    [–]Soviet_Waffle 7 points8 points ago

                                    :(

                                    [–]Soviet_Waffle 4 points5 points ago

                                    Depends to where you live. Men in large cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg are quite handsome.

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                                        [–]lalomania 35 points36 points ago

                                        You heard it here first guys: people are people!

                                        [–]kalban777 33 points34 points ago

                                        I believe Depeche Mode had it first.

                                        [–]pete1729 11 points12 points ago

                                        So why should it be...

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                                            [–]sleepyoverlord 46 points47 points ago

                                            I'd like to also add that the back-up pilot, Yuri Gagarin, was a Soviet Hero (First human in space) and his best friend so he went up knowing he wasn't coming back but Yuri dies not too long after anyway in an accident. Tragic.

                                            [–]Artisane 16 points17 points ago

                                            "Yuri Gagarin died in a plane accident in 1968, a year before the Americans reached the moon."

                                            =(

                                            [–]beergoggles69 6 points7 points ago

                                            Hmm... curious.

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                                              [–]grayraw 213 points214 points ago

                                              Ok, reddit, debunking time.

                                              As far as I can tell this article is a sensationalist, sentimental bullshit. I have a history degree and, as student, interviewed old engineers from Yuzhmash. They was essentially "soviet NASA". We talked about first rockets and first flights and they are never mentioned "The tragic sacrifice of kosmonavt Komarov".

                                              But there is more.

                                              1 Despite my efforts I can't find russian sources for many details of NPR article. Gagarin inspected Soyuz and found 203 structural problem? Nope. Journalist Yaroslav Golovanov reporting about Gagarin and his demand to be put into a spacesuit in the launch day? No decent source for this.

                                              This stuff is mentioned only in translated versions of NPR's article.

                                              2 The sound record is a joke. This is basically a mix of official radio announcement and gibberish. First guy is saying: "Kosmonavt Komarov says "Hi" to the roads of motherland" and it repeats several times.

                                              There is no way that this recors is real talk of two people.

                                              3 The NPR's text based on a book "Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin". After its release popular russian kp.ru published an article about this book and stated: "it lying about everything".

                                              For example: American intelligence couldn't "pick up Komarov's cries of rage" when his parachute didn't open because transmitting antenna of capsule was fixed on straps of this, un-opened, parachute.

                                              http://kp.ru/daily/25661.3/822807/

                                              4 In 2006 russians made a documentary film about Komarov's flight. It called "Space. First Blood". Authors state that Gagarin and not Kosygin was the last man who talked with Komarov. You can hear them politely discussing stuff around 45:00.

                                              http://rutube.ru/video/150d1c44627494f6b5ed0ab5a97a87e7/

                                              5 But there is an explanation. After Komarov's death there were many rumors. Even urban legends. Party blocked media coverage of the catastrophe and people come up with they own versions. Some of them echoed in post-soviet and western press.

                                              I don't think that authors of Starman deliberately lying. I think its just a bad example of yellow press.

                                              [–]Elostirion 69 points70 points ago

                                              NPR itself issued some corrections here and here.

                                              [–]grayraw 5 points6 points ago

                                              Thank you. This links should be higher.

                                              [–]Dragobot 66 points67 points ago

                                              You're right. NPR article is BS. Here is a very long debunking article in Russian: http://sklad-info.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_18.html.

                                              Let me add two more points to yours.

                                              1. While everything space related was very secret during Soviet time, once the regime fell down in 90s a lot of people talked about this tragedy in interviews and books. Cosmonauts, designers, rescue helicopter team, etc. Their stories are consistent with each other but not with the NPR article.

                                              2. Myth: "The flight was way too rushed and Komarov felt he was going to die even before the take off". Yes, the flight was rushed because of the space race, but not that rushed. The flight with known 300 faults was unmanned Soyuz 7K-OK aka Soyuz #1 and then there were also #2 and #3 unmanned flights. Komarov was flying Soyuz-1 which was #4. What is more important is that the Soyuz designers considered the spacecraft good enough if they thought it was capable of returning to Earth. Komarov's flight had a lot of cascading failures because one of solar panels failed to deploy, but he eventually put the spacecraft on a good deorbiting path. What killed him was considered tested and proven parachute deployment system. The system worked fine in previous manned flights.

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                                                [–]bishman 42 points43 points ago

                                                According to the article only a chipped heel bone survived the crash. Does this mean that the remains in the casket were a portion of the remains of the capsule?

                                                [–]biscuity 43 points44 points ago

                                                IIRC, the heel bone was the only thing left relatively intact, hence why they say it's the only part of him to survive. Every other part of him melted into that thing in the photo.

                                                [–]zsshamalama 7 points8 points ago

                                                that "thing" looks like a torso.

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                                                  [–]arksien 92 points93 points ago

                                                  I think one of the craziest parts of that article was the picture of the letter prepared by Nixon in case the Apollo 11 astronauts were unable to return home.

                                                  Also, I hate to be that guy to point it out, but while the Russians had a bad track record of sending men to their deaths in vehicles known to be unsafe, the US has done the same. Let's not forget the time that we ignored engineer's warnings and launched a vehicle the engineers believed to be unsafe, and it failed exactly the way it was predicted. There was also the time we ignored damage that was observed on flight day 2, allowing a vehicle many engineers again believed was unsafe to deborbit.

                                                  [–]novaya3 6 points7 points ago

                                                  "Widows-to-be".

                                                  [–]oracle989 4 points5 points ago

                                                  That whole statement is just...haunting.

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                                                    [–]nneighbour 53 points54 points ago

                                                    I've always found his last transmission caught on tape to be so haunting and painful to listen to.

                                                    [–]SoLongSidekick 10 points11 points ago

                                                    Do you have or know of a transcript of what he was saying upon re entry?

                                                    [–]youenjoymyself 11 points12 points ago

                                                    Wow. Just...damn.

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                                                      [–]leftsideofthelane 58 points59 points ago

                                                      That back up pilot was Yuri Gagarin.

                                                      [–]Damaband41 15 points16 points ago

                                                      Everyone in this thread is serious and informed. I can't be on Reddit...

                                                      [–]CUNTBERT_RAPINGTON 5 points6 points ago

                                                      Welcome to Reddit circa 2007

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                                                          [–]umami2 29 points30 points ago

                                                          His best friend he saved ended up dying a year later in a plane crash.

                                                          [–]ElimGarak 50 points51 points ago

                                                          Yup - from the rumors he died because he was flying drunk. He started drinking heavily (heavier?) after this incident with his friend.

                                                          [–]RULESONEANDTWO 22 points23 points ago

                                                          Can anyone blame him though? If that happened to me, I know I would do worse things then drink and fly a plane.

                                                          [–]CatsAreGods 12 points13 points ago

                                                          Crash into the Kremlin at Mach 1.4? Yup.

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                                                                [–]perpetual_student 19 points20 points ago

                                                                but the back up pilot was his best friend

                                                                Also known as Yuri Gagarin

                                                                [–]eetsumkaus 40 points41 points ago

                                                                Total badass. Managed to successfully reenter the atmosphere MANUALLY despite all the system failures, dies of a failed parachute. That he did all of that despite calling this out before is impressive to me.

                                                                [–]sfoxy 140 points141 points ago

                                                                These Italian brother's supposedly recorded several incidents where Cosmonauts were lost in space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judica-Cordiglia_brothers One particular capture was of an SOS Morse code fading into space. They say another is the breathing of an unconscious man about to die. So I can't imagine what would be worse.. drifting off into space and becoming sleeping knowing that I'll never wake up and being utterly and completely alone OR plummeting back to my home planet in a blaze of fire so hot that my remains will resemble a piece of petrified coral.

                                                                [–]DougyM 139 points140 points ago

                                                                Looks like their recordings are faked.

                                                                Since the 1960s critical analysis of the recordings has cast doubt on their provenance. For instance, audio transcripts reveal that all the cosmonauts, who were supposed to be Soviet air force pilots did not follow standard communication protocols, such as identifying themselves when speaking or using the correct technical terminology. Likewise all the recordings contain disjointed sentences and grammatical errors that would have not been made by well-educated, Russian native speakers in the Soviet space program. Though some of the transcripts record cosmonauts saying they are leaving Earth's orbit (i.e. heading into interplanetary or "deep" space), the manned Vostok 3KAs could not reach escape velocity because their designs never contained secondary-burn propulsion units. This was inherent to the Vostok programme, OKB-1 only required a velocity to reach Earth orbit (28,160 kilometres per hour (17,500 mph)) far less than those speeds needed to break orbit (40,320 kilometres per hour (25,050 mph)). Powerful enough propulsion units did not appear until the RD-270 engine in 1969, and the N1 (moon rocket) in 1974

                                                                [–]sfoxy 19 points20 points ago

                                                                Good catch. I only did a quick google because I read about this a long time ago. I guess its a case of really wanting to believe. Not because I'm a sadistic asshole but I just think the thought of someone intercepting someone's last moments dying in space would be pretty cool. Due to the technological constraints you quoted, sounds like this has never been a possibility without us knowing about it. Has a greater chance of happening 50 years from now rather than 50 years in the past. We'll all be watching it on CNN.

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                                                                  [–]danish_sprode 157 points158 points ago

                                                                  I would rather drift off into space in hopes that some alien race finds my body and brings me back to life.

                                                                  [–]zombie_toddler 91 points92 points ago

                                                                  Yeah, that and the fact that you asphyxiate in your sleep as opposed to get pressure cooked and burned alive in a capsule.

                                                                  [–]Letharis 24 points25 points ago

                                                                  Interesting thought but your body would decay within the spacecraft, likely beyond any form of (even futuristic) resuscitation. Lots of bacteria in you eagerly await your demise.

                                                                  [–]subtleshuttle 79 points80 points ago

                                                                  I would think that the lack of oxygen would hinder aerobic respiration and any organisms that could utilize anaerobic respiration would have their metabolisms slowed a shit ton due to low temperatures so even if they did survive the fact that the water they are made up of is well frozen solid, they wouldn't consume much I would think. I dunno, I'm pretty stoned.

                                                                  [–]pipian 5 points6 points ago

                                                                  If water freezes then the neuronal architecture that is 'you' would be irremediably damaged by the formation of ice crystals.

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                                                                    [–]apatheticjester 3 points4 points ago

                                                                    I wonder though, likely the astronaut would die of either lack of oxygen or freezing...either one might lead to the body being preserved.

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                                                                        [–]HotLikeSauce12 33 points34 points ago

                                                                        "it's better to burn out, than fade away."

                                                                        [–]Right_About_Meow 11 points12 points ago

                                                                        You should read Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury.

                                                                        [–]theescapist123 13 points14 points ago

                                                                        That was a good fucking story.

                                                                        For the lazy: http://www.scaryforkids.com/kaleidoscope-by-ray-bradbury/

                                                                        [–]FreeTopher 5 points6 points ago

                                                                        "I wonder if anyone will see me..."

                                                                        Sorry if I didn't get it word-for-word, it's been like 10 years since I read it.

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                                                                          [–]Psirix 10 points11 points ago

                                                                          I would prefer to fly off into space. Maybe my craft would be discovered somewhere, by some other species. Though very very very very unlikely, it's at least better then burning up going back to earth.

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                                                                            [–]WizardlyJeffcott 8 points9 points ago

                                                                            Learned something new today. Thanks.

                                                                            [–]OneCello 18 points19 points ago

                                                                            Holy shit. I cant even....

                                                                            [–]2paws 10 points11 points ago

                                                                            Also worth noting that the bff involved was Yuri Gagarin the first human to journey into outer space!

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                                                                              [–]The_Colonel1292 151 points152 points ago

                                                                              can anyone analyze and tell me what part of the body is that?

                                                                              [–]ctornync 264 points265 points ago

                                                                              Well I can't pass up the chance to show off my four-year forensics degree.

                                                                              [–]BrendanJB 54 points55 points ago

                                                                              The face ruined me hahahaha.

                                                                              [–]jmcstar 22 points23 points ago

                                                                              Very impressive work. I could see NOTHING when looking at it.

                                                                              [–]rear_smeller 21 points22 points ago

                                                                              why is he sad :(

                                                                              [–]ctornync 63 points64 points ago

                                                                              the AC unit was broken

                                                                              [–]The_Colonel1292 6 points7 points ago

                                                                              it doesn't look like you are fooling around to me, that's what i actually thought the formed was. the head and body you drew is what i first concluded, but it just can't be that small, my guess is that is just part of the torso wrapped in the suit.

                                                                              [–]kilo4fun 5 points6 points ago

                                                                              Most of your body is water. There's a reason why when you get cremated, what's left is just a jar of ash.

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                                                                                [–]desynch 31 points32 points ago

                                                                                the whole part.

                                                                                or at least, what's left of it. only a chipped heel bone survived the crash (if you could even say that).

                                                                                [–]DocJawbone 52 points53 points ago

                                                                                From the story, I'm assuming it's his balls.

                                                                                [–]redcolumbine 75 points76 points ago

                                                                                I think it's mostly space suit.

                                                                                [–]-soulsearcher- 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                I second this. Why is this comment so far down? All I came here for is so someone could explain to me what I'm seeing here.

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                                                                                  [–]ITsHxCTOASTER 30 points31 points ago

                                                                                  The atmospheric black metal band Leucosis used this photo for an album cover. Just an interesting piece of information.

                                                                                  [–]r721 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                  Quite a nice band too.

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                                                                                    [–]ctornync 126 points127 points ago

                                                                                    "yuck6.jpg" -- either imgur made a great guess about what to name your image, or there are five more jpg's on your computer I really don't want to see.

                                                                                    [–]prose-before-hoes 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                    One of the most relevant imgur URLs I've seen so far.

                                                                                    [–]mguzman011 71 points72 points ago

                                                                                    Fortunately, yuck3 is the only one that has been uploaded.

                                                                                    [–]ctornync 50 points51 points ago

                                                                                    raising my glass to you, Reddit hero, for fearlessly typing in each of the the other yuck#.jpg's, in the face of great yuck

                                                                                    [–]Nizzo 39 points40 points ago

                                                                                    yuck7

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                                                                                      [–]Sir_Vyvin 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                      NSFW

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                                                                                          [–]imabadmthrfckr 195 points196 points ago

                                                                                          Why in the hell they wanted to left the casket open for that?

                                                                                          [–]nyeholt 405 points406 points ago

                                                                                          I recall reading somewhere that he'd told Gagarin that he wanted his superiors to see what had become of him because of their decision to send him. I have no references to back that up though, so there's every chance I'm mis-remembering.

                                                                                          Edit: Have tried looking around through articles to find some more specific information, but can't find the one I'm remembering. I remember it had a bit of a focus on his mother and wife (sister maybe?). I got onto the topic of Komarov and Gagarin after reading about the Judica-Cordiglia brothers and wanting to find out some actual facts. Now I can't find the reference, but have gone back reading a bunch of stuff about the 60s space race :D

                                                                                          [–]illusiveab 135 points136 points ago

                                                                                          Primarily because there's a difference between sending a man to his death in theory and seeing his charred body in front of you. Much like you can tell someone 'X' is wrong, but they won't truly understand it until they see that 'X' is wrong.

                                                                                          [–]Jojje22 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                          Maybe it would be an idea to show the guys in the senate the content of the caskets coming back from the middle east too...

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                                                                                            [–]nilgiri 28 points29 points ago

                                                                                            but don't you think if they were powerful enough to force him to go on a suicide mission, they would be powerful enough to force the funeral was closed casket to not make it look as gruesome?

                                                                                            [–]RULESONEANDTWO 28 points29 points ago

                                                                                            He did die a Soviet hero though. Maybe they just wanted to respect his final wishes?

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                                                                                                [–]Nevermind04 100 points101 points ago

                                                                                                I remember reading somewhere that there's a code among the Soviet military, requiring all deaths in service to be open casket. I believe the reason was that if people could openly see the horrors of war, perhaps it would discourage them from wanting war.

                                                                                                [–]Troll_Stomper 61 points62 points ago

                                                                                                I have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but I like it.

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                                                                                                  [–]Theorex 199 points200 points ago

                                                                                                  A big "Fuck You" to the people that killed him, they fried him and they get to see the results.

                                                                                                  [–]ceej93 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                  god damn right

                                                                                                  [–]NBAallstar 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                                  Check out some of the comments on this photo in the AskReddit thread it popped up in a couple days ago (where I assume OP got the picture from).

                                                                                                  They go into more detail, and the whole thread is a prretty interesting read.

                                                                                                  [–]fornicationstation 59 points60 points ago

                                                                                                  My Russian friend has told me before that it's a cultural thing to always have an open casket, and to make sure everyone sees. At least in his experience, the parents want their children to be accustomed to death, to take a good look at it. He's seen people smashed up in car accidents from the time he was a little boy. And that seeing the body helps people with closure (or something similar and less emotional). Like, yep, that's a dead body.

                                                                                                  [–]ElimGarak 22 points23 points ago

                                                                                                  Weird. I grew up in Russia and heard nothing like that. Russia - just like America - had a ton of different cultures & subcultures. And remember that this was before the advent of TV that does a lot to synchronize the society around the same set of values and ideas.

                                                                                                  [–]fornicationstation 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                  He never lived there, so that may have something to do with it. He also grew up around very devout Russian Baptists, so it may be a subculture, as you said.

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                                                                                                    [–]Solendrys 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                    Respect?

                                                                                                    [–]eamonman2 16 points17 points ago

                                                                                                    Respect

                                                                                                    [–]imabadmthrfckr 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                                    not sure if showing that is respect. But anyhow this guy had some huge pair of cojones and deserve all the respect

                                                                                                    [–]rusemean 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                                    It's absolutely respectful. To hide what happened to him, to make it palatable, would be to downplay this man's sacrifice. To suggest that his charred remnants are not deserving of their contemplation strikes me as disrespectful.

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                                                                                                      [–]cyberbullyvictim 26 points27 points ago

                                                                                                      And he's naked. They should have put a little suit on him.

                                                                                                      [–]davratta 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                                      His space suit melted onto his body.

                                                                                                      [–]RULESONEANDTWO 23 points24 points ago

                                                                                                      That's terrible......

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                                                                                                        [–]Antidote 71 points72 points ago

                                                                                                        Typically WTF images get less disturbing for me the longer I look at them. This one gets worse the longer I look. That was a person and now they're goo...

                                                                                                        [–]slowwwpoke 59 points60 points ago

                                                                                                        Nah, that was a person, then they were goo, and now they're a charred husk :(

                                                                                                        [–]nourez 32 points33 points ago

                                                                                                        Nah, that was goo, then it was a person, then it was goo again, and now he's a charred husk.

                                                                                                        [–]BoggleHead 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                                        Well... he was a person, then he was goo, and then they became bubbling, boiling goo, followed by a ball of fire, and lastly a charred husk.

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                                                                                                          [–]kirk_smith 304 points305 points ago

                                                                                                          This is a very sad story, but heartwarming at the same time. He knew he was probably going to die, but went anyway to protect his friend. It seems that Gagarin would have done the same. A very brave act. Stories like this need to get out there. Not all Soviets were Stalin like figures. Many were just normal people, giving their all, and doing their best.

                                                                                                          [–]ctornync 341 points342 points ago

                                                                                                          Dunno man. To me, it reads as "the Soviet government made this man choose between his death, or his friend's death." Sure, he chose his own, but it's still 99% tragic and horrifying, and maybe 1% heartwarming.

                                                                                                          [–]Carl66 220 points221 points ago

                                                                                                          it's still 99% tragic and horrifying, and maybe 1% heartwarming

                                                                                                          I would say this about human history in general.

                                                                                                          [–]Moofyman 42 points43 points ago

                                                                                                          Shitttt....

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                                                                                                            [–]steviesteveo12 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                                            An awful lot of human history has involved powerful people forcing less powerful people to be extremely brave.

                                                                                                            [–]kwisatzidaho 39 points40 points ago

                                                                                                            I feel that Komarov not only nobly sacrificed himself because Gargarin was his buddy, but also knew that Gargarin was important as an icon for their people. If he let Gargarin get in that vessel, his people would lose a hero. Maybe he was just seeing the big picture. Or just simply fulfilling his duty to his country. Either way, its scary to think how leaders like Brezhnev, once they set something in motion, its political suicide to stop it.

                                                                                                            [–]ctornync 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                            Slash, actual suicide.

                                                                                                            [–]TronCorleone 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                            Gargarin died in a jet crash a year later anyways so to me it seems like it was for nothing, I think Komarov was the real hero for giving his life for his friend.

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                                                                                                                [–]amaxen 36 points37 points ago

                                                                                                                Individual Russians have always struck me as better men. The great tragedy of Russia is that these men so often sacrifice themselves for such despotic and incompetent rulers.

                                                                                                                [–]ElimGarak 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                                                Yup - the vast, vast majority of humans are human.

                                                                                                                There are two aspects to humans being dicks - natural dickishness and enforced dickishness.

                                                                                                                • Natural dicks are dicks because they can be, because they want to be, because they can get away with it. Because they are bullies.

                                                                                                                • Enforced dickishness is different - it's a survival skill more than anything else. When you know that you may get into enormous trouble if you don't do everything you possibly can do to cover you ass - some people cover their asses. That's why people fight in markets over the last pack of batteries when there is a natural disaster or food shortage or whatever. That's why bureaucrats do their thing and follow their orders no matter how dumb those orders are. They are not really dicks - they are just trying to survive.

                                                                                                                Most people in the USSR were just trying to survive. The system sucked, they were stuck in it, and they had to do what they needed to in order to survive. And the vast majority weren't even forced to be dicks - they were normal humans that were trying to do good in their world. The proportion of people who were outright evil is incredibly tiny.

                                                                                                                [–]draemscat 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                                                Not all Soviets were Stalin like figures.

                                                                                                                You don't say...

                                                                                                                [–]2a0c40 46 points47 points ago

                                                                                                                It was certainly heartwarming for Komarov. Very warm indeed.

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                                                                                                                  [–]psistarpsi 34 points35 points ago

                                                                                                                  This was the last radio transmission from Mr. Komarov just before the impending horrific death. RIP

                                                                                                                  edit: Transcript of the conversation (translated)

                                                                                                                  [–]RochelleH 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                                                  Any other one with the translation?

                                                                                                                  [–]nwmiles 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                                                  "Some translators hear him say, 'Heat is rising in the capsule.' He also uses the word 'killed' — presumably to describe what the engineers had done to him." (npr.org source)

                                                                                                                  [–][deleted] 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                                  Can anyone translate what he said in that video?

                                                                                                                  [–]SonicFrost 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                                  Basically yelling at them things along the lines of "You killed me you fuckers!"

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                                                                                                                      [–]Windex007 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                                      Shepard has pulled through a similar mishap... anyone got Cerebrus' number?

                                                                                                                      [–]scumbagcoley 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                                      Get the illusive man online!

                                                                                                                      [–]KayaXiali 92 points93 points ago

                                                                                                                      You could have just best of'd the highly rated comment from yesterday's thread from which you stole this but, cool picture anyway.

                                                                                                                      [–]chweris 27 points28 points ago

                                                                                                                      Can't bestof AskReddit threads this week.

                                                                                                                      [–]KayaXiali 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                                                      Touché. Still, seeing as OPs 1st comment in this thread was linking to the exact article that the commenter yesterday linked to, it's pretty clear that this was directly reposted to karma farm and some acknowledgement would have been cool.

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                                                                                                                        [–]_LanaKane_ 20 points21 points ago

                                                                                                                        This was my thread. I feel so fucking cool. Literally the highlight of my week.

                                                                                                                        [–]dessiatin 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                                        I ain't even mad though. Imaginary internet points aren't that important.

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                                                                                                                          [–]metadude 227 points228 points ago

                                                                                                                          Was he ok?

                                                                                                                          [–]fractalife 76 points77 points ago

                                                                                                                          http://i.imgur.com/yuck6.jpg . Look at the file name. Doesn't imgur randomly generate the names of uploaded photos?

                                                                                                                          [–]Atersed 52 points53 points ago

                                                                                                                          It's learning...

                                                                                                                          [–]oh_mikey 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                          no way, that's at least a yuck8

                                                                                                                          [–]Ghastily 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                          hory shet

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                                                                                                                            [–]I_CUM_EPOXY_RESIN 517 points518 points ago

                                                                                                                            He was well. Well-done.

                                                                                                                            [–]donpapillon 49 points50 points ago

                                                                                                                            HEYOOOOOOOOOOO

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                                                                                                                              [–]Here_for_the_cookies 32 points33 points ago

                                                                                                                              Could've been worse

                                                                                                                              Yes, I know its tiny. No, it's not my penis

                                                                                                                              [–]RighteousCookies 29 points30 points ago

                                                                                                                              Not going to lie, was still halfway expecting penis.

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                                                                                                                                [–]Tpoe 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                                                                I'm confused. Does the story not say that only a chipped heel bone remained or am I an idiot?

                                                                                                                                [–]Ijustlostmyjengajam 23 points24 points ago

                                                                                                                                He looks so peaceful.

                                                                                                                                [–]twatzillawaffle 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                                                Wow. I love how the other men in the photo are looking at him with so much respect. It's a powerful pic that speaks to the fragility of human life. And the heroism of astronauts (sorry, cosmonaut. Whatever. Doesn't matter which side of the world we live on, we're all going to end up like this guy.)

                                                                                                                                On a lighter note, talk about going out with your boots on! Have fun trying to top that one!

                                                                                                                                [–]lamajlooc 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                This man is not a Russian hero...he is a hero.

                                                                                                                                [–]thomasj222444 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                                                All that's left is the charred remains of his GIGANTIC balls.

                                                                                                                                [–]iamoldmilkjug 114 points115 points ago

                                                                                                                                Это убивает товарищ. (This kills the comrade.)

                                                                                                                                [–]tetromino_ 208 points209 points ago

                                                                                                                                Protip: never use Google Translate for Russian. Don't use any other machine translation software either (Promt is even worse than Google). English and Russian have very different grammar, and automatic translation tools always botch it. What you just wrote (это убивает товарищ) actually means "comrade, this kills"; the word «товарищ» is in the nominative case and therefore cannot be the object of the verb "kills".

                                                                                                                                [–]iamoldmilkjug 286 points287 points ago

                                                                                                                                I considered learning Russian before I made the joke but changed my mind at the last minute in interest of moving the joke along.

                                                                                                                                [–]kiriyama_27 30 points31 points ago

                                                                                                                                excellent recovery! bravo! a perfect score with no deductions

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                                                                                                                                  [–]rcon1021 64 points65 points ago

                                                                                                                                  Yes, Yes thank you...

                                                                                                                                  [–]iamoldmilkjug 20 points21 points ago

                                                                                                                                  Boom.

                                                                                                                                  [–]Aikidi 16 points17 points ago

                                                                                                                                  This kills the funny.

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                                                                                                                                    [–]zlozlozlozlozlozlo 24 points25 points ago

                                                                                                                                    FTFY: Это убивает товарища.

                                                                                                                                    [–]ForgettableUsername 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                                                                    Hmm... 3TO y6NBaet, TOBapnwa!

                                                                                                                                    [–]andrei_tarkovsky 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                                                                    Close enough

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                                                                                                                                      [–]DeLoreanMotorCars 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                                      у нас есть Google, тоже. друг. (we have google, too. comrade)

                                                                                                                                      [–]doubleyouteef 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                                                                      Друг = friend, not comrade, in most cases.

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                                                                                                                                        [–]piccini9 30 points31 points ago

                                                                                                                                        OK boys! Who's going up next? Dimitri? Hey, where did Dimitri go?

                                                                                                                                        [–]Allaphon 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                                                        Anyone seeking more info might also check here:

                                                                                                                                        title comnts points age /r/
                                                                                                                                        Photo from the open casket funeral of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, who died when his craft crashed during re-entry 11coms 155pts 7hrs MorbidReality
                                                                                                                                        The charred remains of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on view in an open casket during his state funeral after the crash of the Soyuz 1, 1967 [1000x685] 31coms 343pts 5mos HistoryPorn
                                                                                                                                        The charred remains of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on view in an open casket during his state funeral after the crash of the Soyuz 1 108coms 559pts 5mos pics
                                                                                                                                        The remains of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, the result of spacecraft, 'Soyuz 1' crashing. 22coms 150pts 3mos WTF

                                                                                                                                        source: karmadecay

                                                                                                                                        [–]tmulpuri 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                                                                        Despite the fact that I am an American and he was Soviet I must say that this man was a hero for all of humanity and his bravery and sacrifice paved the way for future astronauts and future scientific discoveries. So on behalf of a grateful world I say thanks

                                                                                                                                        [–]BonePwns13 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                                                                        What's really fucked up about this is that you can buy the sound clip of him dying for 89 cents on Amazon.

                                                                                                                                        [–]beachlike 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                                                        walk it off

                                                                                                                                        [–]rondo999 0 points1 point ago

                                                                                                                                        That shit cray

                                                                                                                                        [–]gojira1 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                        I laughed when I read the title at the thought of a open casket for something like that. Then I clicked and cried a little.

                                                                                                                                        [–]MinecraftMan1 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                        yuck6.jpg

                                                                                                                                        Even the imgur link thinks it's gross :O

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