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Russia Wants to Clone Ancient Scythian Warriors

Russia Wants to Clone Ancient Scythian Warriors

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Russia's Defense Minister has announced his plan for the DNA cloning of ancient Siberian warriors and their horses. The ancient Tunnug burial site, located in the Valley of the Kings in the Republic of Tuva in Siberia, holds the remains of 3,000-year-old Scythian warriors. Now, Sergei Shoigu, Russia's Defense Minister and one of Vladimir Putin's closest advisors, has disclosed his desire to use DNA cloning to re-create an army of noble warriors. However, is this story perhaps a high-level cover up to mask the signals of impending war?

DNA Cloning An Army Of Ancient Scythian Warriors

Nomadic Scythian tribes were of Iranian origin and they dominated the Eurasian steppe from the northern borders of China to the Black Sea region between the 3rd and 7th centuries BC.

Archaeologists have been excavating the Tuva burial mound, known as “Arzhan 2,” since 1998 and a team of Russian and German archaeologists began excavating graves and tombs in the so-called “Valley of the Kings” in 2001.

Now, a Russian-Swiss archeological team is being tasked with finding samples for the DNA cloning of an army of warriors.

The remains of ancient Scythian warriors found at the Arzhan site in Russia will be used for the DNA cloning project. (Russian Geographical Society)

The remains of ancient Scythian warriors found at the Arzhan site in Russia will be used for the DNA cloning project. (Russian Geographical Society)

An article in the Daily Mail explains that the ancient Tunnug burial site contains 3000-year-old nomadic warriors which were “often laid to rest with their horses.” Sergei Shoigu is from the Republic of Tuva and he recently spoke about the “potential of the extraordinary 3,000-year-old Scythian burials” in the Valley of the Kings.

The controversial bit is that this “potential” he talks of is to sample 3000-year-old Scythian DNA so that military scientists can recreate an ancient army of “advanced” warriors.

In the same way as Dolly the sheep was cloned Russian-Swiss scientists are hoping to achieve the same outcome with the DNA cloning of the Scythian warriors. (Squidonius / Public domain)

In the same way as Dolly the sheep was cloned Russian-Swiss scientists are hoping to achieve the same outcome with the DNA cloning of the Scythian warriors. (Squidonius / Public domain)

Dolly DNA Cloning and Tomorrow’s New Russian Soldiers

According to a report in UniLad three years ago, when Shoigu initiated the Russian-Swiss archeological digs, he called in a “modern-day shaman so as the excavations did not anger the spirits.”

Last Wednesday Zvezda TV said the Russian defense chief told an online session of the Russian Geographical Society, which was attended by Putin, “Of course, we would like very much to find the organic matter and I believe you understand what would follow that.”

The defense chief added that the burials were discovered “in permafrost” which should have preserved organic matter, therefore, “it would be possible to make something of it, if not Dolly the Sheep,” added Shoigu. He was of course referring to Scotland’s July 1996 announcement that a female domestic sheep (Dolly) was the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer.

A depiction of the Roman poet Ovid among the Scythians and their horses. (Eugène Delacroix / Public domain)

A depiction of the Roman poet Ovid among the Scythians and their horses. (Eugène Delacroix / Public domain)

Nothing To See Over Here… Look, Ancient Warriors Over There!

Let me try to put this whole story into perspective without getting myself into trouble. According to a 2017 PBS report, Russia's propaganda machine (the Kremlin and the media) has for years “controlled and waged a multifaceted information (and disinformation)” campaign. Correspondent Nick Schifrin said, “In Russia, whoever controls the media controls the country. Russia One the country's most popular channel “is state-owned.”

I am no political analysist, but in this case, I don’t think you need to be one to see what is going on here.

Considering “Russia's propaganda machine,” lets now return to the session last Wednesday. Under normal circumstances, in other countries (apart from China), you would have thought Shoigu would have mentioned Russia’s recent deployment of almost 100,000 troops to the Ukraine border.

With the world’s media watching Russia fearing an impending war, the man who presses the big red buttons only talked about resurrecting an army of ancient Scythian warriors. This means one thing. It’s time for Ukrainians to run for the hills.

Top image: DNA cloning of these Scythian warriors in Russia could produce a “super warrior force.”                     Source: Alexey Mikhailov / Russian Geographical Society

By Ashley Cowie

 

Comments

What’s up with these stupid troll headlines. This website has turned into a typical corporate rag tabloid with these dumb headlines.  I got one better, how about Russia definitely accomplished this already.

Crasslee's picture

Begun the Clone War has.

Crasslee

Sure- raise up an army of ancient Aryan warriors and their beastly steeds...what could go wrong?

This is obviously a propoganda ploy by Putin & his Cronies. It's a distraction from the fact that Putin is trying to maintain a corrupt, controling & ultimately a failed state. The Soviet Union that Putin grew up in fell by it's own ‘weight’.& he has spent his  reign reviving something that never really worked. And of course the last act of a failed-state is to declare war on a ‘easy' target: Ukraine. And No Ms. Cowie this is not the time for Ukrainians to run but to stand & fight as Afganistan stood & fought & started  the beginning of the end of the USSR. Of course it also caused the end of Afganistan as a united state.  But Ukraine is not Afganistan.  Putin’s Russian will fall, how can it not.

I dunno mate.... I think Russia is more blunt force now a days. Pretty sure they will try to clone an army AND invade Ukraine. I’m also sure that Russia isn’t the first to dabble in super soldier programs too.

ashley cowie's picture

Ashley

Ashley is a Scottish historian, author, and documentary filmmaker presenting original perspectives on historical problems in accessible and exciting ways.

He was raised in Wick, a small fishing village in the county of Caithness on the north east coast of... Read More

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