Russian roulette (also known as hussar), which was instilled in pre-revolutionary tsarist Russia by the brave officers, has forever gone down in history as one of the most desperate games that excite the mind in earnest. After all, your own life is at stake!
When the stake is life
Hussar (Russian) roulette is considered an extreme gambling game. The classic rules of this game were as follows. One single live cartridge is loaded into the empty (empty) drum of the revolver, the rest of the places remain empty.
Then the drum spins abruptly several times. This is necessary so that the participants in the deadly game do not guess in which "cell" their "death" in the form of a bullet is located.
Further, the most interesting and chilling soul begins. "Fatalists" begin in order of priority to bring the revolver to the temple and pull the trigger (trigger).
Various modifications of Russian roulette
In order for the game to take on the most vivid and unpredictable shade, its rules have changed somewhat over time. For example, the number of bullets in a drum could be completely different - from one to five in a six-round revolver. It turns out that, depending on the number of cartridges, the general shade of the game also changed: one fatal shot could occur and five surviving participants could be left, or five fatal shots could sound and one survivor remained. This was considered the deadliest modification of the game.
Another modification involved spinning the drum with one cartridge after each coup. This, of course, increased the chances of surviving, but the outcome of the outcome became less and less predictable.
Another modification of the game of hussar roulette provided for a more benign outcome of events. Officers and hussars, who did not want to end their lives so absurdly, but wanted to get a powerful charge of adrenaline in their blood, brought the barrel of the revolver not to the temple, but, for example, to the arm or leg, or even took it aside.
Why did the officers play Russian roulette?
A beautiful legend says that in this way the fearless officers showed their courage, valor and fortitude. It is worth noting that such brave and courageous fatalist officers were sent to serve in the Caucasus. At that time the real "Russian roulette" was going on there. After all, such desperate gestures from some officers looked somewhat strange against the backdrop of raging wars.
Everything is explained quite simply: the life of military officers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was not very diverse. Often, even in the Caucasus, officers were forced to get bored. But not all! Creative people were engaged in writing. During the reign of Nicholas I, such officers were called fatalists.
Speaking of fatalists, it is enough to recall Lieutenant Mikhail Lermontov, who was exiled to the Caucasus for his free-thinking statements about the tsar and the departments under his patronage (for example, the third secret police department headed by A. H. Benkendorf).
