Russian Lathe Accident

About

The Russian Lathe Accident is a viral gore video consisting of security camera footage of a Russian man being pulled into a rotating lathe, resulting in his death. The accident purportedly occurred in November 2020, with the clip and several photographs of the aftermath of the accident spreading online starting that month. The video became a prevalent piece of shock content over the following years, inspiring memes and posts referring to it. The Russian lathe accident is only one of several shock videos of people falling or being pulled into lathes, usually with deadly and gory results.

Origin

On November 19th, 2020, Documenting Reality^[1] user KC posted a security camera video of a man in Russia being pulled into a spinning lathe and dying, his body parts being thrown around the factory as he spins rapidly. Along with the clip are several gory photographs, purportedly showing the lathe after the accident with body parts stuck in it. The video's description reads:

Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia – November 2020. A 65-year-old worker died at the KAMAZ PJSC factory when he got caught in a spinning lathe machine. The incident was investigated by the Investigative Committee for the Republic of Tatarstan. This incident is commonly called the Russian Lathe Accident online.

Spread

The video gained viral spread over the following years under the name "the Russian lathe accident." On December 16th, 2020, it was reposted to the subreddit /r/DarwinAwards (referencing the slang "Darwin Award"),^[2] titled, "Sticking your hand in a running machine isn’t the best idea," garnering over 4,400 upvotes in four years. On August 12th, 2021, it was reposted to /r/watchthingsfly,^[3] garnering over 20,000 upvotes in three years.

On September 3rd, 2022, a meme depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin riding on a lathe was posted to the subreddit /r/Machinists,^[4] titled, "Russian lathe incident, unseen photo," garnering over 400 upvotes in two years.

On March 19th, 2023, a meme was posted to the subreddit /r/distressingmemes^[5] about a lathe incident that some presumed to be a reference to the Russian lathe accident, although could be about other lathe accident videos, garnering over 6,200 upvotes in a year. On July 18th, 2023, the aftermath images were reposed to /r/NSFL_,^[6] garnering over 2,000 upvotes in a year.

In 2023, videos referencing the Russian Lathe Accident started circulating on TikTok. On September 15th, TikToker^[7] @armmy999322yamkramom23 posted a portion of the video over top of a distorted Wojak reaction, garnering over 3.5 million views in a year.

On December 17th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @sebastiank22 posted a video in which he explained the Russian Lathe Accident video, garnering over 1.5 million views in nine months.

Various Examples

@ceramicology Hanggang ngayon nasa isip ko pa din yung video. Kahit na matagal ko na napanood. Di ko na siya kaya panoorin ulit… 😖 #creepy #scary #lathemachine ♬ Eerie Music – William Mercado

@black.radio.keys.head

don’t watch it. it didnt affect me as much as the budd dwyer video did but its still crazy and like wow he becomed mist real quick. i don’t regret it tho!

♬ Black Star – Radiohead

Search Interest

External References