The war in Ukraine drags on, as tiny-penised Putin continues his folly to return the region back to the days of the Soviet Union.

Those days, marked with oppression, fear, and the eradication of freedom of movement, religion and speech, also included some fine engineering. Most of this was of course of the nuclear-weapon or space-race type, but the Soviet Union created some excellent off-road vehicles too. This is one of them, the GAZ-66.

Produced from the mid-’60s until ’99 – and still in use today in a variety of despotic authoritarian regimes including North Korea, Iran, and Syria – the GAZ-66 was a 4×4 military truck available in a bewildering array of configurations.

This one is a ‘K66V’, fitted with a box body behind the cab. Built by Samuel Nerpas (aka Tatrovak), this brilliantly engineered Technic version is remotely controlled via a BuWizz bluetooth battery powering four drive motors, servo steering, and two sets of LED lights.

Planetary hubs, all-wheel-suspension, and all-wheel-drive ensure Samuel’s GAZ-66 is suitably capable off-road, and the model also includes a tilting cab, opening doors, and a removable superstructure.

There’s more to see at both the Eurobricks forum and via Samuel’s Flickr photostream, where you can find all the imagery, build details, and videos of the model in action.