Darvaza Gas Crater: The Soviet Gateway to Hell

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Source/Further reading:
BBC Reel: www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08vxl...
National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/ne...
Vice: www.vice.com/en/article/nnq7w...
Smithsonian: www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...
History of gas extraction in Turkmenistan: www.rpi-research.com/content/S...
President doing donuts around the crater in 2019: www.popularmechanics.com/cult...
Notes on post-Soviet Turkmenistan: carnegieendowment.org/2017/01...
History of Turkmenistan: www.britannica.com/place/Turk...
More on Turkmenistan’s history: www.lonelyplanet.com/turkmeni...
Turkmenistan’s economic crisis: www.aljazeera.com/economy/201...

[@geographicstravel]

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/GEOGRAPHICS for 10% off on your first purchase.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Is Simon "Bald and Bankrupt". SOVIET !

[@insanemakaioshin]

Wow! Saparmurat Niyazov sounds like Putin, but he was *"legitimately"* elected president for life with *150%* of Russia's citizenship backing him.

[@mobythelion3882]

video came out 7 hours ago and this comment was 3 weeks ago hmmmmmm

[@BarkingShark]

@@mobythelion3882 conspiracy? I think so

[@KloVe4k]

No

[@dtice69]

"The scientists dropped in a grenade..." Few sentences known to man can possibly reach this level of Soviet.

[@brunovandooren3762]

Still not as bad as 'let's pull out all the control rods, manually override all safety mechanisms, and see what happens' in Chernobyl.

[@kenh3757]

I would like this twice if I could

[@robertsandberg2246]

@@kenh3757 I just did for you...😉

[@alvarohernani6645]

@@brunovandooren3762 why? We all know that RBMK reactor core doesn't explode

[@brunovandooren3762]

@@alvarohernani6645 Do you have a degree in nuclear physics? 'we all know' is a ridiculous thing to say. Especially considering we all know it did, in fact, explode. It should also be obvious that safety mechanisms exist for a very good reason, and that they cannot normally be overridden to prevent mistakes.

[@sigmaprime4307]

Devil: walks out of crater, sees Turkmenistan Devil: crawls back to hell...

[@seekertosecrets]

Devil: Oh, hell naw! ( as he walks away)

[@earlyej3008]

There's only so much of Berdymukhamedov rapping that one can take... even if you're the devil.

[@joe3897]

toombs: if i owned this place and hell, i'd rent this place out and live in hell

[@Markle2k]

@@seekertosecrets Rather, Devil: Job’s done here

[@jonnnyren6245]

The Devil be like: hell naw this dude Turkmenbashi and that other dude rapping and obssessed with horses? Hell to the Satanic hell naw. I've seen Hitler and Stalin but these two, hell naw, HELLLLLLLLLLLL NAW...

[@N.S.A.]

U.S.S.R: “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning, since the world’s been turning.”

[@andylindsaytunes]

"...it was always burning since that guy rolled a tire in."

[@johnnyvanderheide2298]

Na na na do do do Peter Pan Disneyland

[@jacobrzeszewski6527]

Hairy Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray...

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@andylindsaytunes obviously Billy Joel started it

[@jthunders]

I always wondered what that song was about. Don’t you dare build a pipeline and try to extract that gas says Greta T

[@jonatanrullman]

The rather recent proverb "Visit Russia before Russia visits you" is even true for hell.

[@michaelfoye1135]

They also have communism in hell.

[@david5372]

(Sounds like something Yakov Smirnov would say...)

[@andrewmcphee8965]

"Freakishly huge desert spiders" That scares me more than any burning hole in the ground.

[@kasession]

Me too!!! Australia used to be on my list of places to visit. Then I heard about their spiders. It's not on my list anymore. 😀

[@DrewNorthup]

They've gotta be more friendly than the local government...

[@eyeballpapercut4400]

Good news is they (sun spider family) have no venom. Bad news is their bites are freaking painful.

[@jamesharding3459]

Camel spiders........ **shudders**

[@UlshaRS]

The hole can't chase you ...yet

[@theocrawford5548]

Everyone though it was a door to hell, they didn’t stop to ask if this side was the exit

[@kninenights]

Oof

[@Starsk25]

🔥😱

[@seriouslee4119]

Deep

[@revon7202]

still a door

[@iPlayzz]

So deep bro…

[@resileaf9501]

I was watching a video on an ever-burning gas crater, and I ended up learning the history of Turkmenistan. Life is wild.

[@joechappell44]

to be fair there's only so much you can say about a burning hole in the ground. You're not gonna to get a 23 minute video just with that alone

[@HardSmartfuxu]

I still didn't figured out if I should feel disappointed or not

[@seanmccarty1176]

@@HardSmartfuxu I would say no. This story needs the context of the area it exists in. That's why he told some Turkmen history. You can't understand why the crater exists without the historical context.

[@michaelbee2165]

@@seanmccarty1176 exactly, and a similar story encompasses every single independent nation that the Soviets destroyed and called Soviet Socialist Republics. The collapse of the Soviet Union revealed long oppressed independent nations from a century prior. Oh, but the USA is the great Satan and conqueror. 🙄

[@literatureandgaming-yt9352]

It's cool to see the history of the main topic of the video rather than just talking about the crater itself for 23 minutes u know?

[@stvjful]

“He’s also been trying to build an artificial lake in the middle of the desert, because of course he has.” The sheer amount of sass in these videos is just delightful.

[@b.santos8804]

Near the rim of the crater is a sign saying "Gate to Hell" Underground, on the other side, is a sign that says, "Gate to Turkmenistan." Not sure which destination is worse.

[@mikeg8876]

i cant believe the soviets created a wormhole to brazil

[@Starsk25]

🔥

[@zephyr8072]

The denizens of hell use it to scare their children. “If you don’t eat all your coal you’ll get sent to Turkmenistan.”

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Not gonna lie, that crater is pretty lit

[@roxyhart5692]

Get out

[@jamesrakeii795]

Ba dum tsh.

[@wolfcat1998]

BOOOO...

[@anactualotter6216]

That's an awful pun, take my like.

[@Shawnaldo-jh3ve]

That pun wasn't awful. It was fire.

[@geezushasrisen]

“You dropped a grenade in there?” “No, WE dropped a grenade in there.” *soviet union anthem plays loudly*

[@nicholasfeiock7873]

Lmao Das good yah?

[@proptec1]

I went there in 2019 as part of the Mongolia Raily. Ashgabat is probably the strangest city I've been too. A Disney world for architects or something out of a washing power advert. As all the buildings are in white marble with either gold or brass trimming. As for the crater it's an amazing site . You can only get a 5 day visa so you have to travel the length of the country in that time . The road to the crater from Ashgabat is fair but beyond that to the Uzbekistan boarder is diabolical, full of large potholes and deep ruts, created by trucks on melted tarmac . I did the trip on a Chinese made 125cc motorbike and unbelievable trip of a life time . Thinking of doing again !!

[@blairmarshall544]

“President stupid name” hilarious

[@thisiswhatilike54]

At first, I was all, ‘Awwh, that’s not nice.’ But then he went into all the dumbassery dictators usually indulge in. Then I was like, ‘Okay, President Stupid Name was funny.’

[@jaybird0312]

I was looking for this comment lmao

[@richardcranium3579]

@@jaybird0312I was looking for this comment lmao!

[@ryanc473]

Never realized Archer's episode in Turkmenistan was so freakishly accurate. Definitely thought they were exaggerating for comedic effect, but turns out they watered it down.

[@mildlydazed9608]

Gurpgork?

[@mattfk_kbraapratata8996]

No gurbgork

[@willobrien4766]

As an American i always find history of the Soviet Union interesting. I wasn't taught any of this in school.

[@deusexaethera]

That's because most of it is completely irrelevant outside the nations where it occurred.

[@samuelyoung2671]

@@deusexaethera It is largely irrelevant, and seeing as how they could barely teach american history I think its best we just watch videos like this and read wikipedia articles😂

[@KhanMann66]

I learned about the Russian revolution in world history.

[@TheFadedMusic]

It’s always a great reminder of why they really were the ultimate evil we painted them as during the Cold War.

[@aphrog649]

same! that’s why i became a russian major :)

[@amruthanand1330]

We look at pictures and fail to understand the stories behind them .. wise words Simon

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Their leader makes me want to build gold statues of myself on horseback

[@john-paulsilke893]

Go rent another jet to fly abroad you biplane owning petty dictator. What kind of world leader rides around in a train like a 1950’s hobo?

[@JohnDoe-vn1we]

Wow you just keep getting dumber with each post. Get bent.

[@crazysilly2914]

@@JohnDoe-vn1we hersey against the Supreme Leader!! You had better watch your back!

[@john-paulsilke893]

@@JohnDoe-vn1we ya if he can save up enough money for a plane ticket he may fly to America, borrow a gun and take pot shots at your house. And when he goes home he may then load several of his relatives into the barrels of artillery and start a space program.

[@Prototheria]

Three out of four people replying to your comment really think they're replying to the real Kim Jong-un. No wonder the US can't unfuck itself.

[@genobreaker1054]

"A series of screw-ups that would culminate in a tiny village opening the gates of hell." Thank you, you just inspired a D&D plot for me. That was beautiful!

[@riichobamin7612]

In Hindustani, "Darvasa" means a "door". Also just put some stainless steel rods on it and BAM ! World's biggest grill !!!

[@thenewkhan4781]

It's a common Indo-European word for "door". Hindi "darvasa", Russian "dveri", Slovacian "dvere", Dutch "deur" and even English "door" all come from the same Proto-Indo-European root separated by millenia of language evolution.

[@riichobamin7612]

@@thenewkhan4781 okay. Thank you ! I don't see any disagreement between us though.

[@thrashandburn10221]

Hank Hill: Bwaaah!

[@vexile12]

I'll bring the lid and we can make some pizza too

[@riichobamin7612]

@@vexile12 and some steamers and BAM ! Momos and other assorted steamed dumplings 😂

[@docsgarage3643]

Turkmenistan - worlds largest dumpster fire - figuratively and literally. Great video Simon.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

How to prove you're alive: *do donuts around a flaming pit*

[@deusexaethera]

Yeah, I saw that episode of Last Week Tonight too. There's no doubt, the driver of that car was definitely alive. As for who the driver was, well...skepticism is impolite.

[@RankinMsP]

Shame he didn't fall in.

[@Kaylin5171]

Hi, person who lives near Centralia here. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has demonstrated time and time and time again that they have the ways and means to put out that fire, but they've simply refused to do so. At the same time they discovered the Centralia fire, another two were raging and threatening more populated communities -- Shenandoah and Carbondale. Both fires were promptly extinguished, with the Shenandoah attempt being a sort-of marvel, with crews digging out a massive pit where tires on trucks were melting, and then backfilling it. Even today, they've still continued extinguishing mine fires, such as one in Jeanesville, near Hazleton. The route they took for Centralia was unprecedented, uncalled for, unfair to the people of the borough, and reckless for the people of nearby towns as, if I'm not mistaken, the fire has a chance to run down the vein to Ashland or Girardville.

[@M60A3]

I thought they couldn’t extinguish centralia fire

[@frankherman5195]

If you reaearch further there are many underground fires throughout the world that are burning out of control

[@LovelyBriVertefeuill]

The more I learn about this country the more respect I gain for my old Russian teacher… he was born there and never really talked about his home but he was so smart and kind and funny. Straight up the best teacher ever and I can’t imagine what he went through living there 😔

[@baxterosburn8642]

Well that ended up being the most depressing video from Simon in a while, and he recently covered radioactive lakes and serial killers. I wish there was something to be done for Turkmenistan.

[@deusexaethera]

Just wait 'til he covers radioactive serial killers.

[@grilledleeks6514]

Assassinating the psychopaths who own countries to be their personal slaves would be something

[@dansands8140]

Denounce socialism at every opportunity.

[@rinzo2009]

@@dansands8140 Perhaps you didn't listen to the part where Simon Sensei said that the Soviet way of life was way better than the current way of life for the Turkmen.

[@dansands8140]

@@rinzo2009 A people who weren't slaves to communist party ideology that demands subservience to the state would never be slaves to a petty dictator. Besides, 'terrible' instead of 'worse' is hard to call 'better'.

[@Chyemmi]

Didn't expect to find a video on my home country here, but considering you do popular and unknown geographical sites I shouldn't be surprised. This video was very enjoyable to watch! Most I see covering anything about Turkmenistan tend to come out with a verdict that it's a "strange but loveable" country. Thank you for covering a video on a place from my home country and for also helping to bring to light what's happening there. I hope this video helps to raise more awareness, on top of being so informational.

[@Grimonyoutube]

I use to live near Centralia, Pa, everyone use to go there to check the place out, its mostly a garbage dumping ground which is sad. There is also an abandoned turn pike somewhere around there.

[@oskamandala8542]

Simon Whistler, The David Attenborough of general knowledge videos. 😊 thanks for the great videos Simon.

[@samuellefaye1019]

This comment could not be more true 🤣

[@jicudi]

Aptly put!

[@dmaxsba]

If only we could get Simon to bobble his head around as he talked we would have the full Attenborough effect.

[@jacquesmesrine4930]

I hope we get content from Simon for as long as Mr. Attenborough has been blessing us with content

[@jamesgossel9483]

Get it rite David Attenborough is the Simon Whistler of nature documentaries....

[@brianmaldonado3723]

I feel for the good folks of Turkmenistan.

[@jsnsk101]

if the country ends in stan, there probably are no good folks there anymore

[@talldrinkofmarmalade7281]

I think being called ‘Russian-bot’ means you don’t get an opinion on this

[@ronnieradon]

@@jsnsk101 Man that’s really fucked up to say

[@Markle2k]

@@jsnsk101 “Stan” literally means “land of” in Persian-derived Indo-European languages. Much like England is “the land of the Angles”.

[@semaj_5022]

@@Markle2k Sadly etymology doesn't matter to bigots. Stan or no stan, there are a mix of good and bad people everywhere (mostly good thankfully), yet some people struggle to grasp that concept.

[@xanmontes8715]

"Sadly, things only went downhill from there." Me: "How? Did they start digging another hole?"

[@SMunro]

Who would ever think doing the same thing would elicit a different result?

[@prettypointlessvideo]

@@SMunro only an insane group of people

[@slashtehflygon1722]

@@prettypointlessvideo So... Soviet-era Russians. lol

[@RedXlV]

The Soviet Union and destroying the environment, name a more iconic pair.

[@milbankfilms2253]

China and social credit

[@dalaanibombina8822]

My left and right nuts.

[@Steve_Johnson_]

RedXlV China and destroying the environment.

[@zackathlon]

the US and destroying the environment. Capitalism and destroying the enviornment

[@SM-pv4sn]

@@zackathlon In the past 100+ years, the free liberal capitalist countries have become more forested, decreased waste, and increased energy production efficiency. Free people do indeed care about not living in pollution and want to be healthy. Do you believe a socialist dictator actually would care more on behalf of them?

[@berryberrykixx]

My paternal grandmama (babushka) is from the former USSR and fled for her own safety. In her stories, she told us about this. Although, in her version of events, the men who created this crater actually intended on just walking away but one of the men flung his cigarette butt behind and it lit up. It has been burring ever since. I think that might have been her way of telling us how bad smoking is for us and the environment. lol Thank you for the real story though! My own mother, from the week after she graduated vocational schooling until I was 3 years old (roughly 12-13 years) worked for Sun Oil, in the refinery in Toledo, Ohio (now Toledo Refinery), and took some jobs both on land rigs and a shallow-water rig down south. She knows all of this stuff like the back of her hands yet this gas crater still just blows her mind.

[@LynnEdwards-sl7jd]

A babushka!

[@bryces9951]

It gives the term "Hell hole of a country" a whole new legitimacy.

[@erinmcdonald7781]

One of your more insightful pieces. I had seen memes about Turkmenistan's ruler, but had no idea just how awful circumstances were for the people. I hope that they can catch a break on leadership in the near future, so that their country can have some freedom.

[@schiz0phren1c]

The John Oliver piece on Gurbanguli is awesome(so is Simon's but it's good to watch a few different views on this bonkers country)

[@zackathlon]

I have seen what freedumb does to countries like my own and the shit hole that is the US. So nah fuck freedom, well practiced communism is what's needed

[@shaneeslick]

@@zackathlon Yep, Selfishness abounds in every Government Model, we need people who care as Leaders to make the World a better place for all

[@bloke7127]

I'm so glad I discovered this channel. I'm so passionate about historical things and this channel is so good for learning about history. I thank you for continuing to make excellent content.

[@nickdaveNDM]

Have you checked out other channels hosted by Simon? Biographics, Today I Found Out, BrainFood, Megaprojects, SideProjects, Xplrd, Visual Politic (formerly,) Business Blaze, and TopTenz, as well as two podcasts currently running, and one that he no longer does. He probably has more channels I dont remember off the top of my head.

[@sandybarnes887]

@@nickdaveNDM Business Blaze Mega Projects Side Projects Top Tenz Today I Found Out Biographics Geographics Highlight History Xplrd Visual Politik EN The Simon Whistler Show I may have missed one. Visual Politk EN is now hosted by someone else. The Simon Whistler Show hasn't had new content for a while.

[@mrfooledyaa5430]

Simon is the teacher we all wish we had in school, all of his channels are fantastic. Also, welcome to the club, hopefully one day you too will become an OG Business Blaze legend.

[@oleum5589]

I love this channel and all of simons channels and I just started watching JoJo and I wonder when the fuck does dio actually die

[@PerroEdwardo]

Just be careful and diversify where you get info. His views on Venezuela are an example of a one sided bias.

[@bruns.like.spoons9251]

I cannot lie: Geographics is my favorite of Simon's 850 channels.

[@jonimriska9157]

His channel is exactly what we needed to get through 2020 thank you sir for all your great content keep it coming and we love it.

[@tatata1543]

‘A giant pit with flames that never go out’. Sounds like Vegas.

[@greggreg385]

Or my gut after ghost pepper chili night

[@bsadewitz]

I think that is Gary, IN.

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

Or Chicago.

[@golfgrabu]

The current 34 thumbs down must be from GB's government

[@UlshaRS]

Clearly multiple sock puppet account because there aren't that many people allowed to access YT in the entire country (sad thing is only half of that sentence is a joke)

[@lamehick7511]

@@UlshaRS Oi, you've got a loicence for that sass?

[@user-ym4xy6us5e]

Not having to read comments like this anymore almost makes me glad that YT removed the visible downvotes. Almost.

[@athena8794]

Dammit. I had just started eating when that Kim Jong Un tantrum clip played. I almost choked

[@euchiron]

Other countries: "There are many roads to hell." Russia: "That needs a monument."

[@ButterDog42069]

USSR, not Russia. Those are two different countries

[@blakehoward5227]

I have been trying to find clear and concise information on Turkmenistan’s history for years. I’m very grateful that this channel was able to do so for me.

[@ilarious5729]

Huh, you didn't search that hard did you?

[@VisenyaTargaryen220]

I just discovered your channel yesterday and I am absolutely thrilled! As a former geography major and lifelong geo-nerd, I am in heaven. 😋

[@sandybarnes887]

Business Blaze Mega Projects Side Projects Top Tenz Today I Found Out Biographics Geographics Highlight History Xplrd Visual Politik EN The Simon Whistler Show I may have missed one. Visual Politk EN is now hosted by someone else. The Simon Whistler Show hasn't had new content for a while.

[@TinyScorpion44]

This chanel is geo-nerd crack

[@zeusathena26]

As you can see he has a LOT of channels. All are educational, but Business Blaze is his comedy channel with a little business mixed in. I highly recommend all his channels.

[@tenhundredkills]

16:33 "This name is a nightmare" I was listening to this in the background, but I had to open the window to check out the name. Damn! I wouldn't even try pronouncing that!

[@darlingicarus]

I'm new to this channel (I've been binging all the videos for the last few days, and I'm obsessed with your style of presentation and everything I've learnt! fantastic work, please keep it up!) but I just wanted to say that I think the steps you take to humanise some of the most awe-inspiring, frightening and fascinating topics is very admirable. It's far too easy to get lost in the big picture sometimes. I really hope that the history kids are learning in school is presented through a comparably humanising lens. History and compassion working hand in hand is a very powerful thing ❤️ Anyway, like I said, your videos are fantastic and I've learnt so much about such a wide range of topics over the last few days. Thank you so much to you and your team for all your hard work!

[@GrinchyDan]

Simon i just wanna say i was lying in bed watching one of your other channels thinking "simon needs to do that big crater thats always on fire" low and behold here it is! Thank you for answering my prayers 😂 Have a happy new year good sir!!

[@earlyriser8998]

Wow...I didn't know the recent story of Turkmenistan

[@spliffdelakong5422]

I didn't even know Turkmenistan was a place.

[@crazysilly2914]

@@spliffdelakong5422 They should've made Borat come from Turkmenistan instead...

[@twimper]

Why has no one built a giant turbine above this thing... might as well make the best of a bad situation and harvest all the power from the heat generated.

[@mildlydazed9608]

That’s brilliant! Could probably power a small city reliably off that

[@dylancombs2842]

How is this not the most popular channel on KZbin, extremely thorough research delivered swiftly. Been watching this channel for days and I feel like I know twice as much about the world than I used to.

[@cargo_vroom9729]

This was a very interesting video about a burning hell pit, the parts about the crater were interesting too.

[@jedisith3864]

Can you do a series on the history of geographical regions. Like the history of the black sea or the history the Rhine. It seems like the regional geography is what humans found attractive but the narrative of nations and charismatic leaders overtakes our understanding until those regions become blank areas with a flag or title and little features of the land. Humans migrate but geography holds them for a reason and settlements recur in places of abundance. We could learn a lot from how the geography of a place has shaped a region as nations and peoples changed.

[@christinamagee7093]

Damn, well I was in a good mood now I’m thinking about having a cry. Thanks Simon! However, it’s good you’re bringing things like this to minds like mine who just had no idea and helping grow awareness to those who are in much more terrible need than we.

[@tylerhays1842]

Thanks for all the great content!

[@TwentyNinerR]

By this year, the fire has been around for half a century.

[@Widestone001]

I came expecting a fun and upbeat story about a weird and awesome site. I leave educated about a humanitarian crime second not even to the great famine in North Korea, spanning decades. Great Video, Simon, thank you for the education. Crimes like this can hardly be stopped, but by not forgetting about them future ones may yet be avoided.

[@meganbrown5664]

One of the best videos that I’ve seen about you guys. And you do a lot of good stuff. But this one is just so well written. I thought I was gonna learn about one thing, but then I get to learn about so much more and it’s connected in such a funny way.

[@TheVantican]

I found you earlier today by total chance on your Arthurian video and I have been binging ever since, thank you for existing and thank you for re-igniting my love of history.

[@joseHernandez-xc4ix]

The comment at the end was just really cool and true to the point thank you

[@8BitDinosaur]

When you think Centralia was bad, simon remembers you soviets can do it even worse

[@thisguy5484]

Aberdeen has the soviet feel to it.

[@dalaanibombina8822]

*reminds you

[@FrankyRoe23]

Lewis County makes a appearance.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@@FrankyRoe23 [*an appearance]

[@kyleshaw6899]

The sarcasm was turned up to 11 for this video, it was glorious!

[@TheNgandrew]

Wonderful video. Very interesting, and I am pleased at the thoughtful way the context was described and explained. Thanks.

[@lendoshilab3693]

I kinda just want Simon to do a whole series on the creation of every single modern country in existence. Make a new channel for it!

[@ryanvincent6169]

Omg yes

[@Flashback007]

If you like those kinda videos, you should check out the 'Geography Now'-channel. They are actually doing that at the moment. I like the Geographics-videos because they often cast a light on a certain place instead of an entire country

[@Fifi-ql3zc]

blessed New Year to you Simon and the Basementians! And to all my fellow Simonians too xxx

[@boogermacnaughton4314]

An absolutely fantastic and informative video..thanks Simon..

[@ahmadsamman3992]

That is amazing! I love your videos! Great job

[@curtispage481]

Thank you kindly for all your interesting commentaries that often accompany my nightly wind-downs. May I offer a suggestion or two for future stories? I'll do a little look into a story where the West convinced Egypt to adapt to modern agricultural technology, however, the ancient pattern of the Nile proved more productive. Meanwhile, there's a great story in the Owens River Aqueduct Project by the LA Water Company...Cadillac Desert by P. Reisner is a book that covers the story well.

[@TheQuickSilver101]

I was aware of the Darvaza gas crater and its history before I watched this video. However, I knew almost nothing about Turkmenistan or their desperate plight and the tyranny that they live with. Though I now feel bad for those people I greatly appreciate knowing. Thank you.

[@basichistory]

Really enjoyed this video. Well done to Simon and the team.

[@jadefalcon001]

I learned a lot watching this. Great job!

[@raviamodernepic]

A Bioprahics series on authoritarians in ex-Soviet satellites would be great!

[@Adiscretefirm]

As someone completely uninformed about petroleum engineering it seems odd to me that there is enough gas to burn for decades, but not enough to be economically viable to collect and use.

[@zeusathena26]

My family is from west Louisiana, & there is a lot of drilling there. They have pipes burning 24/7 because it's not economical to gather it. They have many that have been burning for over 50 years. It still blows my mind.

[@SuperPickle15]

@@zeusathena26 why not build methane electric generators. Atleast get power from the waste gas.

[@theenzoferrari458]

@@SuperPickle15 because some people companies are stoopud jeenyus and don't want to do anything about it. Smh. If I had the moneh I'd build a gennie to harvest the powah.

[@user-ym4xy6us5e]

My KZbin feed is absolutely overrun with a videos from many channels all featuring YOU.

[@raevn11]

Wow. Another well produced video. Thank you for informing.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:25 - Chapter 1 - At the gate 4:25 - Chapter 2 - Red days 7:40 - Mid roll ads 9:15 - Chapter 3 - The satan pit 12:55 - Chapter 4 - Building the dictatorship 16:20 - Chapter 5 - The pariah state 19:15 - Chapter 6 - Closing the gate

[@ultimatum97]

I subscribed just 10 minutes ago and he uploaded !! :)

[@Sally4th_]

Thankyou for covering this so sensitively.

[@uchennaugboaja2535]

Subscribed! Loved your world class analogy of an unknown country and site! Thank you Sir!

[@joshuaevans6295]

Probably worth doing a video on Eritrea, the other North Korea-level repressive authoritarian hellstate that most people haven't heard of.

[@tyredmechanic290]

I thought former Ethiopia was relatively peaceful?

[@joshuaevans6295]

@@tyredmechanic290 Eritrea is consistently ranked at the bottom of political and press freedom indexes. As for peaceful, as I write this the Eritrean military is fighting in the civil war happening in Ethiopia.

[@Ilenapieta]

Simon, how about doing a video on the 2011 Tuhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan for the 10th anniversary? I know you’ve done Fukushima, but what about the rest of the event?

[@aynaniyaz8213]

They’re even worse than NK, because no one has heard of them.

[@feargalohagan6510]

Great video, as usual. Cheers Simon.

[@andrewmcneil2110]

Very interesting post. Please continue. I learn new stuff every day.

[@milk-it]

Central Asia is a fascinating place, which needs more exploration, Simon!

[@veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee3421]

Really liked the amount of context surrounding the crater. Keep up the good work Simon and writers

[@whatever8282828]

I wondered how a simple phenomenon could warrant a long video, but you proved it right to discuss the grim history of that country!

[@AmericanBaker]

Fantastic information about a place I previously knew nothing about. Thanks for the great information.

[@dingleberryhandpump802]

I remember watching John Oliver's video about Berdimuhamedow, that dictator is properly crazy!

[@withtrees]

I watched that recently too.

[@Stroke999]

Imagine how much power or heat that thing generates.

[@sabbyd1832]

I didn't know that there had been recent attempts (2010) to put out the fire. Excellent upload, glad you added the recent history too

[@iglapsu88]

Thanks for your enlightenment and education!

[@reasonableperson6259]

Me: Sees Geographics video about the Soviets Sees Fire Click

[@HardSmartfuxu]

Imagine, that a Russian annexation of your country could actually be considered as an improvement.

[@Stettafire]

I'm kinda glad I wasn't the only one who thought that.

[@ButterDog42069]

Well, even tho the government in russia is shitty as hell, it as a county isn't even close to being as bad as the picture that western mass media is creating

[@HardSmartfuxu]

@@ButterDog42069 I wouldn't consider Nawalny as a western source

[@ButterDog42069]

@@HardSmartfuxu I have never heard about Navalny criticising the country as a whole, dude, only the government

[@windhelmguard5295]

there is a german saying about russia that roughly translates to: "if you kill the cat, the rats will eat everything."

[@batarasiagian9635]

Informative and entertaining. Excellent video.

[@amonseth4600]

Keep up the good work Simon!

[@Kasei.T]

I had no idea Turkmenistan was so badly closed off...sounds like a silent second North Korea that no one is talking about. I'd love more videos on the country and the goings on if it were possible to find enough information to make one.

[@brunolima7402]

Would love to see that place for myself someday.

[@slumpmachinegaming]

Seeing the car next to it changed how I felt about this. I thought it was like 20 feet wide or something, but this is insane, and terrifying. I love it.

[@jimhunt8834]

YES, SIMON, thank you for doing this. I've always wanted to visit this place...

[@stormriders1186]

Well and next there needs to be a video about Centralia -Pennsylvania .

[@socialex]

Pennsylvania, part of the former United states, now run by a thieving dictator a fire has burned since 1962.

[@shebbs1]

@@socialex The "theiving dictator" doesn't get sworn in for another 19 days. Get ready for more old-style, pay-to-play Democrat corruption under Creepy Joe, and continuing, in short order, under Kamala Harris.

[@Stettafire]

@@socialex Get your politics out of here.

[@socialex]

@@Stettafire nope.

[@mirthenary]

Well. So much for the almighty sarlacc😭

[@user-mo3nc5hk6q]

How else do you thing Boba Fett escaped,

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Just like humanity... kill the last living sarlacc by throwing a russian drill rig at it. And then toss in a grenade to try and burn off the smell!

[@davidmaynor9282]

Well said Sir, there a lot of different angles to perception. Nailed it!!