This, certainly, is one way to demonstrate one's strength. This Belarussian soldier has a block of masonry smashed with a flaming hammer on his chest. It would appear that he didn't account for where pieces of the block might fly once it broke. Tests of physical strength, as well as pancake eating, are traditional at the Minsk annual carnival. Known locally as Maslenitsa, it is a pagan festival marking the end of winter.