Disappearing from view as they dug deeper and deeper, the young men wielded their spades with professional ease.
Piles of earth formed either side of the oblong holes they dug in a grassy field in the city of Novosibirsk, Siberia.
This scene startled some Russians last week as video of it was circulated on social media. They were not workmen laying pipes or soldiers making trenches, but participants in a competition to carve out the best-proportioned grave in the fastest possible time.
As spectators looked on, judges lowered empty coffins into the newly dug holes to ensure they were the correct size.
A team from the city of Omsk were the winners, receiving 30,000 roubles (£290) for digging a grave in 38 minutes.
The competition,
