The Origins Behind the Operation

Operation Diomedes was originally conceived in March 2021 as both a miniseries about flags and an endorsement of a series of pro-democracy protests that began on January 23, 2021. These protests are intended as opposition to both the authoritarian regime currently ruling Russia and to the corruption associated with it. Conveniently, these protests are happening on the same year as federal elections set to occur from September 17 to September 19. In order to show Hand-in-Shot Productions's support for the Russian opposition, it has decided to make several videos on the flag of Russia, with a pro-democracy message infused within.

The name Operation Diomedes is derived from the Diomede Islands, a pair of islands in the Bering Strait consisting of:

• Big Diomede, Chukotsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russian Federation.

• Little Diomede, Nome Census Area, Unorganized Borough, State of Alaska, United States.

This pair of islands is notable for being only 2.4 miles (3.6 km) apart from one another, making them the closest points between the United States and Russia. As a result, they are often brought up as possible sites for a hypothetical bridge or tunnel between the US and Russia. They are also well-known for being located on each side of the International Date Line, meaning that the two islands are 21 hours away from one another!

Therefore, the name Operation Diomedes is supposed to invoke not just the island pair that is split between the US and Russia, but also the many other similarities between the US and Russia, from being great powers to having the same flag colors to, of course, opposing the current Russian government.

For further information, check out the respective pages on the top-right (or top-left, on mobile phones) corner of the page.