Sometimes it's hard to believe that the most intelligent creature on the planet is capable of something like this. The torture appeared at that moment, as soon as a person had a mind. What for? Sometimes torture was used to extract testimony, sometimes in the form of punishment, and often just for fun. It is a mistake to believe that torture was used only in the Middle Ages, you will not believe it, but even in our time, incredibly cruel torture is used even at the official level. Let's take a tour from our days to antiquity and look at the most cruel, terrible and painful torture in the history of our planet.
Barbed wire cage
This is modern Thailand. It would seem - a high-tech country, but this is the east. And the east is a delicate matter, but often bad. The barbed wire cage is a kind of punishment cell in Thai prisons. There are such cells on the street, in the unbearable heat, a person in it cannot stretch out or stand up, but only lie bent over, otherwise his body will be pierced by dozens of thorns. Prisoners are in such a cage for several days, and even if they manage to survive in this painful place, they will in any case face a quick and painful death - blood poisoning by dangerous Asian insects is simply inevitable. In general, a Thai prison is a painful death, because there is not even medical assistance provided there.
Syrian box
And this is Syria, also east. The idea itself is outrageously simple, but truly terrifying. The prisoner is placed in a cramped box, where there is barely enough space, where he lies in an uncomfortable position for many days in a row. The prudent Syrians make boxes of different sizes so that those smaller prisoners do not relax.
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Stoning
This is also a modern oriental torture, which has been applied since prehistoric times, but only to unfaithful women. The victim is buried in the ground up to his chest, and dozens of men (by the way, everyone can participate) throw stones at the victim. This torture can last long enough, and in order to give the execution some flavor, the unfortunate woman is not beaten to death, but left to bleed out under the scorching sun, without water for several days.
Swallow
Well, we are moving to the 20th century. The NKVD, and later the Interior Ministry, adored this torture. During interrogation, a thin, stiff rope was passed through the victim's teeth, and its ends were tied to the legs. Not to move, not even to scream. There was no talk of any toilets until you confess to the crime. It is clear that this kind of "physical education" did not contribute to good health. This torture was one of the most widespread in Stalin's times, but it is believed that it was used until the eighties.
Insect torture with bedbugs
Another vile torture from Stalin's security officers, it was more often applied to women, since they are more afraid of all sorts of insects and worms than men. The principle of torture is simple to disgrace, the unfortunate woman was simply locked in a box with bugs. The most perverted executioners, planted their victims with bare genitals on an anthill.
Germans. Torture during the Second World War
The Nazi death camps themselves were slow and painful deaths for prisoners. Life in overcrowded barracks, with minimal rations and hard work, was slowly and surely killing people. Most of the torture in German death camps was related to scientific research. So, deadly poisons, new medicines were tested on prisoners, terrible operations were carried out. As punishments in concentration camps, the Nazis used small cells, into which they put several people, the whole horror was that they could only stand there, the torture lasted for several days.
Excoriation
This torture was known in the Middle Ages, but the Germans used it with great pleasure in relation to prisoners during the Second World War. And, if in the Middle Ages only the skin was ripped off the victim, then the Germans also ripped off the meat to the very bones.
Torture in Russia
In general, the Russians should be given their due, unlike Europeans and Asians, they did not practice perverted torture. As a rule, all punishments were of the classical type: beating with a whip or chopping off the head. However, on rare occasions, torture was used. Corporal punishment reached its most magnificent flourishing in the era of Peter the Great. This king especially hated wives who dared to kill their husbands. For this, women were buried alive. It is known that in 1732 the serf Efrosinya was buried alive for such a crime. Believe it or not, she lived underground for almost a month! But Ivan the Terrible loved impaling, but again, this torture was used only a few times, and what is most interesting - only in relation to the boyars. The most famous execution is the execution of Boris Telepnev, he sat on a stake for 13 hours, and at this time, directly not in his eyes,a crowd of guardsmen raped his old mother.
Impalement
This is Vlad Tepes' favorite torture. Unlike Ivan the Terrible, who used this type of execution only a few times, the Romanian tsar impaled in tens of thousands. Moreover, he brought this type of execution to perfection, he made sure that the victim was tormented on a stake for up to ten days.
Quartering by horses
Seemingly simplest torture. The victim was tied to four horses - by the arms and legs, after which the animals were allowed to gallop. There was only one option - painful death. This is one of the most ancient tortures and was used during the Second World War.
Iron or Nuremberg maiden
A huge sarcophagus in the form of an open and empty female figure inside, inside - thousands of sharp thorns. The thorns were located so that the vital organs of the prisoners in the sarcophagus were not affected, so the agony was long and painful.
Interrogation chair
One of the most beloved tortures of the Holy Inquisition. The heretic was stripped naked and put on a chair studded with hundreds of spikes. It was impossible to move - otherwise, not only stab wounds, but also deep cuts appeared on the body. If this was not enough for the executioners, they took forceps in their hands and tormented the victim's limbs. This chair was loved not only by the inquisitors, it was very often used in the 20th century by the Gestapo.
Boiling alive
A long and painful death in a huge vat of water. The victim, bound in water, died long and painfully in the gradually warming water. This execution was practiced most often in the east, and the Zaporozhye Cossacks loved it. For the first time, people began to cook (fry) in ancient Greece. For this, a special design was created - "The Copper Bull". A living person was pushed inside the copper statue, through a small door, a fire was made under the belly of the bull and the victim was roasted alive.
Insect torture
We return to the bugs again. In the Middle Ages, the victim was tied up, coated with something sweet and left, and after a few minutes, bees and flies began a feast. But the American Indians had their own peculiarity - they launched ants into the liver. And sometimes in the Middle Ages, also during the Inquisition, a person was made stab wounds, and larvae were put on them, which ate the person alive.
Bloody eagle
An ancient Scandinavian torture - the victim was tied face down and the back was cut open with knives, the ribs were broken off, and the spine was bent. In Scandinavian legends, it is stated that during the execution, the wounds were sprinkled with salt. Historians claim that this torture was used by pagans in relation to Christians, while others say that on the contrary - Christians in relation to pagans.
Crucifixion
Perhaps this is the most ancient torture. It was not just torture, but a humiliating and long death. The sentenced to death was nailed to the cross, in public. They left him hanging, so that all the blood from his wounds would drain, and he died. Death sometimes came only after a week. This type of execution is still used today, for example in Burma and Saudi Arabia.
Of course, these are not all known tortures. There are tens of thousands of various perversions. And how many more will appear - no one knows.
