Why do Russian guards tilt their head and watch when leaders walk past?

The Kremlin Regiment, a group of special guards tasked with protecting high-profile Russian leaders, seem a bit odd.

When leaders like Putin walk past, they tilt their heads at jaunty angles and watch them walking.

You can only really get a sense of what it is like when you watch a video of the guards in action:

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So why do guards do this?

Vladimir Andreeff, a man who says he is a Russian army veteran, says this is all part of the standard "military greeting".

He claimed a charter reads: "To carry out the military greeting on the spot outside the building ... for three or four steps before the chief turn in his direction, take the drill stand and look into his face, turning his head after him."

"I repeatedly observed the training of the presidential regiment and was simply delighted with the clarity and correctness of the movements. All this is achieved by constant training and a special method of commanders, which has already been transmitted by many generations of ceremonial troops first to the USSR, and now to Russia," he explained on a blog.

So now you know.

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