TorrentReactor Purchases Entire Russian Village, Renames It ‘TorrentReactor’. No, Really.

What are you downloading right now? Don’t give me that face. Few people don’t hit the torrents. I’ve got season 2 of TNG queued up as we speak – and I have TorrentReactor to thank. And I’m not the only one who has to thank TorrentReactor, either.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Russian village of Gar. Perhaps you’ve been struck twice by lightning. With a population of 214, three computers and one dialup connection, Gar isn’t exactly a bustling center of commerce. But it could one day be one of piracy, for sure; TorrentReactor has bought the entire village for $150,000.

No joke – TorrentReactor has indeed bought the village of Gar, and renamed it ‘TorrentReactor’. Mm. Catchy. Founded in 1958 by a religious sect, Gar, with the aforementioned one dialup connection, isn’t exactly a pirate’s paradise. In fact, some villagers were convinced ‘TorrentReactor’ was a ‘large American nuclear station’.

Located in Toronto.

So hopefully, with TorrentReactor’s support, the villagers can brush up on their geography while they fill up on cam rips of the latest and greatest new releases. But it begs the question: why? Why turn a forgotten village into a walking billboard for piracy? According to TorrentReactor, this is more than a mere publicity stunt:

We realize it’s just a drop in the ocean comparing to the amount of money needed to help thousands of other villages. But we at least do something to support complete strangers. We are proud that we are able to do so and hope we will be proud of this in the future. We would be even happier to become pioneers and other large Internet portals would follow our example to help many godforsaken places on Earth.

Dawww, TorrentReactor. That’s sweet. And kind of a creepy concept. But sweet. In addition to having given the town the means to maintain their town and purchase new equipment, TorrentReactor will be paying for broadband access for the entire settlement. Presumably, so they can use TorrentReactor.

Coming up next: Google actually buys Topeka, Kansas.