"Probably a silly question, but the Russian pilot(s ?) seem to be hand-flying the thing. Why wouldn't they be on autopilot ?
D. "
I think times got tough in the late 1990's and the Russians sold every TU-95 autopilot on the line and in stock to Boeing to outfit the "Next Generation" 737 autopilot system.
Only thing I could come up with to explain that POS A/P. The little kids seem to enjoy they zero G capture and the funny clacker noise coming from the clacker as it ignores the programmed speed.