In 2006, the G8 will meet in Russia for the first time. While for the majority of apolitical Russians this is a totally uninteresting occurrence, the Russian government and all shades of opposition consider it to be a highly significant event. The Russian elite is eager to ensure it does not end up with egg on its face and that all these high-powered meetings run smoothly.
To that end the corrupt, but nonetheless powerful, apparatus of the Russian special forces has been called into…