Since I just edited this thread to be for general Russian scary stories, here are a couple:
First, KGB. Not surprising...and not much room to talk, since we're all doing this sort of thing now. But Putin isn't a cuddly guy like...uh...Bush. I think.
KGB influence 'soars under Putin'
By Steven Eke
BBC Russian affairs analyst
Four out of five political leaders and state administrators in Russia either have been or still are members of the security services, a study suggests.
The unprecedented research implies a huge expansion of KGB-FSB influence in politics and business in recent years.
Many of the officials concerned have been appointed under President Vladimir Putin - himself a former spy chief.
This has led many liberal commentators to claim their influence is growing unchecked, and threatening democracy.
Politics and business
This new research was conducted by Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a respected academic, for the Centre for the Study of the Elite, part of the prestigious Academy of Sciences.
It confirms that the siloviki - ex-KGB operatives or those working for its successor organisation, the FSB - have done well in President Putin's Russia.
It has long been thought that their influence was growing. But this first, concerted attempt to provide empirical evidence of its scale, has produced some surprising results.
Among the presidential administration, members of the government, deputies of both chambers of parliament, regional heads, as well as the boards of Russia's top state corporations, four in five officials worked for the KGB, or continue to work for one or more of its successor organisations.
The research also suggests the political and business elites are rapidly coalescing, with some key industrial figures, such as the head of the state weapons export agency, also from the same security service heritage.
Contrast
How different Russia looks from other formerly communist countries in eastern Europe, where there have been attempts to identify individuals who worked for Soviet-era security services, many of which were highly repressive.
Some of these individuals have been put on trial for their alleged crimes.
But perhaps more significantly, there has been a real effort to keep them out of politics and big business.
But whatever it means for Russia's future as a democracy - or not - so far, unhappiness about Russia's new ruling class has been expressed only by the country's beleaguered liberal minority.
Next up is an interesting little protest. Some points on how things are being run, politically. That is -- Putin is in charge as long as he wants to be.
Anti-Putin protest 'to go ahead'
Russia's opposition groups have vowed to go ahead with Saturday's protest march against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, despite an official ban.
The rally is being organised by former chess world champion Garry Kasparov, who has said its participants would try to avoid any possible provocations.
The march is against what protesters describe as rampant corruption and a Kremlin crackdown on democracy.
A pro-Kremlin youth group plans to hold its own demonstration on Sunday.
'Uniting opposition'
Mr Kasparov will be leading the rally, described as "the march of those who disagree".
He has said that the authorities are violating his constitutional rights by banning the march.
Its organisers say they have been ordered by the Moscow city authorities to remain in one square.
And activists in a number of Russia's regions, who planned to travel to the capital to participate, claim they have been ordered to report to police stations instead.
"We took additional steps to maintain the format of the action and avoid outright clashes, which we realise could end badly," Mr Kasparov told a news conference in Moscow.
He said the march would unite "opposition forces of different political persuasions".
The organisers are expecting about 4,000 people to join the march.
A pro-Kremlin youth group plans to hold its own demonstration a day later.
It says it plans to attract more than 100,000 participants, but no restrictions have been imposed on it.
Offices raided
Mr Kasparov left professional chess to devote his attention to opposition politics, the BBC's Russian affairs analyst Steven Eke says.
Mr Kasparov now runs an organisation called the United Civil Front - an umbrella group which brings together a motley array of liberal free marketeers, nationalists and radical youth movements.
The Russian opposition has long been wracked by internal divisions, our analyst says.
But he says that with parliamentary elections due next year, and presidential elections due early in 2008, they have begun to coordinate their efforts.
They are angered, especially, by recent changes to Russian electoral law, which, they say, are designed to push the smaller, opposition parties out of the race.
Already, Russia's parliament is dominated by pro-Kremlin parties that generally rubber-stamp laws proposed by the government, our analyst says.
However, the authorities have already made clear that they view Mr Kasparov's activities as potentially subversive.
Earlier this week, more than a dozen officers from the FSB, Russia's domestic security service, raided his office to remove documents and equipment.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6181613.stm
