A two-part investigation into the world of the Russian fighting elite, known as the Spetsnaz. Following the collapse of the rouble, the military joined forces with private companies and nouveaux riches, giving everyone from the police to the Mafia a private army of crack commandos.

Tonight's programme begins with the 1979 coup d'etat that sparked the Afghan war. The story is told by the men responsible - all members of the KGB's Spetsnaz Group Alpha. The programme also examines the group's involvement in the Lebanese civil war and the 1991 attempted coup against Gorbachev.