I received a great deal of help from various people but I would particularly like to thank the following: Narine Jordan for her invaluable assistance in translating Russian expressions and vocabulary. Roger Prior for help with what stripped down Land Rovers look like.
The following are recommended to anyone remotely interested in Russian crime:
Putin’s Russia by Anna Politkovskaya
Angel of Grozny by Asne Seierstad
Investigating the Russian Mafia by Joseph di Serio
Mafia State by Luke Harding
And also of interest, Stasiland by Anna Funder