Coalition military leaders examine these and other "what-ifs" time and again in "war games" and computer exercises, using "red teams" playing the role of enemy.

CNN: War Strategy: Planners must ask 'What if?'

Mr Medvedev, who inspected the Russian units, explicitly linked the exercises to last year's war in Georgia.

ECONOMIST: Russia's north Caucasus

It involves exercises such as the farmer's walk, a tug of war against weighted plates, and hanging onto a towel for a given amount of time.

BBC: Clive Stuart-Smith column