BELARUS-SPECIAL-FORCES-EXAM

A Belarus Interior Ministry soldier gasps for fresh air after walking through a tear gas cloud in an obstacle course during rigorous physical examinations for the „Madder Beret” outside Minsk in Volovshchina on October 22, 2009. Soldiers who pass the examinations receive a burgundy-coloured Madder Beret and become members of the special forces. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV