ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA -- With the heavy military and police presence in and around St. Petersburg yesterday, the city looked like it was expecting an attack rather than throwing a party.

The air force was on high alert. Roughly 20,000 police officers were on the streets. Anti-aircraft batteries have been set up at strategic locations and frogmen have been sweeping the city's waterways for mines. Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said this week he is satisfied with the city's "military readiness."

There's no sign that anyone is coming here with any hostile intent, but with more than 40 world leaders arriving to celebrate the city's 300th birthday -- and with the Chechen war still raging in Russia's south -- authorities are taking no chances.

The municipal airport closes today, and will remain closed until Sunday, when the majority of the leaders leave. The city's deep-water port has also been shut down. Every truck entering the city, and many cars, will be stopped and checked for explosives.

The precautions are somewhat understandable given that the tricentennial birthday bash will bring together a collection of world political leaders of a size rarely seen outside the United Nations: 42 heads of state or government, plus other dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and European Union chief Romano Prodi.

The leaders of all 25 EU member and accession states are expected to be here, as well as those of G8 members Canada, Japan and the United States.

China's Hu Jintao and India's Atal Bihari Vajpayee are already here, as well as the leaders of most of the 12 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose grouping of former Soviet republics. About 2,500 journalists have been accredited to cover the event.

With a gathering this large, security isn't the only concern. There will also likely be some awkward moments, as ardent democrats like United States President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair find themselves in the same room -- at one point sharing what's described in the media guide as a "festive banquet" on Saturday night -- with some of the world's nastier dictators.

Included among the guests Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited to his party is Saparmurat Niyazov, the bizarre and ruthless dictator of Turkmenistan, a man who brutally suppresses political opposition in his country and has surrounded himself by a cult of personality that makes ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein seem modest.

Other revellers will be Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus and known as "Europe's last dictator" -- just yesterday, he banned company heads and organizational leaders from using the title "president" -- and Islam Karimov, the leader of Uzbekistan, a man Mr. Bush declared an ally in the war on terrorism but whom human-rights groups accuse of running a regime that uses torture to squelch dissent.

"They all have one thing in common -- they're friends of Putin," said one Western diplomat here.

But some of the other leaders, especially Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair, are reportedly uncomfortable with the idea of being seen in public among such unflattering company.

"I don't think there'll be a family photo," the diplomat said.

Mr. Bush will keep some distance by staying at the luxurious Hotel Astoria in the city centre, while most of the other leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, have accepted accommodations in VIP cabins around the newly rebuilt Konstantinovsky Palace on the outskirts of the city.

St. Petersburg's actual 300th birthday was Tuesday, and was celebrated by local citizens with concerts and a fireworks show.

As well, the Hermitage Museum, which features one of the world's largest art collections, stayed open all night for the first time.

CDI Russia Weekly #259 ~ Contents  •  Next