In 1995, the FSB Special Operations Center (TsSN FSB) was granted control over Vympel. The group regained its original name and was reintegrated into the Intelligence Service structures. The emphasis shifted from covert and clandestine sabotage operations to counter-terrorism and nuclear safety enforcement. Vympel operatives undergo special training related to improvised or special explosive devices, permitting them to use "terrorist-like" tactics to carry out their operations. Physical training includes close hand combat, parachute training, diving, underwater combat techniques, climbing, and alpine rope techniques. Regional groups of Vympel were deployed in cities with especially important nuclear facilities.

Vympel (i.e. the Directorate "V" of the TsSN FSB) is still a classified and secretive unit. It took part in Russia's Chechen campaigns and in storming of the Supreme Soviet building during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. Little is known about its current operations and activities, the exception being the capture of the Chechen militant leader Salman Raduyev in March 2000 and the assault on the school in Beslan in September 2004.

Actually according to This article, the Karatelia only has level 5 protection, which as far as I know is only rated to stop up to 7.62x54, so maybe an SVD loaded with AP rounds at the most? Not that there's anything wrong with that of course.

Well of course it doesn't need to be protected against .50 cal. I was just answering my own question more than anything.

It looks like something from Red Faction. All it needs is some Mars landscape for the background.

It could be 50 cal resistant, but unlikely to stop SLAP rounds or even full bore AP... but keep in mind that heavily sloped armour can cause full calibre bullets to bounce off so even if it wont actually stop 50 cal it might deflect the odd round just because of its shape.

Many western critics talk about the thin armour on the BMDs and claim it is because the Russian government and military don't care about the lives of their soldiers... the irony is that the western equivalents of the VDV didn't have any armoured troop carriers at all at the time so not only were they less protected they were also less mobile and had less fire power.

I realise you are not in that category, but when I see the "dune buggy" western vehicles with no armour at all like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Strike_Vehicle

I wonder why those same western experts don't criticise these vehicles for their lack of protection... even just from the weather and dust...