Dehydration is indeed a big component, just chugging water or Gatorade before you pass out helps a lot.
I find that a huge amount of Vitamin C in the morning also helps; something like the 1g? capsules people used to think would fight off colds, or a ton of OJ... but go for the acid-reduced stuff, considering you've just stripped off your stomach lining. (Figure the deal with the C is that it is diuretic, and thus cleans out any residual alcohol faster... Could be the tweak to blood pH or the general healthy 'antioxidant' aspect as well.)
IIRC, whatever the Russian 'hangover cure' getting marketed around was, it was just a B-vitamin supplement, probably little different than what you get in a Red Bull. There's supposedly some (prescription/orphaned?) nootropic that can block an alcohol hangover entirely, but I can't find the reference -- and said reference was on a pro-GHB site, so take that how you will.
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Speaking of things you don't want to mix with alcohol or hangovers, I'd be wary of Tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol; presumably the guy who blew his liver out was mixing them with drink, but as I understand it it's safer to stick with the NSAIDs (Advil/ibuprofen) or Aspirin when you have alcohol in your system. (Except for the risk of stomach problems or blood-thinning complications with those -- no free lunch, but it's easier to treat an ulcer than transplant a liver.)
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Edit: Oh yeah, lemonade with a dash of salt (barely even a dash, something like a quarter teaspoon to two quarts) makes a sort of poor man's Gatorade, but go easy on the salt, or 1. you'll be no better off than drinking seawater, and 2. ...read the 'instructions' on a box of Epsom Salts sometime, if you go against the osmotic gradient, not only are you pulling water out of your system, but it'll have to leave through a different route... :-D
"Hair of the dog" does work for some (never for me, go figure), but a summer's worth puts you at risk for things like "wet brain," not particularly fun.
