Afghanistan 1979-88
The first English-language book to examine the crucial part air power played in the Soviet-Afghan War. The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan was fought as much in the air as on the ground. From the high-level bombing raids that blasted rebel-...
Russia's Five-Day War
A fascinating account of Russia's Five-Day War against Georgia in 2008, notable for its strategic mistakes which prompted President Putin to undertake major military reforms. After Georgia's independence from Russia in 1991, President Saakashvili ...
Kulikovo 1380
The colourful, enthralling story of the Russo-Mongol battle of Kulikovo, involving: the killing of a Muscovite prince (only for it to turn out to be a body double) and an unexpected ambush to turn looming defeat into glorious victory. The 14th-cen...
Modern Russian Army 1992-2016
A full and authoritative illustrated history of Russia's army since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, including Air Assault and Navy ground forces. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's army has undergone a turbulent transformation,...
Combat Vehicles of Russia's Special Forces
An illustrated study of both the combat vehicles of Russia's legendary Spetsnaz special forces and the whole range of unique and modified vehicles that Russia's elite units use, from combat snowmobiles to the world's biggest water-cannon. Elite fo...
Storm-333
Storm-333, the operation to seize Kabul and assassinate Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin, was at once a textbook success and the start of a terrible blunder. It heralded the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an operation intended to be a short, largely...
Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine
Explaining and illustrating the immediate background to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, this book investigates the Ukrainian and Russian regular and irregular forces which have been fighting in the Donbas region since 2014. In February 20...
Spetsnaz
An authoritative illustrated analysis of the history of the military Special Forces units of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation. When the shadowy, notorious Spetsnaz were first formed, they drew on a long Soviet tradition of elite, behind-the...
Teutonic Knight vs Lithuanian Warrior
Featuring full-colour artwork, maps and carefully chosen illustrations, this exciting book investigates the Teutonic Knights and their Lithuanian foes during the epic Lithuanian Crusade. The Teutonic Knights were a military order committed to spre...
Putin Takes Crimea 2014
An authoritative analysis of how Putin's Russia conquered the Crimea in 2014 using 'grey zone' warfare techniques, blending operations by anonymous special forces with cyber, sabotage, and propaganda. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 was almo...
Tanks in Ukraine 2022
A world-renowned expert offers a focused, illustrated account of how Russian and Ukrainian armour fought during the crucial year of 2022, prior to the arrival of Western tanks. The invasion of Ukraine has seen full-scale mechanized warfare return ...
Putin's Mercenaries, 2013-24
This illustrated study tells the story of the Russian mercenary force led by business tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the mutiny it launched against Putin's government in 2023. Conceived by the Kremlin in 2013 as an instrument of 'deniable' power pr...
Panjshir Valley 1980-86
An in-depth look at the struggle between the charismatic rebel commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, 'The Lion of Panjshir', and the Soviet forces who fought to control the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan. When the Soviets rolled into Afghanistan in 1979, ...
Russian Security and Paramilitary Forces since 1991
A detailed illustrated study of Putin's shadowy security and paramilitary armed forces. While the size of Russia's regular forces has shrunk recently, its security and paramilitary elements have become increasingly powerful. Under the Putin regime...
Putin's Wars
The Financial Times - Best books of 2022: Politics 'The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time.' The Times A new history of how Putin and his conflicts have inexorably reshaped ...
Moscow Kremlin
An illustrated study of the history of the Moscow Kremlin, a metaphor for Russia, a symbol for its government and an enduring icon of the country. A fortified complex covering 70 acres at the heart of Moscow, behind walls up to 18m high and watche...
Forged In War
A masterful history of how war and insecurity, both real and perceived, have driven Russia's destiny for centuries, including the disastrous invasion of Ukraine.Putin retains his stranglehold on his position in Russia despite an almost ruinous invasion of Ukraine. The answer as to how and why can be found in Russian history. With no naturally defensible borders, and environmental factors constraining its economy, Russia has been pitched against the pre-eminent military powers of the age across the centuries, and often at a technological disadvantage. To respond to these challenges, it has had to sit heavily on the backs of its people, and so war - and the need to be able to fight it - has shaped its evolution, from tsars to commissars and presidents.The national identity has been forged in the furnace of war. From the medieval kingdom of Rus battling against a Scandinavian princes and Mongol emperors, to its own empire-building conflicts in 19th-century Asia, to the formative wars of the 20th century which saw Russia pitch from Tsarist empire to communist state and defender against Nazism, all these conflicts stained the lands of Russia red with blood. A weak post-Cold War Russia then turned to Putin, who created a new mood for martial triumphalism which led directly to the Ukrainian war. Packed with contemporary accounts, Forged in War strips away the myth to give an insider's view on Russia's past and present.
We Need to Talk About Putin
Meet the world's most dangerous man. Who is the real Vladimir Putin? What does he want? And what will he do next? Despite the millions of words written on Putin's Russia, the West still fails to truly understand one of the world's most powerful politicians, whose influence spans the globe and whose networks of power reach into the very heart of our daily lives. Professor Mark Galeotti uncovers the man behind the myth, addressing the key misperceptions of Putin and explaining how we can decipher his motivations and next moves. From Putin's early life in the KGB, to the war with Ukraine, his real relationship with the US and his vision for the future of Russia - Galeotti draws on Russian sources and explosive unpublished accounts to give unparalleled insight into the man at the heart of global politics. 'Easily the shrewdest and most insightful analysis yet of Putin’s policymaking' - Foreign Affairs 'Punchy and highly readable' - TLS 'Reads like a primer for anyone poised to enter a
Russian Political War
This book cuts through the misunderstandings about Russia's geopolitical challenge to the West, presenting this not as 'hybrid war' but 'political war.' Russia seeks to antagonise: its diplomats castigate Western 'Russophobia' and cultivate populi...
We Need to Talk About Putin
'Galeotti sketches a bleak, but convincing picture of the man in the Kremlin and the political system that he dominates' - The Times Meet the world's most dangerous man. Who is the real Vladimir Putin? What does he want? And what will he do next? ...
Russian and Post-Soviet Organized Crime
A timely look at a widespread yet largely uninvestigated area of Russian life. Chapters include: consideration of the history and basis in culture for the organization of crime in Russia; the actions of émigrés to the USA; and the development of m...
Homo Criminalis
'Glittering... the author's obvious enthusiasm for the subject is matched by impressive erudition' The Spectator 'The readable, scary, fun beach read of new crime literature' Financial Times When does a bandit become a monarch? When does a gang be...
Russian Political War
This book cuts through the misunderstandings about Russia's geopolitical challenge to the West, presenting this not as 'hybrid war' but 'political war.' Russia seeks to antagonise: its diplomats castigate Western 'Russophobia' and cultivate populi...
Weaponisation of Everything
An engaging guide to the various ways in which war is now waged-and how to adapt to this new reality ¿ "This brisk everyman's guide-straight-talking and free of jargon-is a useful tasting menu to a fast moving, constantly evolving set of prob...
Politics of Security in Modern Russia
The Putin era saw a striking 'securitization' of politics, something that he has bequeathed to his chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev. The omens from the early days of the Medvedev presidency have been mixed, marked both by less confrontational rhe...
Vory
The first English-language book to document the men who emerged from the gulags to become Russia's much-feared crime class: the vory v zakone Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police aroun...
Short History Of Russia
'Fascinating... One of the most astute political commentators on Putin and modern Russia' Financial Times'An amazing achievement' Peter FrankopanCan anyone truly understand Russia?Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethos, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it is everyone's 'other'. And yet it is one of the most powerful nations on earth, a master game-player on the global stage with a rich history of war and peace, poets and revolutionaries. In this essential whistle-stop tour of the world's most complex nation, Mark Galeotti takes us behind the myths to the heart of the Russian story: from the formation of a nation to its early legends - including Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Great - to the rise and fall of the Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, the Cold War, Chernobyl and the end of the Soviet Union - plus the rise of a politician named Vladimir Putin, and the events leading to the Ukrainian war.
Russia's Wars in Chechnya
Written by a leading expert on modern Russia, this is an illustrated introduction to the bitter campaigns in Chechnya. In this new edition of his popular 2014 work, Mark Galeotti traces the progress of the wars in Chechnya, from the initial Russia...
