The first authoritative, illustrated account of Russia's high-risk strike on Ukraine's capital, the centerpiece of its failed 2022 invasion plan.In 2022, Vladimir Putin was convinced he could seize Kyiv, install a puppet government, and close his fist on Ukraine in a matter of weeks, with minimal fighting. In this book, Dr Mark Galeotti, a world expert on Russian military history, explains how Russia's lightning conquest was conceived and planned, and how it was de...

The first English-language book to document the men who emerged from the Soviet-era gulags to become Russia's international criminal class.Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police around the world. Now, Western readers can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a criminal organization that has survived and thrived through Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, and the end of the Sov...

***'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 become a government? And is organised crime at the heart of every modern state?**On a thrilling whistle-stop tour of how the world's criminal underbelly has shaped state-making, capitalism, globalisation and all forms of so...

In the early years of Vladmir Putin’s Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin emerged as one of the President’s most trusted assets. By 2023, he had become a dangerous warlord – and also one of Putin’s chief rivals in Russia’s tumultuous political climate, exiled after leading an attempted coup, and shortly after killed in a mysterious plane crash.But what is the truth about this enigmatic figure, his role in the war with Ukraine, and the chaos unleashed across Russia by his turn against 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 ...

**A Library Journal 2020 Title to Watch"Terrific - and an amazing achievement to cover so much ground in such a short and wonderfully readable book."** -Peter Frankopan, bestselling author of The Silk RoadsRussia’s epic story told in an accessible, lively and short form, using the country's fascinating history to help us understand its actions today and what the future might holdA country with no natural borders, n...

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 problems. . . . A lively reminder that war adapts to technology, that civilians are part of modern conflict whether they like it or not.”—Roger Boyes, The Times“Galeotti’s field guide is an ad...

Leading expert Mark Galeotti explores the undeclared war in the Donbas in 2014, illuminating the long-running Russia-Ukraine crisis.The emerging and undeclared struggle for Ukraine's south-eastern Donbas region that erupted after the Russian annexation of Crimea was at once an insurgency, a proxy war and a direct Russian intervention. At first, it was a struggle largely between local insurgents and Russian volunteers on the one side, and local security forces and p...

THE FINANICAL TIMES - BEST BOOKS OF 2022'The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time.' - The TimesA history of how Putin and his conflicts have inexorably reshaped Russia, including his devastating invasion of Ukraine.Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became p...

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 th...

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 Russian advance through to urban battles such as Grozny, and the prolonged guerrilla warfare in the mountainous regions. Bringing the book up to date, including a revised introduction and new content on the K...

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 populist sentiment abroad, while its media sells Russia as a peaceable neighbour and a bastion of traditional social values. Its spies snoop, and even kill, and its hackers and trolls mount a 24/7 onslaught on Western systems and discourses. This...