Books by Mark Galeotti

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

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 forces need elite vehicles. As Vladimir Putin has devoted effort and funds into modernising Russia's armed forces and turning them into an instrument geared not just for defending the Motherland but also projecting power beyond its borders, Russia has seen a growing emphasis on special and specialist forces. Traditionally, the elite Spetsnaz commandos had to make do with regular vehicles or civilian-based 'technicals', not least to conceal their presence (or, indeed, very existence). Now, increasingly at the forefront of Russian power projection, the Spetsnaz are acquiring more capable, versatile vehicles, such as the paratroopers' BTR-D personnel carrier, and also experimenting with exotic, specialist new acquisitions, such as the Chaborz M-3 buggy and Yamaha Grizzly all-terrain vehicle. The other elite branches of Russia's forces, such as the Arctic-warfare troops of the 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade, the paratroopers of the Air Assault Troops (VDV), the Naval Infantry, and the elite units of the security forces are also developing and fielding new vehicles for their specialist roles, from combat snowmobiles to urban-warfare vehicles. From highly-mobile LMVs able to operate in the deserts of Syria or the streets of Ukraine, through dedicated fire-support vehicles such as the air-droppable Sprut-SD or the massive BMPT 'Terminator', to amphibious tanks and drone-equipped security trucks, these are the workhorses of Russia's special forces. This study explores all these combat vehicles in detail, combining expert analysis from Russia expert Mark Galeotti with highly accurate full-colour illustrations and photographs.

A The Times best book of 2019'In fewer than 150 pithy pages, Galeotti sketches a bleak, but convincing picture of the man in the Kremlin and the political system that he dominates' - The TimesMeet the world's most dangerous man.

'The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time.' - The TimesA new 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 prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers. This is an engrossing strategic overview of the Russian military and the successes and failures on the battlefield. Thanks to Dr Galeotti's wide-ranging contacts throughout Russia, it is also peppered with anecdotes of military life, personal snapshots of conflicts, and an extraordinary collection of first-hand accounts from serving and retired Russian officers. Russia continues to dominate the news cycle throughout the Western world. There is no better time to understand how and why Putin has involved his armed forces in a variety of conflicts for over two decades. There is no author better placed to demystify the capabilities of the Russian military and give a glimpse into what the future may hold.

It is the Year of Our Lord 1510, and one has to wonder how differently history could have played out if Niccol├▓ Machiavelli, the military commissioner of the Republic of Florence, had not understood the true scale of Leonardo da Vinci''s genius. In such a world, the visionary might simply have wasted his time painting portraits of women and doodling in a sketchbook. Instead, he unleashed a technological revolution where primitive computers, decorated with delicately painted cupids, run on water clocks; spring-powered tanks whir across the battlefield, cannons thundering from their flanks; and gliders flit across perfectly blue Tuscan skies.Gran Meccanismo is a roleplaying game of swashbuckling adventure in a Renaissance Italy where Florence''s winding alleys play host to spies, scholars, and sell-swords alike. Players are nobles, mercenaries, inventors, and artisans who may find themselves crossing wits with Machiavelli, avoiding the dangerous charms of Lucretia Borgia, or hearing Christopher Columbus telling tales of the new world he has discovered...

Storm-333 was the opening move in the Soviet-Afghan War, a special-forces mission to seize Kabul and assassinate Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin. At once a textbook success for the Spetsnaz and KGB and the start of a terrible strategic blunder for the USSR, this is the most authoritative history of the operation available in English.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 symbolic show of force, yet which quickly devolved into a gritty ten-year counter-insurgency which Moscow was never able to win. Nonetheless, Storm-333 was a striking success, and despite initial concerns from some quarters that it would be impossible, it saw a relative handful of Soviet special forces drawn from the KGB and the military seize the heavily defended presidential palace, neutralize the city''s communications and defenses, and open Kabul to occupation. The lessons learned then are still valid today, and have been incorporated into modern Russian military art, visible most recently in the seizure of Crimea in 2014.Written by a recognized expert on the Soviet security forces, drawing extensively on Russian sources, and fully illustrated with commissioned artwork, this is the most detailed and compelling study of this fascinating operation available in English.

Illustrated investigation of the forces fighting today''s civil war in Ukraine, including Russian regular and clandestine units.Using his extensive contacts in both Russia and Ukraine, and access to a mass of official and unofficial sources, Mark Galeotti presents a thorough and intriguing primer on all the forces involved in the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine. Supported by specially commissioned artwork, he analyzes both the progress of the war, and what it teaches us about Russia''s current military capabilities.In February 2014, street protests in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities led to the ousting of the Russian-backed President Yanukovych. The so-called Euromaidan Revolution saw many changes to the Ukraine''s constitution, but the violent reaction in the east and south of the country led to armed counter-revolution, unofficially backed by Russia.This conflict is the essential example of Russia''s new policy of "hybrid warfare", which blends propaganda, misinformation, and the deployment of "deniable" Special Forces and regular troops alongside proxies and mercenaries to achieve its strategic ends.

Covers "security", incorporating military doctrine, political skulduggery, international relations and economic stablilty, seeking to knit them together into a coherent whole. The book follows a broadly chronological line and each chapter contains a chronology.

This volume illustrates the way the war in Afghanistan fed into a wide range of other processes, from the rise of grassroots political activism to the retreat from globalism in foreign policy.

By turns radical, uncertain, ambitious and autocratic, Mikhail Gorbachev and his bid to reform the Soviet Union have shaped the contemporary world. Drawing on the latest memoirs and scholarship, this book follows Gorbachev's increasingly desperate attempts to control the forces he unleashed and hold together a state whose days were over.