Description:
A masterful account of how war and insecurity, both real and perceived, have driven Russia's destiny for centuries, including the disastrous invasion of Ukraine.
Brief description:
Mark Galeotti is a scholar of Russian security with a career spanning academia, government and business, a prolific author and frequent media commentator. He heads the Mayak Intelligence consultancy and is an Honorary Professor at University College London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies as well as holding fellowships with RUSI and the Institute of International Relations Prague. He has been Professor of Global Affairs at New York University, a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a Visiting Professor at Rutgers-Newark and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Review Quotes:
"Galeotti's absorbing book shows how Putin's Russia has been defined by endless wars against often more sophisticated neighbours and by its spluttering attempts to modernise itself in response." --Sir Rodric Braithwaite, former UK Ambassador to Russia
"A well-informed, thoughtful and readable introduction to a vast, complex and immensely important subject." --Professor Dominic Lieven, author of 'Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia' "The battles, the geopolitics, the palace ideologies and intrigues are set forth in Mark Galeotti's masterful and absorbing narrative." --Leon Aron, author of 'Riding the Tiger: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the Uses of War' "Confused policy-makers and curious students will benefit greatly from this impeccably researched and succinctly written account." --Professor Pavel Baev, Peace Research Institute Oslo "[Mark Galeotti] has produced what is not only a succinct tour d'horizon of Russia's simultaneously rich and brutal history, but a real tour de force of analysis ... a masterful study." --Lord Lothian