Mark Galeotti

Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon's French to Hitler's Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In a In a Short history of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating,...

"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...

The Chechens of the North Caucasus region endured many decades of first Russian, then Soviet domination before open war broke out in 1994. In response to Chechnya's unilateral declaration of independence and its rapid descent into disorder, Moscow sent in ground troops, but its forces struggled to counter the Chechens' guerrilla tactics amid the mountainous terrain. The 1996 Khasav-Yurt Accord, which ended the first war, failed to address many of...

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...