Spetsnaz: Russia's Special Forces

by Mark Galeotti, Johnny Shumate (Illustrator)

Overview

When the shadowy, notorious Spetsnaz were first formed, they drew on a long Soviet tradition of elite, behind-the-lines commando forces from World War II and even earlier. Throughout the 1960s-70s they were instrumental both in projecting Soviet power in the Third World and in suppressing resistance within the Warsaw pact. As a powerful, but mysterious tool of a world superpower, the Spetsnaz have inevitably become the focus of many 'tall tales' in the West. In this book, a peerless authority on Russia's military Special Forces debunks several of these myths, uncovering truths that are often even more remarkable. Now, since the chaotic dissolution of the USSR and the two Chechen Wars, Russian forces have seen increasing modernization, involving them ever more in power-projection, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism and the Spetsnaz have been deployed as a spearhead in virtually all of these operations. This book offers a unique, absorbing guide to the secrets of the Spetsnaz, their most noteworthy missions and personalities, but is also packed with details such as orders-of-battle, equipment and operational doctrine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472807229
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/23/2015
Series:	Elite , #206
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Mark Galeotti is a scholar of Russian security affairs with a career spanning academia, government service 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. He is the author of over 25 books including Putin's Wars (Osprey Publishing, 2022).

Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

The Bolshevik Legacy 6

Special Purpose Units and "diversionary troops"

Spain and Finland

Airborne troops

The Great Patriotic War 9

The Partisans

The OMSBON and OGBM

Naval infantry 181st Special Detachment

Cold Warriors 14

GRU Independent Spetsnaz Recon Companies

1950: the first Naval Spetsnaz brigades

1957: the first GRU Spetsnaz battalions

Imperial enforcers: Hungary, 1956, and Czechoslovakia, 1968

The Spetsnaz mystique

Spetsnaz units, 1982

Coming of Age: Afghanistan, 1979-89 20

The "Moslem Battalion" - Operation "Storm-333"

Later deployments

The Spetsnaz war - hunters and raiders

After Afghanistan: Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan

Spetsnaz Since the End of the Ussr 29

Uncertainties and reductions

Chechnya: First Chechen War, 1994-96

Second Chechen War, 1999-2002

The Kadyrovtsy - the Vostok Battalion

The Modern Spetsnaz 38

Georgia, 2008

Special Operations Command

The GRU embattled, 2010-13

Organization, 2014 - recruitment and training

Crimea and Ukraine, 2014

The "other Spetsnaz"

The future

Weapons & Equipment 56

Small arms - support weapons - personal kit - close combat

Underwater equipment

Select Bibliography 63

Index 64

Editorial Reviews

Spetsnaz: Russia's Special Forces chronicles everything from their origins to recent headlines. The Spetsialnogo naznacheniya (Special Designation) troops have carved out a reputation for ruthless efficiency, proficiency and ferocity. However, the Spetsnaz seem to be rather misunderstood and to some extent even mythologized. Mark Galeotti, an internationally recognized expert, traces their history while outlining the evolution of their organization, missions and character. Their uniforms, equipment and weapons are detailed in depth. Galeotti shows how the Spetsnaz are the cornerstone of a new Russian way of war that stresses deception, surprise and speed, ensuring that they will maintain their elite status for the foreseeable future.” —Toy Soldier & Model Figure magazine

From the Publisher