WINNER OF THE TUFTS UNIVERSITY FLETCHER SCHOOL U.S. RUSSIA RELATIONS INITIATIVE BOOK PRIZE

'Exactly the right book at the right time' – The Times

'Essential reading' – The Financial Times

A new history of how Putin and his conflicts have reshaped Russia, including his devastating invasion of Ukraine.

Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts into which Russia has plunged since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president. From the First and Second Chechen Wars to the military incursion into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Dr Mark Galeotti has produced a thought-provoking history of how Putin and his wars have inexorably reshaped Russia. Dr Galeotti also looks more broadly at Putin's attempts to reconstruct Russian military power from mercenaries to information operatives, and how in this rekindled Cold War with the West Putin has increasingly relied on military force to project power abroad. Galeotti does not ignore Russian military failings at both tactical and strategic levels in all these conflicts, particularly during the invasion of Ukraine.

Peppered with anecdotes and first-hand accounts from serving and retired Russian officers, this is an engaging and important history. There is no better time to understand how and why Putin has ordered his armed forces into a variety of wars. There is no author better placed to give a glimpse of what the future may hold.