Zrozeni z války - Vojenská historie Ruska od jeho počátku po dnešek – Galeotti Mark (2025)

A masterful treatise on how wars and the real and perceived sense of threat have shaped the fate of Russia from its inception to the catastrophic invasion of Ukraine.

Despite the nearly devastating invasion of Ukraine, Putin continues to rule Russia with an iron fist. The explanation for this phenomenon can be found in Russian history. Without naturally defensible borders and with environmental factors limiting its economy, Russia has faced militarily and technologically superior powers throughout its history. War – and the need to be prepared for war – has thus shaped its development from the era of princes and tsars to communist secretaries and presidents.

Russian national identity was born from war: from the desperate efforts of medieval princes to resist Viking raids and the Mongol invasion to its own expansion in Asia in the 19th century and the key conflicts of the 20th century that transformed Russia from a tsarist empire into a communist superpower. Weak Russia turned to Putin after the end of the Cold War, who revived the desire for war triumphalism and set the course for the invasion of Ukraine. The book Born of War offers an insightful and comprehensive view of Russian history and present, stripped of the layers of national...