BOOKS & MORE: The History of the Spetsnaz

You won't learn the service secrets of the Russian Spetsnaz in this book, which is also quite old. But it provides a good overview and introduction to the Russian special forces. It starts early in history, leading from the First to the Second World War, where everything irregular is considered as a precursor.

Partisans, paratroopers, and combat swimmers are indeed the direct predecessors of today's Spetsnaz. Russia has a wide range of special forces, essentially the modern light infantry. This ranges from the army to the military intelligence service GRU to the police. Vympl, Alpha, FSB Spetsnaz, all are introduced and provide a good overview. In addition, it covers conflicts in which Spetsnaz have played a role, from Afghanistan to Chechnya. Unfortunately, the book was already published in 2012, and a depiction of the modern Russian special forces, which also play an important role in Syria, is still missing.

“Speznas: Russlands legendäre Spezialeinheiten“ by Alexander Schrepfer-Proskurjakov, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, 176 pages, Euro 14.95