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This volume provides an introduction to the history of the Soviet armed forces from 1917 to 1991. The authors highlight the many facets of the Cold War, including the rise of the Soviet Navy after the Great Patriotic War and the collapse of the Soviet Union which marks its twentieth anniversary in 2011.

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Introduction; F.W.Kagan & R.Higham PART I: THE FORMATION OF THE SOVIET ARMY AND NAVY The Russian Civil Wars, 1917-1921; D.Jones The Russo-Polish War; R.Ponichtera & D.Stone Ideology and the Rise of the Red Army, 1917-1929; D.Stone Industry and the Rise of the Red Army, 1929-1941; D.Stone The Rise and Fall of Soviet Operational Art, 1917-1941; F.W.Kagan Dress Rehearsals, 1937-1941; M.Habeck The Great Patriotic War, Barbarossa to Stalingrad; J.Erickson The Great Patriotic War, Rediscovering Operational Art; F.W.Kagan The Red Air Force; M.O´Neill The Russian/Soviet Navy, 1900-1945; C.Lovett PART II: THE SOVIET ARMY AND NAVY IN THE COLD WAR AND BEYOND The Cold War, the Nuclear Revolution; S.Zaloga The Cold War on the Ground, 1945-1979; M.O´Neill The Soviet Cold War Navy; C.Lovett Cold War Defeat: Afganistan; S.McMichael The Soviet Army in Civil Disturbances, 1988-1991; S.Blank The Russian Armed Forces in a Democratic Russia: Conclusions and Prospects; W.E.Odom

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´...a handy one-volume military history of the Soviet Union that will delight enthusiasts and assist instructors.´ - Dr. Matthew R. Schwonek, Air and Space Power Journal

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ROBIN HIGHAM Professor of History at Kansas State University, USA.

FREDERICK W. KAGAN Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the US Military Academy, West Point, USA.

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