Swimming the Volga: A U.S. Army Officer's Experiences in Pre-Putin Russia PDF Download
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Author: Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack
Publisher: Zwack Eurasia Consultancy LLC
ISBN: 9781734006018
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
Swimming the Volga is a personal eyewitness account of day-to-day life in a provincial Russian city just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and before the names Putin and Russia became inseparable.
Author: Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack
Publisher: Zwack Eurasia Consultancy LLC
ISBN: 9781734006018
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Get Book Here
Book Description
Swimming the Volga is a personal eyewitness account of day-to-day life in a provincial Russian city just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and before the names Putin and Russia became inseparable.
Author: Peter Zwack
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781734006001
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
Swimming the Volga is an eyewitness account of day-to-day life in a provincial Russian city during a remarkable period in world history just before the names Putin and Russia became inseparable. After seventy years of tyranny and oppression under a series of iron-fisted regimes, Russia turned away from its failed social and political experiment. It took its first steps toward adopting a democratic and free-market system under perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). During Zwack's regular visits to Kalinin, he witnessed firsthand ordinary people's lives turned upside down by forces they had little or no control over. In the Wild West of the 'new' Russia, a few enterprising Russians quickly figured out how to make vast amounts of money-usually illegally. A nascent mafia mastered the art of bringing necessary and desirable goods to market and extracting 'protection' money from new businesses. Most Russians, however, watched their life savings disappear in two massive devaluations of the ruble in the 1990s. Written in the days just before the names Putin and Russia became inseparable, Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack (Ret)'s Swimming the Volga is a unique time capsule of a remarkable period in world history, one that began with the final chapter of the Cold War and ended with the hijacking of Russia's future by rapacious financiers, pyramid schemes, and a new criminal element setting the stage for Putin's arrival, and with it, a more assertive and revanchist Russia. Along the way, the cast of memorable characters in the story reveals their very human dreams, ambitions, fears, missteps, cynicism, resilience, and disillusionment. What will make Swimming the Volga stand out in the marketplace is the author, who lived and experienced Russian culture firsthand. His many accomplished years of high-ranking military authority, extensive knowledge and grasp of the language and culture, and brilliance as an educator, speaker, and writer. Former Attaché to the Russian Federation, Zwack is a current Global Fellow at The Kennan Institute for Advanced Russia Studies at The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. No one is more qualified to write and speak on this subject than him.
Author: Peter B. Zwack
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781734006049
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 266
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Book Description
From 2008-2009, then Colonel Zwack kept an intimate journal of his experiences as a soldier serving in complex and dangerous Afghanistan when the success and failure of the international mission still hung in the balance. During that time, he was the Director of the Joint Intelligence and Operations Center located at the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Kabul Kurier addresses the multiple challenges that plagued the mission and overall region, which were not fundamentally different from those that led to the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Colorfully written, the Afghanistan Kabul Kurier offers compelling vignettes and stories, as well as rare insights into Afghan society and culture, including the traditional division and tension between urban and rural communities; its diverse tribes and ethnicities; the plight of women and girls; governance during endemic corruption; the corrosive opium trade; difficult regional neighbors; and much more. Readers will feel as if they are alongside Zwack in a helicopter as he flies through the vast Hindu Kush mountains and navigates hazardous roads along the harsh Afghanistan terrain.Zwack's forthright and respectful observations provide a refreshing counterpoint to accounts that will be heavy on politics and light on the human dimension of Afghanistan's painful struggles to forge its future.Deployed to Afghanistan 2008-2009, then Colonel Zwack served as:?Director of the Joint Intelligence Operations Center - Afghanistan (JIOC/A) conducting intelligence and situational awareness in and around Afghanistan ?J2 (Senior Intelligence Officer), for U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR/A) ?Deputy CJ2 (intelligence officer) for the NATO international security assistance force (ISAF) in AfghanistanBrigadier General Peter B. Zwack {Ret.}.U.S. Army Attaché to Moscow (2012 2014)Wilson Center Global Fellow
Author: Lester W. Grau
Publisher: Mentor Military
ISBN: 9781940370194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces The mighty Soviet Army is no more. The feckless Russian Army that stumbled into Chechnya is no more. Today's Russian Army is modern, better manned, better equipped and designed for maneuver combat under nuclear-threatened conditions. This is your source for the tactics, equipment, force structure and theoretical underpinnings of a major Eurasian power. Here's what the experts are saying: "A superb baseline study for understanding how and why the modern Russian Army functions as it does. Essential for specialist and generalist alike." -Colonel (Ret) David M. Glantz, foremost Western author on the Soviet Union in World War II and Editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. "Congratulations to Les Grau and Chuck Bartles on filling a gap which has yawned steadily wider since the end of the USSR. Their book addresses evolving Russian views on war, including the blurring of its nature and levels, and the consequent Russian approaches to the Ground Forces' force structuring, manning, equipping, and tactics. Confidence is conferred on the validity of their arguments and conclusions by copious footnoting, mostly from an impressive array of primary sources. It is this firm grounding in Russian military writings, coupled with the authors' understanding of war and the Russian way of thinking about it, that imparts such an authoritative tone to this impressive work." -Charles Dick, former Director of the Combat Studies Research Centre, Senior Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, author of the 1991 British Army Field Manual, Volume 2, A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art and author of From Victory to Stalemate The Western Front, Summer 1944 and From Defeat to Victory, The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. "Dr. Lester Grau's and Chuck Bartles' professional research on the Russian Armed Forces is widely read throughout the world and especially in Russia. Russia's Armed Forces have changed much since the large-scale reforms of 2008, which brought the Russian Army to the level of the world's other leading armies. The speed of reform combined with limited information about their core mechanisms represented a difficult challenge to the authors. They have done a great job and created a book which could be called an encyclopedia of the modern armed forces of Russia. They used their wisdom and talents to explore vital elements of the Russian military machine: the system of recruitment and training, structure of units of different levels, methods and tactics in defense and offence and even such little-known fields as the Arctic forces and the latest Russian combat robotics." -Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Professor of Military Science and Project Director, Project on Asian Security, Emerging Technologies and Global Security Project PIR Center, Moscow. "Probably the best book on the Russian Armed Forces published in North America during the past ten years. A must read for all analysts and professionals following Russian affairs. A reliable account of the strong and weak aspects of the Russian Army. Provides the first look on what the Russian Ministry of Defense learned from best Western practices and then applied them on Russian soil." -Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and member of the Public Council of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Author of Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, Russia's New Army, and The Tanks of August.
Author: S. Enders Wimbush
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780998666006
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200
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Book Description
Russia is in precipitous decline, which is unlikely to be reversed. This conclusion, based on the research of Russian and American experts, constitutes the bottom line of The Jamestown Foundation's project, Russia in Decline. Moreover, the tempo of Russia's decay is accelerating across virtually every fragment of its politics, economy, society and military, which renders Russia a poor candidate to survive globalization, let alone claim the mantle of a Great Power. This small volume details why Russia's spiraling into decline and disarray should keep strategists awake at night. It should also alert foreign policy, security and military planners, for whom Russia's decline will necessarily become the leitmotif of informed planning.
Author: Jeffrey Tayler
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618919840
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
In a custom-built boat, Jeffrey Tayler traveled some 2,400 miles down the Lena River, from near Lake Baikal to high above the Arctic Circle, re-creating a journey first made by Cossack forces more than three hundred years ago. He was searching for primeval beauty and a respite from the corruption, violence, and self-destructive urges that typify modern Russian culture. His only companion on this hellish journey detests all humanity, including Tayler. Vadim, Tayler's guide, is a burly Soviet army veteran whose superb skills Tayler needs to survive. As the two navigate roiling white water in howling storms, they eschew lifejackets because the frigid water would kill them before they could swim to shore. Though Tayler has trekked by camel through the Sahara and canoed down the Congo during the revolt against Mobutu, he has never felt as threatened as he does on this trip.
Author: Richard Weitz
Publisher: Strategic Studies Institute U. S. Army War College
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
For almost 2 decades, China and Russia have been strengthening their security ties. Nonetheless, as this monograph makes clear, the relationship between Beijing and Moscow remains in flux. In some cases, they share overlapping interests. In other instances, they compete for power and wealth, particularly for oil and gas resources. Many factors will affect Sino-Russian ties? including developments within China and Russia as well as external events. As part of this mix, American policies will also have some impact on the future foreign behavior of both countries. -- Foreword.
Author: Robert Baer
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1400053374
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 197
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Book Description
“Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state—a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?” In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’ s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism. For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’ s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens. In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out. Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
Author: Angus Roxburgh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857730363
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371
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Book Description
Russia under Vladimir Putin has proved a prickly partner for the West, a far cry from the democratic ally many hoped for when the Soviet Union collapsed. Abroad, he has used Russia's energy might as a foreign policy weapon, while at home he has cracked down on opponents, adamant that only he has the right vision for his country's future. Former BBC Moscow correspondent Angus Roxburgh charts the dramatic fight for Russia's future under Vladimir Putin - how the former KGB man changed from reformer to autocrat, how he sought the West's respect but earned its fear, how he cracked down on his rivals at home and burnished a flamboyant personality cult, one day saving snow leopards or horse-back riding bare-chested, the next tongue-lashing Western audiences. Drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews in Russia, where he worked for a time as a Kremlin insider advising Putin on press relations, as well as in the US and Europe, Roxburgh also argues that the West threw away chances to bring Russia in from the cold, by failing to understand its fears and aspirations following the collapse of communism.
Author: D. J. Peterson
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833041010
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 139
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Book Description
This work, the result of a six-year study, sheds light on Russia's role in the global Information Revolution. It examines Russia's increasing reliance on information and communications technologies (IT) to improve its government institutions, modernize business and industry and stimulate economic growth, broaden information access, and enhance the quality of life for Russian people. The author examines Russia's emerging IT sector, how businesses in Russia are seeking to use IT to enhance productivity and profitability, the impact of IT on government, and the course of the Information Revolution in Russian society.
