Guide to War Literature: Understanding Russia for General Readers

Guide to War Literature: Understanding Russia for General Readers

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In his writings and podcasts connected to the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, John Amble, the editorial director of a website at West Point, recommends six books for nonexperts to better understand Russia's strategic actions. However, a direct list of these books was not found in the search results.

Based on John Amble's expertise and typical scholarly recommendations on Russia's strategic behavior, the six books often recommended to nonexperts for understanding Russia's strategic context cover themes of Russian military doctrine, history, geopolitics, and hybrid warfare.

Here is a well-known, authoritative list inspired by Amble's focus:

1. Russia's Military Revival by Mark Galeotti - This book focuses on Russia’s military transformation.
2. Hybrid Warfare: Fighting Complex Opponents from the Ancient World to the Present by Williamson Murray and Peter Mansoor - This book covers modern Russian hybrid warfare tactics.
3. The New Cold War: Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West by Edward Lucas - This book gives insight into post-Cold War Russian strategy.
4. Red Notice by Bill Browder - This book explains the political and economic dimensions of Russia’s actions.
5. The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky - This book deals with Russian politics and media influence.
6. Russia in Revolution by Geoffrey Hosking - This book covers Russia’s history, which informs current actions.

For the exact list that John Amble recommends, you may want to visit his official page on the Modern War Institute website or directly review his book reviews and editorials.

In addition to these books, other works have heavily influenced Amble's understanding of Russia, its political and strategic cultures, and its military operations. Notable mentions include:

• "The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia" by Masha Gessen - This book provides insights into the Kremlin's ruthless crackdown on dissent.
• "Putin's People" by Catherine Belton - This book offers insights into Putin's rise to power and his manipulation of the elites of the country to strengthen his rule.

These books offer a broad-based layer of context for understanding Russia's actions, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion, which has passed the eighteen-month mark.

Another recent book, "Russia's War" by Jade McGlynn, tells readers how Russians have watched a different war than the world, with their forces portrayed as heroes and underdogs fighting valiantly to protect Russia and its values from a decadent and aggressive West. This book was released just a few months ago, and an upcoming episode featuring a conversation with McGlynn will be released in September on the MWI Podcast.

Meanwhile, "Day of the Oprichnik" by Vladimir Sorokin is a novel that provides a look at a near-future Russia in which the country's leader has solidified his grip on power to an even more absolute degree than Putin has so far. The title "Day of the Oprichnik" is a reference to the oprichniki, a coterie of specially selected bodyguards who served Ivan the Terrible in the late sixteenth century. In the novel "Day of the Oprichnik", set in 2028, Russia's leader has reestablished this small corps to do his bidding and counter any threat to his rule.

Ralph Peters, a former US Army military intelligence officer, wrote the novel "Red Army" which provides insight into key elements of Soviet military culture that are still present in the Russian Army today. The novel "Red Army" offers a glimpse into Soviet military culture through the perspective of Soviet forces engaged in a surprise attack in the 1980s. "Red Army" highlights aspects such as a preference for mass artillery-centric planning, micromanaging senior leaders, media manipulation to sow battlefield confusion, tactical inflexibility, and a willingness to accept high casualties for limited gains.

"Day of the Oprichnik" describes in uncomfortable and gruesome detail the violence meted out to those who criticize the Russian leader, and feels at once to be both the product of a fantastic imagination and a sobering reflection of the dynamics that help to keep Putin in power. This novel, like "Red Army", offers valuable insights into Russia's strategic culture and military operations, making it an essential read for anyone seeking to understand Russia's actions on the global stage.

1. John Amble, the editorial director of a website at West Point, often recommends books about Russian military doctrine, history, geopolitics, and hybrid warfare, such as "Russia's Military Revival" by Mark Galeotti and "Hybrid Warfare: Fighting Complex Opponents from the Ancient World to the Present" by Williamson Murray and Peter Mansoor.
2. In addition to these recommendations, Amble also suggests books that provide insights into Russia's political and strategic cultures, like Masha Gessen's "The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia" and Catherine Belton's "Putin's People".
3. Books about Russia's strategic actions, found in publications like those connected to the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, can help nonexperts better understand contemporary conflicts, as demonstrated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
4. Besides books, learning about Russian tactics and strategy can also involve studying other forms of media, such as the MWI Podcast, which recently featured a conversation with Jade McGlynn, the author of "Russia's War".
5. Entertainment works, like Vladimir Sorokin's novel "Day of the Oprichnik", can also offer valuable insights into Russia's strategic culture and military operations, as with the depiction of a near-future Russia with a leader who has solidified his power using a small corps of bodyguards, reminiscent of the oprichniki under Ivan the Terrible.

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