An introduction to the history and present role of Russia's military intelligence service

The Main Directorate (GU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (better known by its previous acronym, GRU) is the Putin regime's most notorious actor abroad for its campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election and for the attempted assassination of Sergei Skirpal in 2018 by a toxic nerve agent.

The Russian GU describes and analyzes the roles, missions, and impact of the GU from the early years after the Bolshevik Revolution, through World War II and the Cold War, and up to the present. Today, the GU provides the Russian armed forces with capabilities in strategic and tactical intelligence collection, intelligence analysis, strategic warning, covert action, special forces, technical collection operations, and information confrontation. Since the 2010s, the GU has been associated most often with covert operations abroad, such as assassinations, political manipulation, and sabotage. However, at its core, the GU remains a military intelligence organization focused primarily on collecting intelligence to support military and political decision-making. Kevin P. Riehle attempts to portray the full spectrum of GU activities, not only "dirty tricks."

This book fills an important gap in the literature for students and other readers interested in intelligence and Russian history by enhancing our understanding of one of Russia's premier security institutions--and an agency that is frequently in the headlines.