Putin's Sledgehammer
The Wagner Group and Russia's Collapse into Mercenary Chaos
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping basket is already at capacity.
Add to cart failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
New to Audible Prime Member exclusive: 2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
Putin's Sledgehammer
Narrated by:
Allyson Johnson
Buy Now for ₹500.00
-
Narrated by:
-
Allyson Johnson
-
Written by:
-
Candace Rondeaux
About this listen
“Putin’s Sledgehammer provides an in-depth account of, and essential political and economic background to, the story of Prigozhin’s meteoric rise and abrupt demise.” ―Times Literary Supplement
A Washington Independent Review of Books Best Book of the Year
In June 2023, the Wagner Group assembled an armed convoy that included tanks and rocket launchers and set out on what seemed like a journey to take control of Moscow. The last person to attempt such a venture was Adolf Hitler.
Wagner’s power began from patronage, then grew from international theft and extortion, until it was so great it exposed the weakness of Russia’s conventional military and became a threat to the Russian state, one that was not demonstrably eliminated until a private jet containing Wagner’s core commanders was blown up in midair.
That Yevgeny Prigozhin, a local criminal thug, was able to build a private army that was on the threshold of overwhelming the world’s second largest country seems incredible. In fact, it was inevitable following the hollowing out of the Russian military, the creeping use of contract groups for murky foreign missions, power struggles inside the Kremlin, and the ability of the new militias to corner and exploit the black economy.
Told with unique inside sourcing and expertise, Putin’s Sledgehammer is a gripping and terrifying account of a superpower that contracted its soul to a pitiless militia.
Critic Reviews
“Candace Rondeaux has given us a riveting story of how Putin used a criminal mercenary organization to do his dirty work. She also tells us how the Wagner Group turned on its master. Putin’s Sledgehammer is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of Russia and how to counter the Kremlin’s wars and shadow wars across the globe.”—H.R. McMaster, former national intelligence advisor of the US
"This description of the rot in Russia is brilliant. Candace Rondeaux exposes the corruption in the Russian military that hollowed out its fighting ability, the fragility of its chain of command, the infighting within the Russian security services, the damaging effect of the loss of Syria and African battles. Prigozhin's Wagner Group, Russia's shadow army, was brutal, amoral, ruthless -- evil."—Bill Taylor, Former Ambassador to Ukraine
No reviews yet