Artyom Borovik, who died last year, was considered one of the preeminent journalists in Russia. The first glimpse inside the Soviet military machine, The Hiden War captured the soldiers' terror, helplessness, and despair at waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. When first published, Borovik's groundbreaking revelations exposed the weaknesses beneath the Soviet Union's aura of military might, creating an enormous controversy both in Russia and around the world. The Hidden War is a vital and fascinating portrait of the Soviet empire at the twilight of its power.

Reviews

"An honest and graphic account of individual and general disillusionment during the very worst kind of war."--Christopher Hitchens, New York Newsday "Borovik has a fine eye for the telling, authentic detail. ... Perhaps the best account, at least in English, that we've got about the conflict in Afghanistan."