About the Author

Isaev Alexey was born in 1974 and went on to study Physics and Mathematics; he now holds a PhD in Russian History. He is the author of approximately 20 titles - dedicated mostly to Eastern Front battles such as the 1941 Campaign, Stalingrad, Operation ‘Bagration’ and Berlin 1945. He considers himself a disciple of David Glantz and is the main Russian opponent of the infamous ‘Icebreaker’ theory (V. Suvorov). In 2007- 2010 he worked in the Russian State Institute of Military History and in 2012-2013 he took part in preparing the new official Russian history of the war (Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 in 12 volumes). Isaev is the author of the screenplay of the successful 18-part Russian TV documentary ‘Great War’, which is dedicated to the war during 1941-1945. He has spent many years in archival research, with the main method being to compare German and Soviet archival sources: “Only the comparison of data from both sides of the frontline could provide answers to key historical questions about the roots of victory and defeat.” Isaev usually tries to compare documents with his own visits to the locations of great battles and he is especially interested in the operations of armoured units during the Second World War.