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Mark Galeotti, The Politics of Security in Modern Russia, Ashgate, 2010, 250 pages.The Putin era saw a striking 'securitization' of politics, something that he has bequeathed to his chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev. The omens from the early days of the Medvedev presidency have been mixed, marked both by less confrontational rhetoric towards the West and by war with Georgia and continued re-armament. Has the Medvedev generation learned the lessons not just from the Soviet era but also from the Yeltsin and Putin presidencies, or will security remain the foundation of Russian foreign and domestic policy?Fully up-to-date to reflect the evolving Medvedev presidency, the 2008 Georgian war and the impact of the economic downturn, this volume is a much needed objective and balanced examination of the ways in which security has played and continues to play a central role in contemporary Russian politics.The combination of original scholarship with extensive empirical research makes this volume an invaluable resource for all students and researchers of Russian politics and security affairs.Contents: Introduction, Mark Galeotti; Security strategy: sovereign democracy and great power aspirations, Graeme Herd; The politics of security, Mark Smith; Civil-military relations and the security apparatus, Bettina Renz; Neither reform nor modernisation: the armed forces under and after Putin's command, Pavel Baev; Chechnya and regional security, C.W. Blandy; Nuclear arms control after a time of troubles, Stephen J. Cimbala; Terrorism, crime and the security forces, Mark Galeotti; The 'security economy', Julian Cooper; Russia's unending quest for security, Stephen Blank; Afterword, Dmitri Trenin; Bibliography; Index