This title covers the élite forces of the Soviet Union in the mid-80s - undoubtedly the largest in the world at that time. Indeed, the Soviet élite formations alone had a total strength comparable to that of the entire British armed forces. These élite forces differed from their Western counterparts in a number of respects. Besides the conventional military élite formations such as airborne and marine forces, most Warsaw Pact armies possessed special, 'political' élite which were used for internal security. Steven J. Zaloga and James Loop uncover the history, organisation and equipment of the Soviet élite forces of the time.