Despite the large and on-going Soviet investment in major surface warships, including aircraft carriers and nuclear-propelled battle cruisers, the submarine remains the capital ship of the Navy. This is the first book available in any language to comprehensively survey Russian and Soviet submarine development and operations from 1718 to the present. Written by two leading analysts of the Soviet naval scene, it draws extensively on Russian-and German-language sources in addition to U.S and British intelligence material not previously available to historians. The book's coverage begins with the first submarine project funded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1718 and continues through Project 941 (known in the West as the Typhoon), the largest undersea craft ever built by any nation, and the other submarines that will serve in the Soviet fleet well into the twenty-first century. Attention is paid to both early and modern developments, including the development of submarine torpedoes, mines, missiles, and sonar as well as the submarines themselves and their crews. Recent submarine advances are examined, including the area of submarine quieting. The authors provide detailed coverage of submarine operations in both world wars, explaining how those experiences influenced technology, strategy, and tactics of subsequent submarine developments, and then examine submarine operations from 1945 through the recently concluded Cold War. All known Russian and Soviet submarines, including several never-built projects, are listed with their characteristics, dates of construction, building yards, dimensions, and fate. Appendixes describe Russian and Soviet submarine construction yards and submarine-launched missiles, and list Soviet submarines transferred to other navies. The book is extensively illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, several never before published.