---
product_id: 42909506
title: "Notes of a Russian Sniper: Vassili Zaitsev and the Battle of Stalingrad Paperback – March 3, 2017"
brand: "vassili zaitsev"
price: "€ 41.53"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/42909506-notes-of-a-russian-sniper-vassili-zaitsev-and-the-battle
store_origin: SK
region: Slovakia
---

# Notes of a Russian Sniper: Vassili Zaitsev and the Battle of Stalingrad Paperback – March 3, 2017

**Brand:** vassili zaitsev
**Price:** € 41.53
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Notes of a Russian Sniper: Vassili Zaitsev and the Battle of Stalingrad Paperback – March 3, 2017 by vassili zaitsev
- **How much does it cost?** € 41.53 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/42909506-notes-of-a-russian-sniper-vassili-zaitsev-and-the-battle)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Kill or be Killed, Life on the Eastern Front
  

*by R***E on Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2013*

This book not only gives the life and times of a Russian sniper on the Eastern Front it gives a remarkable story of the conditions and struggles of the Russians and Germans fighting the Battle of Stalingrad. Vassili Zaitsev begins the book describing his youth about being brought up by hisGrandfather in Yeleninskoye Russian.  He learned the arts of rifle shooting and hunting where stealth and patience were taught for a successful hunter.  In the late 1930's Zaitsev joins the Navy and serves for the USSR in the Pacific until the Great Patriotic War begins in 1941 where he finds himself along with his sailor companions thrown into the maelstrom of the Eastern Front specifically in the gigantic struggle in the Battle of Stalingrad. He and his sailor companions were issued infantry uniforms and weapons and were thrown into the fray as common infantrymen.  During Zaitsev's initial battles he learns the ways of survival as an infantryman as he also learns the habits of the German Wehrmacht.  As time goes on his superiors find out that Zaitsev is quite the marksman who knows the uses of camouflage.  In time Zaitsev becomes a sniper where he learns to kill desired targets as designated by his superiors. In doing so he also becomes the hunted as the Germans counter Russian snipers with their own snipers. As the battle of Stalingrad continues building to building where artillery and the use of airpower is prevalent, Zaitsev begins to make his mark as the most feared of all Russian snipers.  In fact Zaitsev is so respected he becomes the leader of Russian snipers on his section of the Stalingrad front. It had become apparent that the Germans were being negatively impacted by Zaitsev that the Germans had to bring in there hotshot expert sniper by the name of Major Konings.  This kill or be killed scenario is truly the meat of the book.  Quite a fox and hound session is described where two experts meet in a deadly shootout not at the OK Corral but in the ruins of Stalingrad. These notes of Zaitsev which were made available in the 1970s shows an extraordinary soldier who was truly the best at a very deadly and demanding craft where it was kill or be killed.  Quite a well told story which anyone interested in the studies of the Eastern Front should read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Used book in perfect condition
  

*by E***N on Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2022*

No issues with shipping and the condition was, I would say, better than listed. Very happy to get a good as new book.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Notes of a Russian Sniper
  

*by E***. on Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2010*

Considering I have waited years to get this account it was a bit disappointing and it took quite a bit of determination to actually finish it. But I told myself it was probably heavily influenced by what was and what was not permissable to write and publish in the Soviet Union in 1956, and again in 1971 when it was republished in the USSR.It certainly is not a 'Sniper's Handbook'.One could get the impression that Zaitsev made a few spectacular 'kills' and was then content to be an instructor to new recruits.Those who know the story better realise this was not the case and that he continued on as an active and very successful sniper during much of the battle and indeed in subsequent battles.But such was Zaitsev's attachment to Stalingrad that he asked to be interred, on his death, on the slopes of Mamaeyev Hill -- and this wish was granted. I can assure you that it is quite a moving experience to be photographed beside Zaitsev's final resting place in the shadow of 'Mother Russia'.Rather this book is a rambling and somewhat dis-jointed account of Zaitsev's overall experiences from 1937, when he joined the navy and was posted to Vladivostok as a simple administration clerk, to life under constant artillery, mortar and sniper fire in Stalingrad in 1942.But of course the reader must keep in mind that Zaitsev was a peasant boy, with rudimentary schooling, raised in the Ural regions of the Soviet Union. He wrote it as he saw it. This book is not embelished with great literary passages or prose.!!Perhaps if it had been 'Ghost Witten' it would be a much more readable volume.If you are interested in the Battle for Stalingrad then YOU MUST READ IT, but be prepared for disappointment, especially with the frequent mention of the Germans' use of explosive bullets in everyday sniping and general fighting.So far as I know explosive bullets were not used by the Germans until 1944, (despite the fact that Soviet snipers were already using them as a matter of course) long after the Battle was over. Personally I think that Zaitsev may have confused the tremendous destructive power of a German sniper rifle round slamming into already crumblimg masonry with an explosive round.I have read that the SS anti-partisan units used explosive rounds quite early in the war -- on Himmler's authorisation -- but in terms of general usage they were not authorised by Hitler until late 1944.Perhaps that is the Soviet publishers' propaganda licence coming through ???

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*Product available on Desertcart Slovakia*
*Store origin: SK*
*Last updated: 2026-01-28*