“Wild geese”, soldiers of fortune, condottieres, landsknechts, “dogs of war” - all these are synonyms for mercenaries. After the Second World War to the present day, mercenaryism - the oldest of military institutions - has gone through a long evolutionary path, from detachments of free shooters who fought in the Congo, to private military companies that have now become one of the most important segments of the world military-political landscape. About the history of modern mercenaries in the new book by Ivan Konovalov.