This year, Russia marks 30 years since Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan. The nine-year long military campaign that claimed the lives of nearly 15 thousand Soviet servicemen even today is the subject of a heated debate in Russian society. The upcoming release on May 10th of Russian director Pavel Lungin’s Leaving Afghanistan, a film on
The Guardian (UK): A row has broken out in Russia over a film about the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, after politicians and former servicemen criticised its unflattering depiction of Red Army soldiers as unpatriotic. Leaving Afghanistan, directed by Pavel Lungin, is based on the experiences of Nikolay Kovalyov, a veteran of the Afghan war who went
Tolo News: Hundreds of Afghans, who said they are families of war victims, gathered at the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of Soviet troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. The war lasted nine years and, in that time, an estimated one million civilians, including children, were killed, along with 90,000 Mujahideen
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 14, 2019 n February 14, 1979, Adolph Dubs, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, was kidnapped at gunpoint, held hostage in a Kabul hotel, and killed in a botched rescue attempt. Forty years on, the precise circumstances surrounding the death of the 58-year-old diplomat remain shrouded in mystery.
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan February 13, 2019 Afghanistan is mourning Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, the country’s first president after Soviet forces withdrew 30 years ago following a war of occupation. Mojaddedi, a mujahedin commander who fought against the Soviet Army in the 1980s, died late on February 11 in a Kabul hospital. He was 93. A mourning
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 12, 2019 A commander of the so-called Muslim Battalion of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, retired Colonel Boris Kerimbaev, has died at the age of 71 in Kazakhstan. Kerimbaev died in Almaty on February 12. He gained prominence in 1981-83 when he commanded the Soviet Army’s 177th special battalion, which was
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan February 12, 2019 KABUL — Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, an Afghan mujahedin commander who fought against Soviet forces and rose to become the country’s first president after the Soviet Army’s withdrawal, has died. Mojaddedi died late on February 11 in a Kabul hospital, his family said. He was 93. Mojaddedi “has played
The New York Times: Mr. [Archer] Blood’s newly published cable sheds light on what really drove the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan only two months after his meeting with Mr. [Hafizullah] Amin. Spoiler alert: It was not because of terrorism, as claimed this month by President Trump, who said the Soviets were right to invade. Among
Rare color photos from the 1980s bring the the U.S.S.R.’s “hidden war” to light. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 28, 2019 Click here to view more (external link). Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Michael Hughes: U.S. President Donald Trump sent the foreign policy establishment into a rage for suggesting the Soviets intervened in Afghanistan because they were concerned about terrorism. The comments, rather predictably, drew immediate rebukes from members of the military-industrial-media complex who were beside themselves that a U.S. president would dare claim the Soviets were motivated by