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
The Washington Post: At any one time, 6,500 Afghans are studying Russian across Afghanistan, and the center helps manage their hopes for a free-ride scholarship to a Russian university. Veterans from Moscow’s decade-long war in Afghanistan are also frequent guests, occasionally facing their erstwhile opponents on the soccer pitch. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 23, 2019 WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have “exchanged views” with representatives of Russia and China on the current status of the Afghan peace process, the State Department says. In a statement on March 22, the department said representatives met in Washington on March 21-22 and “discussed common efforts to bring
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
VOA News February 9, 2019 The top U.S. negotiator in peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders says he hopes a peace agreement can be achieved before Afghanistan’s next set of elections just five months away. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, spoke Friday to an audience at the United States Institute of Peace
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News February 8, 2019 ISLAMABAD — When Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani laid out the red carpet in 2017 for controversial Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar — once known as “the Butcher of Kabul” for his role in the bloody conflict for the control of the capital in the 1990s — many thought he was
Ariana: Former President Hamid Karzai who attended the two-day Moscow Talks has called for convening Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) to resolve the ongoing crisis in the country. Speaking with Russia’s Sputnik News Agency, Karzai hailed Moscow’s role in facilitating the Afghan politicians meeting with the Taliban representatives. Karzai said the outcomes of the Moscow meeting