Afghanistan has always been the key to Asia and at all times became the focus of the geopolitical interests of the Eurasian empires. For centuries they tried to conquer it, they stationed their contingents there and sent military advisers. In 1979, Soviet troops entered there. We present photographs of that long ten-year mission.
1. Soviet tanks near Kabul. (AP Photo)
2. Afghan combat helicopter. Provides cover for the Soviet convoy, which supplies food and fuel to Kabul. Afghanistan, January 30, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
3. Afghan refugees, May 1980. (AP Photo)
5. Muslim insurgents with AK-47s, February 15, 1980. Despite the presence of Soviet and Afghan government troops, the insurgents patrolled mountain ranges along the Afghan border with Iran. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin)
6. Soviet troops on the way to Afghanistan in the mid-1980s. (Photo by Georgi Nadezhdin | AFP | Getty Images)
7. A detachment of Muslim insurgents near Kabul, February 21, 1980. At that time, they were attacking convoys moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
8. The Soviets are observing the area. (Photo by AP Photo | Estate of Alexander Sekretarev)
9. Two Soviet soldiers captured. (AFP Photo | Getty Images)
10. Afghan partisans atop a downed Soviet Mi-8 helicopter, January 12, 1981. (Photo by AP Photo)
11. Before withdrawal begins Soviet troops in May 1988, the Mujahideen never managed to carry out a single major operation and failed to occupy a single one large city. (AP Photo | Barry Renfrew) The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; Available estimates range from 670 thousand. civilians up to 2 million in total.
12. Afghan guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud surrounded by Mujahideen, 1984. (AP Photo | Jean-Luc Bremont) Interestingly, according to UN statistics on demographic situation in Afghanistan, in the period from 1980 to 1990, there was a decrease in the mortality rate of the Afghan population compared to previous and subsequent periods.
13. Afghan partisan with an American Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, 1987. (AP Photo | David Stewart Smith) USSR losses are estimated at about 15,000 people.
14. Soviet soldiers leaving an Afghan store in central Kabul, April 24, 1988. (AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing) 800 million US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget to support the Kabul government. From 3 to 8.2 billion US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget on the maintenance of the 40th Army and the conduct of combat operations.
15. A village destroyed during the fighting between the Mujahideen and Afghan soldiers in Salang, Afghanistan. (Photo by AP Photo | Laurent Rebours)
16. Mujahideen 10 kilometers from Herat, waiting for a Soviet convoy, February 15, 1980. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin)
17. Soviet soldiers with German shepherds trained to detect mines, Kabul May 1, 1988. (AP Photo | Carol Williams)
18. Twisted soviet cars in northeast Pakistan, February 1984. (AP Photo)
20. A Soviet plane comes in to land at Kabul Airport, February 8, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Boris Yurchenko)
21. Our plane, cars and shell casings at an airbase in Kabul, January 23, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
23. Afghan firefighters and the girl who died as a result powerful explosion in central Kabul, May 14, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
24. Soviet soldiers in the center of Kabul, October 19, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images)
25. Soviet and Afghan officers pose for the press in central Kabul, October 20, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images)
26. The beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, May 1988. (Photo by Douglas E. Curran | AFP | Getty Images)
27. Column Soviet tanks and military trucks leaving Afghanistan, February 7, 1989. (AP Photo)
28. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the Soviet-Afghan border became significantly more complicated: there were shelling of the territory of the USSR, attempts to penetrate into the territory of the USSR, armed attacks on Soviet border guards, and mining of Soviet territory.
The location of Afghanistan, in the very center of Eurasia, at the junction of “South” and “Central” Asia, places it among the key regions in ensuring the stability of the military-political situation in the entire Central Asian region, where the interests of all the leading powers of the world intersect for centuries.
Soviet troops entered Afghanistan unhindered at the end of 1979. This issue contains photographs from the time of the Afghan war of 1979 - 1989.
The purpose of the entry of Soviet troops at the end of 1979 was to secure their southern borders and the desire of the USSR to support the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan.
1. Soviet tanks near Kabul. (AP Photo):
2. Afghan combat helicopter. Provides cover for the Soviet convoy, which supplies food and fuel to Kabul. Afghanistan, January 30, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):
3. Afghan refugees, May 1980. (AP Photo):
5. Muslim insurgents with AK-47s, February 15, 1980. Despite the presence of Soviet and Afghan government troops, insurgents patrolled the mountain ranges along the Afghan border with Iran. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin):
6. Soviet troops on the way to Afghanistan in the mid-1980s. (Photo by Georgi Nadezhdin | AFP | Getty Images):
7. A detachment of Muslim insurgents near Kabul, February 21, 1980. At the time, they were attacking convoys moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan. (AP Photo):
8. Soviet soldiers are observing the area. (Photo by AP Photo | Estate of Alexander Sekretarev):
9. Two Soviet soldiers captured. (AFP Photo | Getty Images):
10. Afghan partisans atop a downed Soviet Mi-8 helicopter, January 12, 1981. (AP Photo):
11. Before the withdrawal of Soviet troops began in May 1988, the Mujahideen had never managed to carry out a single major operation and had not managed to occupy a single major city. (AP Photo | Barry Renfrew):
The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; Available estimates range from 670 thousand civilians to 2 million in total.
12. Afghan guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud surrounded by Mujahideen, 1984. (Photo by AP Photo | Jean-Luc Bremont):
It is curious that according to UN statistics on the demographic situation in Afghanistan, in the period from 1980 to 1990, there was a decrease in the mortality rate of the population of Afghanistan compared to previous and subsequent periods.
13. Afghan partisan with an American Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, 1987. (AP Photo | David Stewart Smith):
USSR losses are estimated at about 15,000 people.
14. Soviet soldiers leave an Afghan store in the center of Kabul, April 24, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):
800 million US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget to support the Kabul government. From 3 to 8.2 billion US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget on the maintenance of the 40th Army and the conduct of combat operations.
15. A village destroyed during fighting between the Mujahideen and Afghan soldiers in Salang, Afghanistan. (AP Photo | Laurent Rebours):
16. Mujahideen 10 kilometers from Herat, waiting for a Soviet convoy, February 15, 1980. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin):
17. Soviet soldiers with German shepherds trained to detect mines, Kabul May 1, 1988. (AP Photo | Carol Williams):
18. Mangled Soviet cars in northeast Pakistan, February 1984. (AP Photo):
20. A Soviet plane comes in to land at Kabul Airport, February 8, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Boris Yurchenko):
21. Our plane, cars and shell casings at the air base in Kabul, January 23, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):
23. Afghan firefighters and a girl killed in a powerful explosion in the center of Kabul, May 14, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing):
24. Soviet soldiers in the center of Kabul, October 19, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images):
25. Soviet and Afghan officers pose for the press in central Kabul, October 20, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images):
26. The beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, May 1988. (Photo by Douglas E. Curran | AFP | Getty Images):
27. A column of Soviet tanks and military trucks leaves Afghanistan, February 7, 1989. (AP Photo):
28. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the Soviet-Afghan border became significantly more complicated: there were shelling of the territory of the USSR, attempts to penetrate into the territory of the USSR, armed attacks on Soviet border guards, and mining of Soviet territory.
Afghanistan has always been the key to Asia and at all times became the focus of the geopolitical interests of the Eurasian empires. For centuries they tried to conquer it, they stationed their contingents there and sent military advisers. In 1979, Soviet troops entered there. We present photographs of that long ten-year mission.
1. Soviet tanks near Kabul. (AP Photo)
2. Afghan combat helicopter. Provides cover for the Soviet convoy, which supplies food and fuel to Kabul. Afghanistan, January 30, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
3. Afghan refugees, May 1980. (AP Photo)
5. Muslim insurgents with AK-47s, February 15, 1980. Despite the presence of Soviet and Afghan government troops, insurgents patrolled the mountain ranges along the Afghan border with Iran. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin)
6. Soviet troops on the way to Afghanistan in the mid-1980s. (Photo by Georgi Nadezhdin | AFP | Getty Images)
7. A detachment of Muslim insurgents near Kabul, February 21, 1980. At that time, they were attacking convoys moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
8. Soviet soldiers are observing the area. (Photo by AP Photo | Estate of Alexander Sekretarev)
9. Two Soviet soldiers captured. (AFP Photo | Getty Images)
10. Afghan partisans atop a downed Soviet Mi-8 helicopter, January 12, 1981. (Photo by AP Photo)
11. Before the withdrawal of Soviet troops began in May 1988, the Mujahideen had never managed to carry out a single major operation and had not managed to occupy a single major city. (AP Photo | Barry Renfrew) The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; Available estimates range from 670 thousand civilians to 2 million in total.
12. Afghan guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud surrounded by Mujahideen, 1984. (AP Photo | Jean-Luc Bremont) It is curious that according to UN statistics on the demographic situation in Afghanistan, in the period from 1980 to 1990, there was a decrease in the mortality rate of the population of Afghanistan compared to previous and subsequent periods.
13. Afghan partisan with an American Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, 1987. (AP Photo | David Stewart Smith) USSR losses are estimated at about 15,000 people.
14. Soviet soldiers leave an Afghan store in the center of Kabul, April 24, 1988. (AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing) 800 million US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget to support the Kabul government. From 3 to 8.2 billion US dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget on the maintenance of the 40th Army and the conduct of combat operations.
15. A village destroyed during fighting between the Mujahideen and Afghan soldiers in Salang, Afghanistan. (Photo by AP Photo | Laurent Rebours)
16. Mujahideen 10 kilometers from Herat, waiting for a Soviet convoy, February 15, 1980. (Photo by AP Photo | Jacques Langevin)
17. Soviet soldiers with German shepherds trained to detect mines, Kabul May 1, 1988. (AP Photo | Carol Williams)
18. Mangled Soviet cars in northeast Pakistan, February 1984. (AP Photo)
20. A Soviet plane comes in to land at Kabul Airport, February 8, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Boris Yurchenko)
21. Our plane, cars and shell casings at an airbase in Kabul, January 23, 1989. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
23. Afghan firefighters and a girl killed in a powerful explosion in central Kabul, May 14, 1988. (Photo by AP Photo | Liu Heung Shing)
24. Soviet soldiers in the center of Kabul, October 19, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images)
25. Soviet and Afghan officers pose for the press in central Kabul, October 20, 1986. (Photo by Daniel Janin | AFP | Getty Images)
26. The beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, May 1988. (Photo by Douglas E. Curran | AFP | Getty Images)
27. A column of Soviet tanks and military trucks leaves Afghanistan, February 7, 1989. (AP Photo)
28. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the Soviet-Afghan border became significantly more complicated: there were shelling of the territory of the USSR, attempts to penetrate into the territory of the USSR, armed attacks on Soviet border guards, and mining of Soviet territory.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Scanpix
35 years ago, an official decision was made to send Soviet troops into Afghanistan. By sending its soldiers to “fulfill their international duty,” the USSR was trying to support supporters of the concept of socialism who came to power as a result April Revolution 1978, and also wanted to secure its southern borders. As a result, quick and victorious war Did not work out: fighting lasted for ten years and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Among them are at least 63 residents of Latvia.
Socialist revolution which led to the war
Photo: AP/Scanpix
On October 8, 1979, Nur Muhammad Taraki, the founder of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and the first leader, was killed Democratic Republic Afghanistan. Hafizullah Amin came to power in the country, who possessed own opinion in matters of further construction of Afghan society.
These events were regarded in the Kremlin as a counter-revolutionary coup. It was decided to support the supporters of the concept of socialism in Afghanistan, who came to power as a result of the April Revolution of 1978, facing powerful opposition to their social, economic and political strategy. American military-economic activities in the region created the threat of Afghanistan leaving the Soviet sphere of influence.
Photo: Reuters/Scanpix
The fall of the pro-Soviet government in itself would mean a strong blow to the foreign policy positions of the USSR. On international level It was stated that the USSR was guided by the principles of “proletarian internationalism.”
As a formal basis, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee used repeated requests from the leadership of Afghanistan and personally Hafizullah Amin to provide assistance to the country military assistance to fight anti-government forces.
The beginning of the Afghan war and the storming of Amin's palace
Photo: afghanistānas karš
When developing the operation to overthrow Amin, it was decided to use Amin’s own requests for Soviet military assistance. In total, from September to December 1979 there were 7 such appeals.
At the beginning of December 1979, the so-called " Muslim battalion" - squad special purpose GRU - specially created in the summer of 1979 from Soviet military personnel of Central Asian origin to guard Taraki and carry out special tasks in Afghanistan.
Photo: AFP/Scanpix
On December 12, 1979, at the proposal of the Politburo Commission of the CPSU Central Committee on Afghanistan, which included Andropov, Ustinov, Gromyko and Ponomarev, a resolution was adopted to provide military assistance to Afghanistan by introducing Soviet troops into the country.
Almost immediately, the army was reinforced with helicopter units and fighter-bombers from the TurkVO and SAVO bases. Simultaneously with the deployment of troops, an operation was carried out Soviet intelligence services under code name"Storm-333", the purpose of which was the physical elimination of the head of Afghanistan Hafizullah Amin.
On December 25, 1979, the 40th Army entered Afghanistan under the command of Lieutenant General Yuri Tukharinov.
On the evening of December 27, Soviet special forces stormed Amin's palace in Kabul; the operation lasted 40 minutes; during the assault, Amin was killed. By official version, “as a result of the rising wave of popular anger, Amin, along with his henchmen, appeared before a fair people’s court and was executed.”
In addition to the main facility, the military units of the Kabul garrison, the radio and television center, the ministries of security and internal affairs were blocked and taken under control, thereby ensuring that the special forces completed their task. The second most important object, a complex of buildings, was also stormed General Staff Afghan army.
Photo: AFP/Scanpix
On the night of December 27-28, Afghan political figure, one of the founders of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Babrak Karmal, who in the fall of 1978 was accused of organizing an anti-government conspiracy and removed from the post of ambassador to Czechoslovakia, arrived in Kabul from Bagram. He made an appeal to the Afghan people in which he proclaimed "second stage of the revolution". After the entry of the Soviet Army into Afghanistan in December 1979, Kamal became the General Secretary of the PDPA Central Committee.
The operation to “provide international assistance to the Afghan people” took place in conditions of strict secrecy. $800 million was spent annually from the USSR budget to support the Kabul government. From 3 to 8.2 billion dollars were spent annually from the USSR budget on the maintenance of the 40th Army and the conduct of combat operations.
The UN Security Council qualified the action Soviet Union How open application armed force beyond its borders and military intervention. The USSR vetoed the Security Council resolution; it was supported by five Third World Council member states. On January 14, 1980, the UN General Assembly at its Extraordinary Session confirmed the Security Council resolution.
Stalemate situation and withdrawal of Soviet troops
Photo: RIA Novosti/Scanpix
On April 7, 1988, a meeting was held in Tashkent Secretary General The Central Committee of the CPSU Gorbachev and the President of Afghanistan Najibullah, at which decisions were made allowing the signing of the Geneva Agreements and the beginning of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
The Geneva agreements were signed on April 14, 1988, through the mediation of the UN, by the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan; the USSR and the USA became guarantors of the agreements.
The USSR pledged to withdraw its contingent within nine months, starting on May 15; The United States and Pakistan, for their part, had to stop supporting the Mujahideen.
On August 15, 1988, the first stage of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed. 50.2 thousand people returned to the USSR - 50% personnel OKSV. Soviet troops still remained in six provinces, with 50.1 thousand people, in addition, 55% of the 40th Army Air Force remained in Afghanistan.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Scanpix
On November 15, 1988, the second stage of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began. On February 13, 1989, the last unit of the Soviet Army left Kabul.
On February 15, 1989, Soviet troops were completely withdrawn from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the troops of the 40th Army was led by the last commander of the Limited Military Contingent, Lieutenant General Gromov. According to the official version, he was the last to cross the border river Amu Darya (city of Termez).
The border troops of the KGB of the USSR carried out tasks to protect the Soviet-Afghan border in separate units on the territory of Afghanistan until April 1989. In addition, some Soviet soldiers went over to the side of the Mujahideen and voluntarily remained in Afghanistan.
After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the situation on the Soviet-Afghan border became significantly more complicated: there were shelling of the territory of the USSR, attempts to penetrate into the territory of the USSR, armed attacks on Soviet border guards, etc.
USSR losses
Photo: AFP/Scanpix
After the end of the war, in August 1989, the USSR published the numbers of dead Soviet soldiers, broken down by year:
1979 - 86 people
1980 - 1484 people
1981 - 1298 people
1982 - 1948 people
1983 - 1448 people
1984 - 2343 people
1985 - 1868 people
1986 - 1333 people
1987 - 1215 people
1988 - 759 people
1989 - 53 people
Total - 13,835 people.
Subsequently, the total figure increased. As of January 1, 1999 irrecoverable losses in the Afghan war (killed, died from wounds, diseases and accidents, missing) were estimated in the following way:
Soviet Army - 14,427 people
KGB - 576 (including 514 border troops)
Ministry of Internal Affairs - 28
Total - 15,031 people.
By official statistics, during the fighting in Afghanistan, 417 military personnel were captured and went missing (of which 130 were released before the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan). The Geneva Agreements of 1988 did not stipulate the conditions for the release of Soviet prisoners.
Photo: AFP/Scanpix
15 February 1989 armed forces former USSR were withdrawn from Afghanistan, so this day is a day of remembrance for military personnel who died during the Afghan War and other military conflicts in which residents of Latvia were involved in the USSR army.
IN Afghan war 3,640 residents of Latvia took part in the ranks of the Soviet troops. As a result of the fighting, 63 residents of the republic were killed and 177 people were injured. One person is listed as missing. Afghan war veterans in Latvia do not have any benefits.
This spring, in Riga, in the Quiet Garden (Latgale suburb), a monument was erected with the inscription: “To the sons of Latvia who died in the Afghan war.”
Money for the new monument was raised by the Foundation for the Memory of those Fallen in Afghanistan, which was created several years ago by a veteran of that war, musician Sergei Obolevich. And the head of the Latvian Association of Afghanistan War Veterans, Gunars Rusins, was the author of the monument.
In the center of the monument is a stone heart, split in two by a sword, and under it is a black marble book with the names of Latvian residents who died in Afghanistan. The old memorial stone, which appeared on this site in 2008, has also been preserved.
Afghan casualties
Photo: AFP/Scanpix
In 1988, Afghan President Najibullah reported that over 10 years, 243.9 thousand government troops, security agencies, government officials and civilians.
The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; Available estimates range from 670 thousand civilians to 2 million in total.
According to UN statistics, between 1980 and 1990, the total mortality rate of the population of Afghanistan was 614,000 people. At the same time, in this period There was a decrease in the mortality rate of the population of Afghanistan compared to previous and subsequent periods.
We continue our series of publications about the war in Afghanistan.
corporal Airborne Forces Sergei Boyarkinefreiter of the Airborne Forces Sergei Boyarkin
(317 RAP, Kabul, 1979-81)
During the entire period of service in Afghanistan (almost a year and a half) starting in December 1979. I've heard so many stories about how our paratroopers killed just like that civilian population, that they simply cannot be counted, and I have never heard of our soldiers saving any of the Afghans - among soldiers, such an act would be regarded as aiding the enemies.
Even during the December coup in Kabul, which lasted all night on December 27, 1979, some paratroopers shot at unarmed people they saw on the streets - then, without a shadow of regret, they cheerfully recalled this as funny incidents.
Two months after the entry of troops - February 29, 1980. - the first began in the province of Kunar combat operation. The main striking force was the paratroopers of our regiment - 300 soldiers who parachuted from helicopters on a high-mountain plateau and went down to restore order. As the participants in that operation told me, order was restored in the following way: food supplies were destroyed in the villages, all livestock were killed; usually, before entering a house, they threw a grenade there, then fired with a fan in all directions - only after that they looked at who was there; all men and even teenagers were immediately shot on the spot. The operation lasted almost two weeks, no one counted how many people were killed then.
What our paratroopers did for the first two years in remote areas of Afghanistan was complete arbitrariness. Since the summer of 1980 The 3rd battalion of our regiment was sent to Kandahar province to patrol the territory. Without fearing anyone, they calmly drove along the roads and desert of Kandahar and could, without any explanation, kill any person they met on their way.
They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.
Kandahar, summer 1981
A photograph of that killed Afghan, which was taken from his belongings.
Here's the most ordinary story, which an eyewitness told me. Summer 1981 Kandahar province. Photo - a dead Afghan man and his donkey are lying on the ground. The Afghan man walked his way and led a donkey. The only weapon the Afghan had was a stick, with which he drove the donkey. A column of our paratroopers was traveling along this road. They killed him just like that, with a burst of machine gun fire, without leaving his BMD armor.
The column stopped. One paratrooper came up and cut off the ears of a killed Afghan - as a memory of his military exploits. Then a mine was placed under the Afghan's corpse to kill anyone else who discovered the body. Only this time the idea didn’t work - when the column started moving, someone couldn’t resist and finally fired a burst at the corpse from a machine gun - the mine exploded and tore the Afghan’s body into pieces.
The caravans they encountered were searched, and if weapons were found (and the Afghans almost always had old rifles and shotguns), then they killed all the people who were in the caravan, and even animals. And when the travelers did not have any weapons, then, sometimes, they used a proven trick - during a search, they quietly pulled out a cartridge from their pocket, and, pretending that this cartridge was found in the pocket or in the things of an Afghan, they presented it to the Afghan as evidence his guilt.
These photographs were taken from killed Afghans. They were killed because their caravan met a column of our paratroopers.
Kandahar summer 1981
Now it was possible to make fun of him: after listening to how the man hotly justified himself, convincing him that the cartridge was not his, they began to beat him, then watched him on his knees begging for mercy, but they beat him again and then shot him. Then they killed the rest of the people who were in the caravan.
In addition to patrolling the territory, paratroopers often ambushed enemies on roads and trails. These “caravan hunters” never found out anything - not even whether the travelers had weapons - they simply suddenly shot from cover at everyone who passed in that place, sparing no one, even women and children.
I remember one paratrooper, a participant in the hostilities, was delighted:
I would never have thought that this was possible! We kill everyone in a row - and we are only praised for it and given awards!
Here documentary evidence. Wall newspaper with information about the military operations of the 3rd battalion in the summer of 1981. in Kandahar province.
It can be seen here that the number of recorded killed Afghans is three times higher than the number of captured weapons: 2 machine guns, 2 grenade launchers and 43 rifles were seized, and 137 people were killed.
The Mystery of the Kabul Mutiny
Two months after the entry of troops into Afghanistan, on February 22-23, 1980, Kabul was rocked by a major anti-government uprising. Everyone who was in Kabul at that time remembered these days well: the streets were filled with crowds of protesting people, they shouted, rioted, and there was shooting throughout the city. This rebellion was not prepared by any opposition forces or foreign intelligence services; it began completely unexpectedly for everyone: both for the Soviet military stationed in Kabul and for the Afghan leadership. This is how Colonel General Viktor Merimsky recalls those events in his memoirs:
"... All the central streets of the city were filled with excited people. The number of demonstrators reached 400 thousand people... Confusion was felt in the Afghan government. Marshal S.L. Sokolov, Army General S.F. Akhromeev and I left our residence for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, where we met with the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan M. Rafi. He could not answer our question about what was happening in the capital..."
The reason that served as the impetus for such a violent protest by the townspeople was never clarified. Only after 28 years did I manage to find out the whole background of those events. As it turned out, the mutiny was provoked by the reckless behavior of our paratroopers.
Senior Lieutenant Alexander Vovk
Alexander Vovk
The first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov (right).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980
It all started with the fact that on February 22, 1980, in Kabul, senior lieutenant Alexander Vovk, a senior Komsomol instructor in the political department of the 103rd Airborne Division, was killed in broad daylight.
The story of Vovk’s death was told to me by the first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov. This happened near the Green Market, where Vovk arrived in a UAZ along with the head of the air defense of the 103rd Airborne Division, Colonel Yuri Dvugroshev. They were not performing any task, but, most likely, they just wanted to buy something at the market. They were in the car when suddenly one shot was fired - the bullet hit Vovk. Dvugroshev and the soldier-driver did not even understand where the shots were coming from and quickly left the place. However, Vovk’s wound turned out to be fatal, and he died almost immediately.
Deputy commander of the 357th regiment, Major Vitaly Zababurin (in the middle).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980
And then something happened that shook the whole city. Having learned about the death of their comrade in arms, a group of officers and warrant officers of the 357th Parachute Regiment, led by the deputy regiment commander, Major Vitaly Zababurin, got into armored personnel carriers and went to the scene of the incident to deal with local residents. But, having arrived at the scene of the incident, they did not bother searching for the culprit, but hot head They decided to simply punish everyone who was there. Moving along the street, they began to smash and destroy everything in their path: they threw grenades at houses, fired from machine guns and machine guns on armored personnel carriers. Under hot hand officers hit dozens of innocent people.
The massacre ended, but news of the bloody pogrom quickly spread throughout the city. Thousands of indignant citizens began to flood the streets of Kabul, and riots began. At this time I was on the territory of the government residence, behind the high stone wall of the Palace of the People. I will never forget that wild howl of the crowd, instilling fear that made my blood run cold. The feeling was the most terrible...
The rebellion was suppressed within two days. Hundreds of Kabul residents died. However, the real instigators of those riots, who massacred innocent people, remained in the shadows.
Three thousand civilians in one punitive operation
At the end of December 1980 Two sergeants from the 3rd battalion of our regiment came to our guardhouse (it was in the Palace of the Peoples, in Kabul). By that time, the 3rd battalion had been stationed near Kandahar for six months and was constantly participating in combat operations. Everyone who was in the guardhouse at that time, including myself, listened carefully to their stories about how they were fighting. It was from them that I first learned about this major military operation, and heard this figure - about 3,000 Afghans killed in one day.
In addition, this information was confirmed by Viktor Marochkin, who served as a driver mechanic in the 70th brigade stationed near Kandahar (it was there that the 3rd battalion of our 317th parachute regiment was included). He said that the entire 70th brigade took part in that combat operation. The operation proceeded as follows.
In the second half of December 1980, a large settlement (presumably Tarinkot) was surrounded in a semi-ring. So they stood around three days. By this time, artillery and Grad multiple rocket launchers had been brought up.
On December 20, the operation began: a Grad and artillery attack was carried out on the populated area. After the first salvos, the village was plunged into a continuous cloud of dust. Shelling settlement continued almost continuously. Residents, in order to escape from shell explosions, ran from the village into the field. But there they began to shoot them from machine guns, BMD guns, four “Shilkas” (self-propelled guns with four combined large-caliber machine guns) fired non-stop, almost all the soldiers fired from their machine guns, killing everyone: including women and children.
After the shelling, the brigade entered the village, and the remaining residents were killed there. When the military operation ended, the entire ground around was strewn with corpses of people. They counted about 3000 (three thousand) corpses.
A combat operation in a village, carried out with the participation of the 3rd battalion of our regiment.
Kandahar, summer 1981