Afgantsy; The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89

New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xiv, 417, [1] pages. Maps. Illustrations. Author's Note. Annexes. Notes. Sources. Bibliography. Acknowledgments. List of Illustrations. Index. Minor front endpaper rippling. Sir Rodric Quentin Braithwaite, GCMG (born 17 May 1932) is a British diplomat and author.
Braithwaite was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. After his military service, he joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1955. His diplomatic career included posts in Indonesia, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, and a number of positions at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 1988 to 1992 Braithwaite was ambassador in Moscow, first of all to the Soviet Union and then to the Russian Federation. Subsequently, he was the Prime Minister's foreign policy adviser and chairman of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee (1992–93), and was awarded the GCMG in 1994. The story of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is well known: the expansionist Communists overwhelmed a poor country as a means of reaching a warm-water port on the Persian Gulf. Afghan mujahideen upset their plans, holding on with little more than natural fighting skills, until CIA agents came to the rescue with American arms. Humiliated in battle, the Soviets hastily retreated. It is a great story-but it never happened. In this brilliant, myth-busting account, Rodric Braithwaite, the former British ambassador to Moscow, challenges much of what we know about the Soviets in Afghanistan. He provides an inside look at this little-understood episode, using first-hand accounts and piercing analysis to show the war as it was fought and experienced by the Russians. The invasion was a defensive response to a chaotic situation in the Soviets' immediate neighbor. They intended to establish a stable, friendly government, secure the major towns, and train the police and armed forces before making a rapid exit. But the mission escalated, as did casualties. Braithwaite does not paint the occupation as a Russian triumph. To the contrary, he illustrates the searing effect of the brutal conflict on soldiers, their families, and the broader public, as returning veterans struggled to regain their footing back home. Extracts from a review by Stephen Tanner found on-line: With the arrival of the 10th anniversary of American military involvement in Afghanistan, this book is more than timely. Afgantsy—the Russians’ slang for their Afghan war veterans—provides rare insight into the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, even as it evokes a sense of déjà vu for observers of our current conflict. Author Rodric Braithwaite was Britain’s ambassador to Moscow during the crucial period 1988–92, and his ringside seat on Russian thinking challenges much of the common wisdom long held in the West. According to Braithwaite, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan at Christmas 1979 not to conquer the country but to assist what it considered progressive elements against reactionary uprisings. It hoped to withdraw again just as quickly. When its 40th Army found itself locked in combat in the Afghan countryside, it continually hoped that one more offensive, or one more year, would enable the government in Kabul to survive and prosper. However, as invaders before had found, the true strength of Afghanistan lies not in its cities but in its hills and mountains, against whom few outside invaders have succeeded. Braithwaite expresses sympathy with the Soviets’ plight, even as he condemns the escalating brutality of their methods. Pakistan, then as now, played a huge role in succoring the Afghan resistance against outside invasion, which during the 1980s was almost gleefully supported by the United States, hoping to return the Soviets’ favor for Vietnam. In Afgantsy Braithwaite dispels myths about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, while providing cautionary lessons for our own. In each case one cannot help but sympathize with the sophisticated powers that intervene in that land with all good intentions but in the end find themselves relying on pure firepower, to which present-day Afghans have never succumbed.—Stephen Tanner. Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Soviet Union, Military Intervention, 40th Army, Nation-building, Mujahedin, Karmal Babrak, Kryuchkov, Masud Ahmad Shah, Najibullah Mohamed, Taliban, Taraki Nur Mohmed, Dmitri Ustinov, Valentin Varennikov

ISBN: 9780199832651

[Book #83238]

Price: $60.00

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