Memories of the Veteran of the Afghan War 1979–1989: Interview with Igor Nikolaevich Bezborodykh (Part II)

Abstract. The Afghan war (1979–1989) is a tragic event in the historical memory of our country. During the war in Afghanistan Soviet Union suffered the greatest military losses since the Great Patriotic War. During the period from 1979 to 1989, 620 thousand soldiers did their military service in Afghanistan, more than 15 thousand of them died. The live evidences of the participants in the Afghan war obtained during the interviews help us study the anthropology of the military conflict more deeply through the experience of combatants. This publication presents the second part of an interview with Igor Nikolaevich Bezborodykh, a native of the Gukovo town, Rostov Region, who was in military service in Afghanistan from 1984 to 1987 in the Naval Part of the Border Troops State Security Committee of the USSR with the rank of senior sailor. The meeting took place on June 2, 2017 at the office of the State Treasury Institution “Cossacks of the Don” in the Gukovo town. During the conversation, the respondent spoke about the features of the enemy’s military equipment, supply of troops, attitude to the Afghan war, daily life of soldiers and their state of health during the service.

Keywords: Afghan War, 1979–1989, Afghanistan, USSR, interviews, memoirs, internationalist warrior, veteran, combatant.