Afghan War in Memories of Its Participants

Abstract. Many books and scientific works have been published about the Afghan War. But each of them gives its own idea about the participation of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The aim of the study is a problematic analysis of the recollections of the daily life of conscripts during their stay in OCSV / during their military service on the territory of the DRA and after demobilization. Refuting the fragmentary perception, the article presents the results of documentary interviews, the model of behavior of soldiers in the ranks of the Soviet troops, their relationship with the local population. The main features and features of military operations, climatic and living conditions of the stay of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan are revealed. Memories of our respondents (we conducted a survey and interviewed 88 veterans of military operations who served in the Soviet army in 1979–1989) are located at the Central State Archives of Public Associations of the Republic of Bashkortostan (branch of the National Archives of the Republic of Bashkortostan).

Keywords: Afghan war, Afghanistan, 1979–1989, memories of the war, OKSV (limited contingent of Soviet troops), history of Russia, DRA, military conflict.