USSR REPORT MILITARY AFFAIRS NO. 1761

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96R01136R002605130024-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 29, 2010
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: April 21, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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ARMED FORCES
REPORTS ON SOVIET MILITARY LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN
Importance of DRA's Salang Highway
PM041037 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 2 Feb 83 morning edition p 5
[Own correspondent G. Ustinov "Afghan Reportage": "The Pass Is Open"]
[Text] Kabul [no date given]--We flew from Kabul to Balkh in the north of
the country. The small aircraft of the Afghan Air Force was carrying news-
papers, parcels and other mail. About two dozen passengers were occupying
the vacant seats. It was a sunny day and through the portholes we could all.
see clearly the endless chain of snow-capped mountain peaks slashed by deep
gorges.
Suddenly the mountains parted and the highway shone through below. "Salang,"
my neighbor, a young Afghan soldier, who throughout had been resting his
bandaged leg on a sack of newspapers, said softly. "I was there just 3 days
ago." And he thoughtfully touched his plaster-covered leg.
The roar of the engines prevented conversation and we again looked down
toward the highway. Sometimes it ran straight as an arrow, sometimes it be-
gan to twist like a snake, rose and wound itself like a narrow ribbon around
the steep slopes of the mountains....
I had heard a lot about this highway linking Kabul with the Soviet border.
The question of its construction arose as far back as 1928 during the visit
to our country by the Afghan King Amanullah Khan. In his record of the con-
versation with the King, G.V. Chicherin, USSR people's commissar for foreign
affairs, noted: "He particularly highlighted two very topical questions:
The building of a highway and a trade treaty: Afghanistan undoubtedly needs
a highway link with the USSR. This is necessary both economically and.
politically."
At that time, however, the implementation of a complex project requiring
great material expenditure was difficult. The idea was dropped until the
late fifties. The construction of a modern asphalted highway was begun by
Soviet and Afghan workers and experts in 1958 and completed in 1964. The
highway includes the 3 km Salang tunnel driven through the Hindu Kush at a
height of over 3,300 meters above sea level. It also gave its name to the
high mountain section of the highway. This section, which makes it possible
to considerably shorten the old caravan routes, is 108 km long.
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The new highway linked the main Afghan industrial centers in a single eco-
nomic complex: The Jabal Os Saraj and Pol-e Khomri cement plants, the Karkar
coal mines, the Golbahar textile factory and the Qonduz cotton gin. It pro-
vided the shortest link between the northern provinces--Afghanistan's
granary--and the center of the. country and made it considerably easier and
cheaper to transport freight both within the country and between Afghanistan
and the Soviet Union. Whereas trucks used to take 2-3 days to reach the
border port of Shir Khan from Kabul, it now takes them only 6-8 hours. But
the main point is that traffic used to be interrupted for 9 months a year
because of snow and avalanches. With the building of the modern highway
with its tunnels, snow protection galleries and dozens of reinforced con-
crete metal bridges, traffic has become uninterrupted.
Afghanistan has no railroads, and thus you can imagine what a good highway
means to the country, especially in such a crucial direction. The economic
and military roles of the highway and the Salang Pass grew particularly after
the April revolution, when revolutionary Afghanistan's trade and economic
cooperation with its northern neighbor increased considerably. However,
gangs of counterrevolutionaries sent in from abroad to try to disrupt this
link have repeatedly attacked the convoys of trucks along this highway in
an attempt to break this transport connection.
...Down there, on the highway, is where I received my baptism of fire," my
neighbor in the aircraft said.
We landed. An ambulance arrived for my neighbor with two of his comrades.
inside. Following the widely accepted custom they embraced their fellow
countryman three times each in turn. I asked them to stay for a while and
tell me what had been happening at the Salang Pass recently. This is what
I heard in reply.
"Our battalion, commanded by S Capt (Nazir Gol)," they said, "was accompany-
ing a large group of trucks bound for Kabul. This is a necessary measure:
In the unpopulated mountain regions the Dushmans often attack transport
convoys, hijack the trucks and kill the drivers."
By means of the "wireless telegraph," the local inhabitants reported that
one of the gangs hiding in the mountains was preparing an attack and was
planning not only to seize the convoy but also to decommission the highway
and destroy Kabul's food, fuel and medical supply lines.
For assistance (Nazir Gol)'s battalion was given two groups of [KhadJ (state
security organ) staffers and Sarandoy (militia).
Soon after the convoy had left the Salang Tunnel and was approaching .the
villages of (Farza) and (Kuchi), the crew of the leading armored personnel
carrier noticed suspicious activity on the road about 800 meters ahead of
the column. "The highway is being mined," (Nazir Gol) surmised and halted
the column. At that moment automatic fire rained down on the convoy from
concealed positions in the mountains on both sides of the highway.
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The battalion commander gave the order: "Fire!" and all the members of the
escort detachment opened fire in reply. The fighting lasted over 1 hour....
The Dushmans' attack was beaten off and the gang fled in disarray, leaving
behind several dozen dead and wounded. Interrogation of the prisoners.
revealed that the gang had numbered about 400.
As I found out later from the military newspaper HAQIQAT-E SARBAZ, mine
clearance began on the highway immediately after the battle. Soviet service-
men came to the aid of their Afghan friends in that. While that work was
underway, several Afghan soldiers wounded by the Dushmans were taken to the
Soviet garrison's medical unit. (Nadzhibulla Sherzay), whom I had come to
know in the aircraft, was among those men.
"It was my first meeting with Soviet soldiers," he said, "and I was very
pleased by their cordiality and their. sincere desire to provide assistance.
The peasants of (Kuchi) village, where we made a brief stop, said that
Soviet soldiers maintain a firm friendship with local inhabitants, help with
their work in the fields, in the procurement of fuel and other matters.
When I thanked the Soviet commander for the concern shown to me and my com-
rades, he simply smiled and said: How else could it be, we have a common
cause--to defend the Afghan revolution...."
Atheist Education in Services
PM231049 Moscow KRASNAYA ZVEZDA in Russian 5 Feb 83 first edition p 1
[Editorial:
"Servicemens' Atheistic Education"]
[Text] The tasks which the party has laid down for further improving ideo-.
logical and political-educational work are being tackled persistently in the
Soviet armed forces. The servicemens' ideological tempering and the forma-
tion in them of a scientific philosophy, selfless devotion to the cause of
the party and the ideals of communism and constant readiness to .defend the
motherland and the gains of socialism were and remain at its core.
To form in servicemen a scientific world outlook and enhance their ideologi-
cal tempering means equipping people with a profound understanding of the
laws and prospects of social development and of scientific and technical
progress. The solution of this task is inseparable from the army and navy
personnel's atheistic education.
During the years of Soviet power, as a result of the triumph of materialist
ideology and the development of science, culture and public education, a new
Soviet man has been formed who is infinitely devoted to his socialist mother-
land and the ideals of communism, a man. with a materialist understanding and
perception of the surrounding world. But at the same time a certain propor-
tion of people, and this includes young people, find themselves the captives
of various religious prejudices that are energetically propagated by the
church and diverse sects.
Such people are encountered, albeit rarely, even among draftees. They arrive
in our military collectives with views on military service that are often
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erroneous. Therefore, attention to such people and skillful work with them
is one of the most important tasks for commanders, political workers and
party and Komsomol organizations.
Atheistic educational work must also be carried out constantly with the
whole personnel. This is also called for by the fact. that the modernization
of contemporary religious ideology, which conceals the falsity and harmful-
ness of a religious world outlook, can give rise in certain people to a mis-
taken conception of religion's social role. It has also to be remembered
that there are a considerable number of figures abroad who are attempting
to export religious ideas and religious wares to our country and that in
the international arena religion is constantly being used by imperialist
propaganda against communist ideology and the socialist community countries
for political. ends. Therefore atheistic work must be carried out in a con-
sidered and militant fashion and must educate young people in a spirit of
communist ideology and morality and help them to develop within themselves
a vigorous life stance.
Atheistic education is a matter of great importance.. Intransigence toward
religion--religion, which is incompatible with the world outlook and
morality of an energetic fighter for the new communist society--must be com-
biped with a sensitive., considerate attitude toward believers. One should
not cut oneself off from believers but reeducate them by means of persuasion.
and by involving them in an active social life..
The complete extirpation of survivals of the past from people's conscious-
ness and the overcoming of the factors which give rise to relig"iosity
require a further boost in the people's spiritual culture and education and
much patient work. Rudeness, .gibes and lack. of respect for believers' feel-
ings are inadmissible here. "One has to be exceptionally careful when
combating religious prejudices," V.I. Lenin pointed-out, "those who introduce.
the abuse of religious feeling into this struggle do a great deal of harm."
Many party and Komsomol organizations in the army and navy are employing
various forms of scientific atheistic propaganda with increasing fruitful-
ness. A great deal of work in this direction is being carried out, for
example, by the members of the agitational and propaganda collective, soldiers'
club and library of a guards motorized infantry unit in which guards Maj A. .`~
Korovin is a propagandist.. On the basis of a long-term plan here lectures,
discussions and the viewing of films on the theme of atheistic education are
conducted regularly. Essential reading matter for the servicemen is selected
and recommended. Particular attention is accorded to individual work with
the young intake.
At the same time the scale and standard of scientific atheistic propaganda
is still far from everywhere meeting the demands placed upon it. There are
facts which indicate that insufficient attention is being accorded to this
important area of educational work in certain units and subunits. At times
speeches suffer from cliches and crudeness, which can be attributed to the
incompetence of certain propagandists and the scant concern of political
organs for their training. Such defects are intolerable and should be
resolutely eliminated. It has to be constantly remembered that the chief
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thing in servicemens' education is not the .quantity of measures but. their
effectiveness and high efficiency. Little benefit, for example, is derived
from lectures if they are general and abstract in nature and take account
neither of the essential changes which are taking place in people's
consciousness under the influence of scientific and social progress nor the
sophisticated operations carried out by modern religious organizations.
It is very important today to expose the correlation of religion and national-
istic survivals. One still encounters attempts to present religiosity as a
feature of national distinctiveness and nonobservance of religious festivals
as all but apostasy from the "behests of 'the fathers." Such attempts are
supported and fanned in every possible way from without by bourgeois
propaganda which is aimed at reviving religious. and nationalist prejudices..
Party and Komsomol organizations in the-army and navy must present the matter
in such a way that atheistic propaganda is not only systemic and reaches
the masses but militant and forceful too. This greatly depends on drawing
the broad army and navy community--all servicemen without exception--into the
ranks of vigorous fighters against the survivals of the past. Every
communist and Komsomol member must be a militant atheist. The CPSU Central
Committee resolution "On the further improvement of ideological and politi-
cal-educational work" demands the intensification of atheistic work. It is
the duty of commanders, political workers and army and navy party and Komsomol
organizations to fulfill the party's instructions, inculcate persistently a
scientific-materialist world outlook and foster in every serviceman a
vigorous life stance.
PDPA's Influence on Military
PM140907 Moscow KRASNAYA ZVEZDA in Russian lI Feb 83 first edition p 3
[TABS correspondent A. Greshnov report: "The Ranks of Army PDPA Organizations
Are Swelling")
[Text] Kabul, 10 Feb--Meetings are taking-place in party organizations in
the DRA armed forces to~,discuss the state of work in fulfilling the decisions
of the 10th PDPA Central Committee plenum. The party members' attention is
focused on questions connected with increasing the combat readiness of units
and subunits and the militancy and activeness of primary party organizations
and educating military cadres.
"The fifth anniversary of the April revolution, which opened up for the
Afghan people the opportunity to work for the sake of their motherland, is
approaching," Col (Abdul Gaffar), chief of the DRA armed forces general
staff political section, said in an interview for TASS' correspondent. "But
the Afghans' peace and quiet is being disrupted by the forces. of counter-
revolution, supported and encouraged by imperialist reaction. It is the task
and duty of the DRA armed forces to defend the working people against the
crimes being perpetrated by bandit groups which are sent into the country
from Pakistani territory.
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"PDPA members in units and subunits of the DRA armed forces are currently
declaring their unanimous support for the decisions of the party's Central
Committee and the revolutionary government. Many officers and men link their
destiny with the PDPA. In the last 2 months alone primary party organiza-
tions examined more than 500 applications for admission to the party. In
'X' independent infantry battalion, for instance, more than half. the officers
and men have applied to join the party. This battalion is fighting heroically
against Dushmans who have penetrated Lowgar Province..
"The servicemen of the 1st battalion of a certain infantry regiment are also
giving an excellent account of themselves. They recently rebuffed an attack
by a gang on a truck column not far from the settlement of Mohammad Aghah.
Lt (Makhmud Nasim), Sergeant .(Mansur), Privates (Samar) and (Asad) and others
set examples of combat heroism and mutual assistance in this battle. After
the battle many servicemen applied to join the PDPA.
"There are many examples of heroism displayed by Afghan soldiers, sergeants
and officers in defending the gains of the April revolution. The service-
men's combat skills and political consciousness have increased. Their
courage and selflessness are the convincing guarantee that the perfidious
plans of the imperialists, who are gambling on the Afghan counterrevolution,
will fail. Our people will not yield to anyone the freedom gained at such
a price. We firmly declare: Victory will be ours."
Soviet Service Life
PM251157 Moscow KRASNAYA ZVEZDA in Russian 22 Mar 83 first edition p 2
[Report by Correspondent Lt Col V. Skrizhalin: "The Soldiers Spoke of the
Exploit...."]
[Text] Limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan [no date given]--
The cold, gusty wind beat against the canvas wall of the tent like a. large
bird. And from time to time those addressing the Komsomol meeting raised
their voices, betraying their emotion still more. And the soldiers were
speaking of an exploit. They were speaking with pride of Aleksandr Matrosov
and Nikolay Gastello, of their virtual contemporary Lt Aleksandr Stoiba and
former Comrade in Arms Ruslan Aushev....
The meeting was taking place in a subunit of the limited contingent of Sovie t
troops in Afghanistan. Tactical-exercises demanding endurance and courage
from the servicemen had just ended. Many of them bore orders and medals on
their chests. All this lent special meaning to their words. And the magnetic
power of the exploit .could be felt particularly keenly.
I looked at the inspired faces of the soldiers, sergeants and young officers
and listened to their heartfelt words and I involuntarily recalled meetings
in the steep mountain passes, on marches, during the minutes of furious
tension during combat training....
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The mountains. However far you look jagged peaks cluster to the remote hori-
zon. Gray ribbons of roads wind between them, plunge into ravines and hurtle.
headlong into the expanses of the valleys.
These roads are the living threads linking remote mountain settlements and
making it possible to deliver there everything necessary for life. Perfectly
well aware of this, the Dushmans mine and blow up bridges and fire on
vehicles carrying the most peaceful cargoes--grain and medical supplies.
The local organs of power frequently appeal for help to the command of units
belonging to the limited contingent of Soviet troops. Our servicemen come
to the aid of their Afghan friends.
...When Lt Sergey Andrianov's eyes begin to smart from looking at the moun-
tains, he shifts his gaze to the road. A narrow road looping between steep
cliffs, it leads to a remote Afghan hamlet where sick. children have been
waiting for healing medical supplies. for several days. This is the most
vulnerable place--the road. Lieutenant Andrianov sees the combat engineers
advancing slowly, groping their way--the path is mined. You feel a per-
fidious hand has been at work here. And the mines? What foreign stickers
do they not bear! Lt Sergey Andrianov does not look away .from the eye-pieces
of his binoculars for a long time., He does not like the dim specks of light
on the mountain slopes--they are either windows catching the rays of the sun
and brightly reflecting them or the lenses of binoculars flashing in
incautious enemy hands......
The company commander is not here today. He, Lieutenent Andrianov, a young
platoon commander, has to command the subunit. This keeps him in a state of
constant tension and readiness for action.
The first shots set of a dull, multiple echo in the ravine. A hot wave of
combat excitement swept over Lieutenant Andrianov. He seemed to be able to
sense the mood of each soldier and gave clear orders. He behaved as though
he had had to do this frequently in a similar situation. Andrianov saw his
subordinates with different eyes, as it were. They acted boldly and self-
lessly. Yet it was not an exercise where a platoon from the next company
stands in for the enemy. You only had to listen to make out the whine of
the bullets....
Young officers do not often have to prove .themselves in their new capacity
as commanders in such conditions. And now whoever looks at Sergey Andrianov
will observe without fail: "So young, but he has a combat award!"
The order of the Red Star shines scarlet on the lieutenant's breast.
When does a driver feel light-hearted? When the engine is singing evenly
and the road is flying by beneath the wheels and he is sure he will reach
his destination on time. This was not the first time driver Private Mikhail
Gutsu has been on such a journey. Over several months of service he has
many kilometers of winding mountain roads behind him. Mikhail grips the
steering wheel confidently and carefully keeps hid distance in the convoy of
advancing trucks. The freight in the truck is urgent--food for the inhabi-
tants of an Afghan hamlet. That is why there should be no delays en route.
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But what's this? The leading truck slows down, begins to swerve to the side
of the road, and comes to a standstill. The driver jumps from the cabin and
raises the steaming hood. Mikhail can see his young comrade's dismayed face:
Just try to determine where the fault is straight off! Private Gutsu rushes
to his aid. There is no time to lose. A suspicious silence looms over the
deserted mountain road. Mikhail knows that at any second it may be broken
by the bandits' perfidious shots.
Private Gutsu's face is blazing from the heat of the hot engine. Where is
the failure? Mikhail Gutsu runs through"the possible causes of faults. This
is hard even on an ordinary, mundane journey, but here he is surrounded by
mountains concealing danger.
"Look!" His comrade touches his shoulder. Mikhail raises his head--human
figures can be glimpsed on the steep slope between the rocks. Of course, it
is hardly likely that someone will have climbed there by accident. Gutsu
nods toward the submachinegun:
"Keep an eye on them..."
And he himself bends over the engine again. Careful turns of the spanner fol-
low. And how pleasant it is after all that to half-whisper, half-sigh:
"Start up!"
And the road flies to meet them again....
A combat engineer's work is like a jeweler's. That's the only way to
describe it. He has work to do here, on the territory of friendly Afghani-
stan. The Dushmans lard the mountain roads and paths with mines. How many
of these roads and paths guards Sgt Abbas Israfilov has opened up to
traffic !
Slowly, Abbas gropes his way along the mountain road with his comrades. Some
other time you might walk along it listening to the mysterious sound of the
river running into the ravine, feasting your eyes on the snow of the
inaccessible peaks glittering in the sun. But you have no time for the
beauties of nature now. Every centimeter of ground must be "sounded out."
There's no other way. The blast will resound with a sinister echo among
the mountains if the mechanism of any "surprise" placed by a Dushman's hand
should work.
There is no time to wipe the sweat from his brow, no time to straighten his
back. "We are like archeologists," Abbas sometimes jokes. And there is a
certain aptness in these words: Archeologists return to life objects which
man lost long ago while combat engineers guard life itself. They guard it
at a risk to their own lives. Abbas has been awarded the order of the Red
Star and the "For Valor".medal. He has to his credit, in a comparatively
brief space of time, 118 defused mines and incendiary devices. That is 118
duels with death.
His comrades in arms know Abbas as a fearless, selfless man. The commander
once said of him: "Israfilov has the character of a frontline soldier."
There is a Iot behind those meaningful, accurate words.
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The cold wind beat at the tent walls. But inside there was warmth from the
emotional words and the high pitch of feeling.
The soldiers were speaking of an exploit....
Soviet Army Kindness, Bravery
LD190740 Moscow TASS in English 0623 GMT 19 Mar 83
["Over and Above the Call of Duty"--TABS headline]
[Text] Kabul, 18 Mar, TABS--The TABS correspondent reports:
The presence in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan of the limited con-
tingent of Soviet troops has been marked by many good deeds. I should like
to narrate some of them.
1. "Khashar" in a Kishlak
What does it cost to build a home? For some of the peasants of the Alpine
Kishlak Kala-i-dala, new homes cost nothing at all. They were built by
Soviet soldiers free.
...A gang of Dushmans has been dispersed. An Afghan army unit is gone on
another combat assignment. A Soviet field-engineer company enters the Kish-
lak. Its orders are to clear the area of mines. The sappers fulfilled
their mission before schedule. And then one of them--Sergeant Sabit
Nugmanov--told his comrades about an old fine custom existing in Uzbekistan
where he comes from. "When in a Kishlak back home someone decides to build
a house, all the inhabitants come over to help him. The custom is called
'khashar', and people really put their heart into it."
All the company supported the sergeant's proposal to organise such a
"khashar" in the Afghan village ravaged by the assault of the bandits. And.
the work was in full swing. New homes grew like mushrooms. .Even smoke
appeared in a new home's chimney stack--the grateful hosts began cooking a
dinner for all the builders.. And they celebrated the house-warming together:
Soviet soldiers and Afghan peasants. In addition to the new homes, the
soldiers left the villagers another "present"--the wonderful tradition of
"khashar." Thus, a difficult fob one cannot handle alone will yield to
concerted efforts of friends.
2. With no right to make an error
A badge "for mine clearing" and a medal "for courage," blazed on the uniform
of the Private Umar Rhidoyatov. He received them for his gallantry and skill.
The school which the children of a kishlak were preparing to attend was
found to have been mined. Some of the local people saw the Dushmans carrying
ammunition there, and the rapid action of the Afghan army unit prevented the
bandits from blasting the school.
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The company commander, Senior Lieutenant B. Ulyukin asked for volunteers.
All the company stepped forward. The commander selected the most experienced
ones.. Private Khidoyatov was the first to enter the school to reconnoiter.
The minutes of waiting, with time seeming to have paused: An explosion may
follow at any moment. A sapper has no right to make an error--it will be his
first and Last. Was Umar calm? No, he was not. Was he nervous? Very. B_ut
this was no hindrance in his work. Rapidly and confidently, he examined
every square metre of the premises.. "Surprises" cropped up, now here, now
there. Losing, no time to defuse them--his comrades would take charge--he
only marked the mines' locations by little flags.
...On the morrow, the company was leaving the kishlak. Little. boys and girls
spilling out of the school long waved them goodbye. And the Soviet soldiers
set out to face further challenges.
Attack on Rice Convoy
PM240943 [Ed-itorial Report) Moscow KRASNAYA ZVEZDA in Russian 23 March 1983
publishes on page 3 a 2,200-word undated Afghanistan dispatch by special
correspondent Col Yu. Teplov under the heading "That Bitter-Sweet Rice,"
describing a Soviet army convoy's 3ourney from Qonduz to Kabul with a con-
signment of rice. Teplov describes a halt while combat engineers cleared
mines from the road and mentions a driver whose cab has "two holes going all
the way through--a reminder of an encounter with bandits." Having described
the convoy's progress through "the most unsettled section of the route--the
three Baghlans," Teplov continues:
~~
But we only had to leave northern Baghlan for the absence of human life to
affect our nerves and for the tension to begin to mount. Again dark hovels
and dry irrigation ditches passed by on both sides. It seemed that .the
silence which consumed even the roar of the motors was about to be broken by
a ;shot or burst of fire.
"That is what happened. Ahead a submachinegun emitted along, chattering
burst, and then a rapid burst of fire came from closer by.
"'It's started,' my neighbor, guards Ensign Koka, said without any expression
in his voice.
"The next burst struck right by us. Twice it clattered against the armoring.
The convoy continued to advance, but the speed had increased noticeably.
Then the shooting abated as abruptly as it had begun.
"'Surely that's not all?' Koka said in surprise.
"This time it was indeed 'all.' Not as it had been 3 days before, when a
convoy was traveling to Qonduz. Then the Dushmans even fired on the trucks
with a grenade launcher. The convoy had been obliged to stop.
"Drivers Vitaliy Fadeyev, Aleksandr Derain, Gennadiy Ivanov and Sergey Sychev
dumped from the cabs, dropping behind the wheels of their trucks. .Ours was
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approaching them along. the open .side of -the road. From the front and rear
of the convoy two armored transports came in and covered the Ural trucks
with their flank plating, for the convoy had to be diverted as rapidly as
possible. Fadeyev rapidly crawled to the leading vehicle and dumped through
the open cab door, but a Dushman's bullet prevented him from moving off,
stinging him somewhere near the knee. But guards Capt Viktor Maslennikov
took the wheel of the Ural and the truck moved off. The second Ural was
driven out of range of fire by guards Lt Mikhail Alkhimov, the rations and
forage officer....
"That was what had happened 3 days before. But today we passed through this
sector almost peacefully. Indeed, it had previously been considered quiet.
Freight had traveled in both directions along this road and reached its.
destination with no special adventures.
"I wonder now why it was precisely this convoy which generated such fierce
hatred among the Dushmans? And I can find only one explanation: rice. It
is inconvenient to the counterrevolution for the food situation in the repub-
lic to be stabilized, for the people to see that the people's power wants
to make their lives easier and that soldiers with Red Stars on their caps
are ready to aid them at any moment.
"It is now known that a combined-gang had come down from the mountains and
was waiting for the rice convoy in particular. Perhaps the gang ringleaders
reckoned that the Soviet soldiers would take fright and refuse to carry so
peaceful and so dangerous a load....
"Time marches on. It not only .heals wounds but also changes people's men-
tality. The hamlet inhabitants who heard the shooting at the time looked
fearfully at the advancing convoy. How would the soldiers behave now? Would
they have reprisals? There were no 3okes or smiles. But our servicemen were
perfectly well aware that the people and-.the bandits are not one and the
same...."
The final part of the report briefly describes Teplov's parting with the
convoy and his thoughts on the Soviet servicemen's work.
CSO: 1801/234
Approved For Release 2010/10/29: CIA-RDP96R01136R002605130024-7