The uncle was more hesitant, as he was rather flattered that a young Russian would be interested in his niece and could recite a few surahs, certainly more than his own sons could do. Vladimir left disappointed and went back to Russia. They spent two months with his family, which readily accepted the young woman, seeing no reason why Vladimir should not marry a Muslim. He also chose to become an Uzbek citizen in , after independence, and took a Muslim name, Abdu-Vohid, but everyone in Urgut still calls him Volodia today.
Now they have three children and four grandchildren. Mamura still speaks Russian with a strong Uzbek accent, while Volodia, in his own words, speaks only street Uzbek. Both have retired from the Army, live in a one-room flat provided by the Uzbek State and are active members of the association of Internationalist Veterans of Afghanistan. Even the most disabled veterans — those who lost an arm or a leg in combat — now receive a tiny disability pension.
They all know each other thanks to the association, and Mamura is an emblematic person thanks to her love story.
Not for her military career or her unique background. A Muslim woman marrying a Russian officer of the Red Army! And they lived together like husband and wife! And that Russian converted to Islam for her beautiful eyes! This is especially true in a country like Uzbekistan, where arranged marriages are the rule and love is considered a disorder. Then, a woman army officer is not distinguished by her military career but by her private life, because she transgressed the traditional rules of matrimony and lived a real love story.
That this happened in Herat during the Soviet-Afghan War does not seem to be the most important fact. Conversely, beautiful love stories still make people dream. The only Uzbek woman officer of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan will be remembered for reasons that have nothing to do with battle.
Mamura is the only one to escape this pattern and to be still visible. Fazliy, Qon sachragan lolalar [The bloody tulips], Tashkent, obituaries of the eleven dead soldiers born in the town of Urgut. Site map — Contact us — Partners — Syndication. The tide of the war turned with the introduction of U. The Stingers allowed the mujahidin to shoot down Soviet planes and helicopters on a regular basis.
New Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev decided it was time to get out. Demoralized and with no victory in sight, Soviet forces started withdrawing in The last Soviet soldier crossed back across the border on February 15, The long-term impact of the invasion and subsequent war was profound. First, the Soviets never recovered from the public relations and financial losses, which significantly contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire in Secondly, the war created a breeding ground for terrorism and the rise of Osama bin Laden.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Jefferson, who died in , had offered to sell his personal library to Congress after the Congressional library, along with the rest of Gaddy In retrospect, the best opportunity for building a stable peace in Afghanistan was in greater regional engagement, but Russia has never supported its cooperation with Central Asia, and neighbors such as Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan tend to believe more in protective barriers rather than in cross-border ties.
The best Russian diplomats can hope for is to dissuade the shrewd leadership of the Taliban from launching cross-border attacks northwards, but a wave of refugees is expected. Beijing remains reluctant to commit resources proportional to its major stakes in regional stability, and its attempts to make the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation into a key vehicle for that purpose are perceived in Moscow as far-fetched.
In the former one, cooperation with the United States, centered on countering terrorist threats, was feasible and even desirable; in the latter, confrontation with the West is the dominant feature, so every opportunity to exploit a setback for U. The withdrawal of U. In the early s, Russia was up to the task of enforcing peace in Central Asia, and in the early s, it was ready to engage in cooperation with the United States in rebuilding Afghanistan; but presently, Moscow cannot square its hegemonic ambitions with depleted power resources.
Blaming the United States for the unfolding disaster in Afghanistan will not help in countering new risks. The former Western-backed Afghan government accused Russia's presidential envoy of being an open supporter of the Taliban and of excluding the official government from three years of Moscow talks. Mr Kabulov denied that and said they were ungrateful. But as far back as he said Russia's interests coincided with the Taliban when it came to fighting Islamic State IS jihadists.
That did not go unnoticed in Washington. The foreign ministry in Moscow said it had "asked our American colleagues to provide evidence, but to no avail… we do not provide any support to the Taliban". In February this year, Mr Kabulov angered the Afghan government by praising the Taliban for fulfilling its side of the Doha agreements "immaculately" while accusing Kabul of sabotaging them.
Despite its closer ties with the Taliban, Moscow is for now staying pragmatic, watching developments and not removing the group from its terror list just yet. President Putin said he hoped the Taliban would make good on its promises to restore order. The key factors shaping Russia's policy are regional stability and its own painful history in Afghanistan. It wants secure borders for its Central Asian allies and to prevent the spread of terrorism and drug trafficking.
But relations soon grew strained. Earlier this month Russia held military exercises in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, aimed at reassuring Central Asian countries, some of which are military allies of Moscow. Last month Russia obtained Taliban assurances that any Afghan gains wouldn't threaten its regional allies and that they would continue to fight IS militants. Russia stresses it has no interest in sending troops to Afghanistan, and it is not hard to see why.
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