The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

thirty of them. Two of them were immediately deemed unfit by Zaplatin. One of them was Taraki’spersonal assistant, Gulabzoi, a twenty-five-year-old officer of military transportation aviation. Hiscandidacy was proposed for one of the top positions at the political directorate of the armedforces. During the interview, Gulabzoi stated that he would like to combine his work in thepolitical branch of the armed forces with the position of the aide-de-camp to the head of state. Itbecame obvious during the interview that this revolutionary was not particularly enthusiasticabout the ideological party work. Zaplatin didn’t like that.“It won’t work that way,” Zaplatin told Gulabzoi. “You’ll need to choose one or the other.”“I would have a reliable deputy; he would take care of things.”“You have no idea how important the position is that you would like to take. This personwill become the heart and engine of the political branch of the armed forces. There can be noshared responsibilities.”“We’ll see,” grinned Gulabzoi, and walked out of the office.The general had no idea that Gulabzoi was like an adopted son to Secretary General Taraki,who adored him. The next day, Taraki attempted to softly convince Zaplatin to show moreappreciation for Gulabzoi’s wishes. But Zaplatin remained stubbornly unconvinced.“If you want to create a functioning organization, then trust me. If you want to create animpostor, then do as you wish.”Taraki had to agree with Zaplatin. Amin’s nephew, a graduate of the Leningrad Academy ofCommunications, was appointed to the position instead of Gulabzoi. He spoke good Russian andZaplatin found him suitable for the task. As a result of it, Zaplatin’s reputation in the eyes of Amingrew significantly, without particular effort on the part of the Soviet general.He maintained good relations with Taraki as well. The head of state received Zaplatin more162