The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Both colonels started to scheme on how to finance such an exotic gift. High-qualityAstrakhan fur was not cheap, even in Kabul. The decision was made to task the DeputyTrade Representative Afanasiev to deal with the issue. Afanasiev had the reputation assomeone with a talent for dealing with precisely these types of issues. On the eve of thehigh-ranking guest’s departure, Afanasiev handed a set of Astrakhan pelts to Bakhturin.The gift was immediately handed to Ponomaryov, but soon the officer from the NinthDirectorate relayed Ponomaryov’s request to exchange the grey Astrakhan pelts for blackones. Afanasiev was again tasked with fulfilling Boris Nikolayevich’s wish, and the issuewas resolved by the time of the guest’s departure from Kabul. Bogdanov was in awe of thedeputy trade representative’s talent.Two years later, Afanasiev and two more specialists from the same office woulddepart from Kabul in handcuffs, arrested for illegal schemes involving forged contracts,bribes, and embezzlement. The so-called “Vostokintorg Affair” was widely discussed in theoffices of Soviet trade representatives abroad.The next day, Ponomaryov left for Moscow. When Bogdanov saw him off at theairport, he received a perfect nomenklatura lesson from the party boss. Boris Nikolayevichdelivered a solemn speech about the importance of the April Revolution for the globalrevolutionary movement, particularly for Asia, where democratic national liberationmovements were gaining momentum. Academician Ponomaryov expressed hope that all ofthe conversations conducted in Kabul would serve the unification of the party and all of theprogressive forces in Afghanistan. It remains unknown what the secretary of the CentralCommittee was personally thinking, but he had played his nomenklatura role perfectly.Ponomaryov’s primary concern was that the security officers in Kabul would have no233