The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

***Sergei Bakhturin, an assistant to the Soviet ambassador on security matters,understood immediately that something extraordinary had happened when he arrived atwork. The face of the guard was very alarmed, and people moved nervously. He met a staffmember of the Ninth Directorate of the KGB, Major Kutepov, who was in charge of securityfor the top Afghan leaders. He also seemed concerned.“Do we have problems, Yuri?” asked Bakhturin.“You haven’t heard? Some unknown persons captured Dubs, the Americanambassador. He has been held in Hotel Kabul since 9 a.m.”Bakhturin was shocked to receive the news. Hotel Kabul was located in the verycenter of the city, and was the favored residence of Soviet visitors. About thirty Sovietspecialists lived there at the time: advisers, journalists, diplomats, and military officials.Many had families. Lt. Colonel Bakhturin, the operative of the foreign counterintelligencebranch of the PGU, was in charge of security for the Soviet colony. He was not indifferent tothe fate of the American ambassador, but at that moment his top priority was the securityof Soviet citizens.“Yuri, go to Bogdanov and report to him about the situation. I will go to AlexanderMikhailovich and to Osadchiy. Let’s meet back here in ten minutes.”Puzanov didn’t ask any unnecessary questions. “Go there, Sergei Gavrilovich, and tryto evacuate our folks to a safe location. Call me right away if you need my support.”Bakhturin drove Kutepov’s Toyota to the center of Kabul. By then, all approaches toHotel Kabul were blocked by the police. Their car was stopped twice, but allowed toproceed once the policemen identified the passengers as Soviet citizens. When Kutepov and292