The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

them based on age or rank. He never rushed them in their presentations. At the end of theconversation, he always gave instructions for the best way to process the information andimplement subsequent actions. Working in this manner, Ivanov met personally with mostof the KGB operatives in Kabul during his term there, and also managed to comprehend thecomplexities of the situation in Afghanistan that were of such concern to Moscow.Soon after Ivanov’s arrival in Kabul, after receptions in his honor organized by theambassador, Bogdanov, and other Soviet representatives had come to an end, Osadchiyinvited the general to his home. Besides Ivanov, Osadchiy invited two operatives and two“clean” colleagues, a diplomat and a journalist, each accompanied by a wife. The dinnerwent well, and everybody felt surprisingly comfortable around the newly arrived colleaguefrom Moscow. After this dinner, other colleagues began to invite Ivanov for visits. Theylearned that B.S. was a very convivial person who relished interesting conversations andgood humor. It goes without saying that during such events, nobody ever raised issuesrelating to work or Ivanov’s assignment in Kabul. Ivanov spoke about himself very rarely.Once, he explained his affinity for carrot and radish salad prepared with sunflower oil. Hementioned that this dish was very popular in Leningrad, where he had been born.Many wives of Kabul operatives were concerned that such an attractive, respectablewidower lived alone. Once, the wife of a KGB officer, Tamara Bakhturina, brought hergirlfriend, a single, forty-year-old woman named Raisa Petrovna, who worked as a dentistin the medical center at the embassy, to one of their dinners with Ivanov. Two years later,the two were married.***Two days after the suppression of the uprising in Herat, Osadchiy invited Orlov-397