The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

detachments. The analyst of the Residency, Vladimir Khotyaev, would gather her reportsand prepare an hourly update about the progression of the coup for Moscow.Victor and Valery silently exited Osadchiy’s office, walked out of the embassy, andgot into Victor’s blue Toyota. They drove along Darul Aman Road to the center of the city,where the sounds of explosions and shooting were becoming increasingly loud and thesmoke billowing above the roofs of the houses thickened. As they drove by the SovietCultural Center they saw a battery of anti-tank guns facing towards the city’s perimeter. Alittle further down the road, near the headquarters of the Transport Police, two armoredvehicles were parked. They passed the vehicles, drove by the Shah-e du Shamshira Mosque,and entered Spinzar Square. From there they had to make their way very cautiouslytowards Hotel Kabul and Pashtunistan Square. The car zigzagged between tanks andarmored vehicles in various states: moving, shooting, parked, or burning. Fully armedplatoons and separate officers and soldiers in helmets equipped with bulletproof vests,grenade launchers, and Kalashnikovs darted between the tanks and armored vehicles.Some carried wounded soldiers on their backs or on stretchers. It seemed to Valery that thefighters were so preoccupied that they didn’t notice the blue Toyota with its foreignpassengers or other out-of-place civilian cars that occasionally appeared on the street. Heshared his impression with his partner.Victor agreed. “They have other things on their mind.”Realizing that he shouldn’t rely on his memory alone, Starostin pulled out his penand the postcard from his former boss in Moscow and began jotting down his observationson both sides of the postcard. The notes would become a draft of his future cable toMoscow.56