The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

putting on make-up when their doorbell rang. It was Victor Bubnov. He was in a greathurry. He entered the house, opened a duffel bag, and took out a Shmeisser submachinegun and a set of ammunition. “You might find this handy,” he suggested. Then Victorinformed Starostin that he was leaving immediately for Bagram in order to meet colleagueswho were due to arrive from the Soviet Union. He asked him to watch over his wifeAntonina in his absence, in case military actions began in Kabul before his return. “I’ll takecare of her, trust me,” Starostin assured his friend.After that, Valery and Tamara, with two bottles of Soviet champagne, a bouquet offresh roses from Jalalabad, and a gift for Gromek, went to Mikrorayon, where the Smolensresided.It was already dark. The black night shined with stars. Snow had yet to fall in Kabul,though that night was particularly frosty.Small airplanes flew low over Mt. Asmai, the Shur Bazaar quarters, and otherdistricts of Old Kabul, signal lights blinking in the night sky. Flares attached to smallparachutes fell from the airplanes. Hanging in the dark sky, the flares brightly illuminatedthe streets and houses below for several minutes.“Look how beautiful it is!” exclaimed Tamara. “I wonder why they are launchingthese flares.”“They probably want to know what’s happening in Kabul. They are very concernedthat an uprising may begin at any moment. They want to show the residents that they arein control of whatever might be plotted below.”The Smolens prepared a feast for their holiday celebration. Hor d’oeuvres includedStarostin’s favorite pickled ryzhyk mushrooms brought from Poland by Stanislav, potato707