The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

agents. Those who had planned meetings should keep their appointments, but be very careful. Wewill discuss each meeting individually. Those who don’t have meetings scheduled, go into the cityand gather responses of the population and foreigners to yesterday’s events and those of the daybefore. Do I make myself clear? All information should be collected and brought to Khotyaev. Don’tcall me unless something very serious occurs. I also want you to focus on a prognosis for futurepolitical developments. Sergei Gavrilovich,” the resident addressed security officer Bakhturin, “Ihave a special request for you. Urgently prepare and submit a full report on the Soviet citizenswho were affected by the situation and the status of the Soviet colony in Kabul and other Afghancities.” Then quietly, almost intimately, Osadchiy turned to Khotyaev.“Volodya, go take a nap. You look exhausted.”As if you do not look exhausted, thought Khotyaev gloomily, looking at his chief.***The officers of the KGB Residency gave Vladimir Khotyaev the nickname Vova “Gvozd”(“the nail”). Volodya didn’t mind it. Those who had given him that name were younger operatives.Well into his fourth decade, Volodya must have seemed like an old man to them. The analyst’sheight was accentuated by his straight posture. Thin, with a hooked nose and curly hair, he couldhave passed for an Englishman. However, it wasn’t his appearance that provided the inspirationfor his nickname. Vladimir was uncompromising—sometimes too direct—and harsh in hisjudgment. He would never change his mind, even when he was unsure that he was correct.Sometimes it seemed that Volodya was eager to purposefully irritate his colleagues, whom hedidn’t care for. Volodya’s goal as an analyst was to ensure that his supervisors in Moscow wouldnot only sense the depth of his analyses of the situation in Kabul, but would also do exactly whathe proposed.97