Soviet-Afghan War
The following "Handbook of Counterpropaganda Work" was produced by the Soviet military for its soldiers in Afghanistan in early 1987, seven years into the Soviet-Afghan War. It provides "counterpropaganda" mostly in the form of a series of dos and don'ts for how Soviet soldiers should act while there. Keep in mind as you review the 22-page pamphlet the old saying that "they wouldn't make a rule against it unless people"—in this case Soviet soldiers—"were actually doing these things" (or not doing these things as the case may be)!
Also, as you review the Handbook keep in mind the following questions:
What concerns on the part of the Soviet military leadership do the images and captions reflect? Or, in other words, what kinds of actions and behavior are Soviet soldiers engaging in that their military leaders want to end? How does the Handbook portray the local Afghan population? Based on the pamphlet, what conclusions might one draw regarding relations between Soviet troops and the local Afghan population? Finally, if you were a young Soviet soldier serving in Afghanistan, based on the handbook what are some issues you would need to be worried or concerned about?
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Write a Reaction Piece (1-2 pages, 12-point font, double-spaced) to the Handbook addressing these questions and email your response to the Instructor by the designated due date and time (consult the course syllabus); which page(s) of the pamphlet do you find most interesting and/or revealing and why?
NOTE: the block text near the top of every page of the pamphlet reads, "To the Soldier Internationalist" (Voinu internatsianalistu), the official term for Soviet troops carrying out their "international obligation" to "help" the people of Afghanistan.
Read the Handbook here
Directions: the Handbook is in the form of a Power Point Presentation so you will be asked to either download it or open it (depending on which browser you are using); do so and then click on "Slide Show" on the top menu and "From the Beginning" at the top left-hand side (look for the green arrow) of the menu.
Source: http://www.istpravda.com.ua/artefacts/2011/03/31/34099/#19