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The Hidden War

Name: The Hidden War
Author: Artyom Borovik
ISBN: 9780871132833

by Artyom Borovik

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Overview

Artyom Borovik, who died last year, was considered one of the preeminent journalists in Russia. The first glimpse inside the Soviet military machine, The Hidden War captured the soldiers' terror, helplessness, and despair at waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. When first published, Borovik's groundbreaking revelations exposed the weaknesses beneath the Soviet Union's aura of military might, creating an enormous controversy both in Russia and around the world. The Hidden War is a vital and fascinating portrait of the Soviet empire at the twilight of its power. "I have read no other account of the war in Afghanistan equal to this.... This is literature, not journalism." — Graham Greene "Alternately fascinating and horrific ... A fascinating look at the life and death of Soviet soldiers." — Bill Wallace, San Francisco Chronicle

"I have read no other account of the war in Afghanistan equal to this - an eyewitness account of the soldier's experiences." Graham Greene

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Borovik, foreign editor of the Soviet weekly Ogonyok , spent a month with Soviet troops in Afghanistan near the end of the 1979-1988 war. His subjective, impressionistic account is of interest mainly for its startling echoes of the American experience in Vietnam: The Soviet soldiers' awed respect for the elusive enemy, their disgust over the waste of lives, their resentment of the harassment accorded returning veterans by an antiwar populace. And like our GIs in Vietnam, these men found solace in rock music, odd garb and drugs. The pathology of the Vietnam war is mirrored also with stories of Soviet atrocities: rape, murder and a My Lai-like massacre of civilians. Borovik summarizes the prevalent theories as to why the Soviets intervened in '79. The most interesting: Moscow's fear that the U.S., expelled from Iran, would attempt to turn Afghanistan into an anti-Soviet outpost. Although in its raw candor the book stands as a manifestation of glasnost , the writing is uneven, often jarring: ``Oh, how harsh is my fate!'' cries one veteran. Photos. Author tour. (Jan.)

Library Journal

A maverick young Russian journalist, Borovik covered the Soviet military involvement in Afghanistan from early 1980 through the final phase of withdrawal in February 1989. Currently foreign editor of Ogonyok , the USSR's leading weekly news magazine and a staunch supporter of glasnost, he offers in this work an introductory essay which speculates on the scenario for the Soviet Union's entry into Afghanistan in late December 1979, followed by two gripping accounts of Russian soldiers under fire--one in the spring of 1987 (``Meet Me at the Three Cranes'') and one dur ing the withdrawal (``The Hidden War''). While this is a subjective account of what Borovik labels ``a nine- year-long tragedy,'' The Hidden War catches the human drama in what was clearly the Soviet Union's Vietnam. The book will appeal to a general audience as a fresh reminder of the universally grim reality of war.-- James Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.