A Former Soviet Soldier Lives Among Afghans

Morning Edition, December 12, 2006 · Afghanistan has been in a state of war for more then a quarter-century. It began when the Soviet Union invaded the country in 1979. More then a million Afghans were killed, as well as about 15,000 Soviet troops. When the last Soviet general left Afghanistan in 1989, he famously said: "There is not a single Soviet soldier or officer left behind." But at least one Soviet soldier never went home.