This book is essentially an account of one Russian soldier's life, Vladislav Tamarov, and his thoughts during his two-year tour of duty in Afghanistan from 1984 to 1985. More importantly, and the basis for the book, while in Afghanistan Tamarov has two jobs. One is assigned by the Soviet government, that of a minesweeper in the Blue Beret unit, and the other is a self-imposed job, one of a photojournalist. During his 217-day tour of duty, Tamarov constantly takes pictures to document his life abroad. Thus the book contains over 75 photographs, detailing his life and missions while in Afghanistan. Tamarov details how he enters into the Russian army at the age of nineteen because, according to the Russian Constitution, "To serve in the Soviet army is the honorable duty of every Soviet citizen." Tamarov explains that after boot camp, he is shortly shipped off to Afghanistan. Tamarov sees his the reason for his mission to Afghanistan as two-fold. According to Tamarov, "The first and official reason for sending Soviet troops into Afghanistan is to satisfy the request of the Afghanistan government. A second reason: Afghanistan is the Soviet Union's southern neighbor, and placing troops there assured the relative security of our southern borders." Tamarov describes the second reason as a more clandestine form of motivation, and that most of the Soviet public was unaware of this last reason. Tamarov's book is divided into ten parts. Each part is devoted to either a geographical region of Afghanistan, where the trainings and combat missions take place, or it is devoted to personal issues Tamarov and his fellow soldiers deal with while occupying Afghanistan. Tamarov goes in depth on many of the missions he served on, as well as documenting the lifeand emotions encountered on the base and while on missions. One of Tamarov's main points throughout the book is the gut wrenching effects war has on its young soldiers, those that survive anyway. Tamarov discusses how his tour in Afghanistan dramatically changed his life for the worse. Tamarov devotes two chapters to the ill effects war has on it participants. Tamarov explains how his depression after returning from war propels him to seek out other veterans of war, especially American who served during the Vietnam War, another "unsuccessful war". The last chapter of the book involves Tamarov coming to the United States in order to document the lives of other war veterans. Tamarov's photos vividly capture the scenes of an ongoing war. And his captions serve to not only give the basic facts, but also gives a glimpse into his heart and mind while he was performing his missions. Some of these photos bear more impact than others. For instance, Tamarov has some photos that show his fellow soldiers going off to battles from which they would never return. Overall, this book does an excellent job at capturing the mood and atmosphere found on the Soviet bases and camps spread throughtout Afghanistan. Besides the impressive photos, Tamarov's text does a wonderful job in encapsulating his fears and desires while fighting this war in a foreign country. Tamarov makes it apparent the mean spirited nature of war takes a toll upon everyone, and that its affects are felt long after the war itself is over. "I can make these photos larger or smaller, darker or lighter. But what I can't do is bring back those who are gone forever." Bryon Wait
Tamarov was drafted and sent to Afghanistan. When he arrived there, a finger pointed to him and said "Aha! I see a minesweeper!" His boot camp was inadequate and useless training as a parachute jumper in the Soviet Airborne Forces. Parachute jumping is useless in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. He had no training as a minesweeper--this was on the job training of the most frightening kind.
Tamarov took pictures (sometimes setting up the camera for friends to photograph himself) and kept a kind of journal of his tour of duty in Aghanistan. When he returned, he was, as he puts it, an old young man. His black and white photographs won contests, but he dropped out of college, determined to write a book based on his personal journal. The book, first published in 1992 was recently republished by Ten Speed Press.
There are two good reasons to read this book. First, the photographs are amazing, not only for their journalistic value, but their artistry as well. They remind me of the Walker Evans photos in "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" or Dorothea Lange's work of the Dust Bowl years. Second, Tamarov writes from the gut, about his fears, the friends who died, the waste of life, the failed mission in Afghanistan, where, the reason for going was "at the request of the Afghan people." Trouble was, nobody could figure out why they were there before plenty of young men who couldn't get into university, bribe an official or break a leg were sent there only to return home again in a zinc box.
The writing is good, but the organization of the book, being a sort of journal, is sometimes choppy. Tamarov only follows a sketchy chronology, sometimes jumping forwards and backwards in time. This can be hard to follow. The translation captures the Russian feel, the Russian wry sense of humor well. You hear the author talking directly to you.
Afghanistan was Russia's Viet Nam. Tamarov quotes Alexander the Great "One can occupy Afghanistan, but no one can vanquish her." Alexander's troops left behind a memorial column when they marched out of Afghanistan. It stands today, and Tamarov's picture of the ancient monument and Alexander's prophetic statement are a chilling reminder of mistakes of the past, and perhaps the future.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
