CAPTIVITY AND CONVERSION: AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF SOVIET POWS IN AFGHANISTAN

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine both internal and external pressures Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) experienced prior to their defection and while in captivity. I discuss several driving factors, such as Soviet propaganda tactics, pre-deployment military training, quality of life in Afghanistan, human rights violations, ethnic conflicts and ritualistic hazing (dedovshchina or starikovshchina) that influenced Soviet soldiers to defect from the Red Army. In addition, I observe what issues most compelled some of these soldiers to convert to Islam and settle in Afghanistan rather than return to their homes in the Soviet Union or seek asylum in the West following their release. These factors include the historical treatment of Soviet POWs and psychological trauma. The historical Soviet treatment of POWs played an influential role in the defectors’ decisions and why many were afraid to return to their homeland years after the conflict had ended. Psychological trauma resulting from violence against non-combatants seems to have fostered Soviet soldiers’ sympathy and respect for the Afghan population before their capture or defection.