The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

“Hello, Comrade Amin. I am the deputy director of the Cultural Center of the USSR inAfghanistan, Ruslan Budrin.”“Comrade Ruslan, I need to talk with your ambassador. I would like to make arrangementsto meet with him as soon as possible. Can you arrange our meeting?”Budrin covered the phone with his hand and asked the operator, “Where is the ambassadornow?”“He went fishing in Naglu. He’ll be back in the evening.”“Comrade Amin, our ambassador is currently not at his residence. He is inspecting one ofthe important sites of Soviet-Afghan cooperation in the southeast of Kabul. Most probably he willarrive in the second half of the day,” Budrin interpreted the operator’s information.“Comrade Ruslan, could you give me a call right after the ambassador returns? Please, writedown my phone number. I will be working at my office and will await his return to the embassy.”After dictating the phone number, Amin decided to continue the conversation with Budrin.“Comrade Ruslan, how did you perceive our revolution?”“I think that the April Revolution can become the decisive step towards the expeditiousmovement of Afghanistan in building a new, progressive society,” responded Budrin, who was wellversed in the political jargon and spoke with great confidence.“Why did you use the word ‘can’? Does this indicate that you have some doubts regardingour intentions or the creative potential of the PDPA?”“No, Comrade Amin! I used the word can because I understand how powerful the feudalreaction inside your country can be, and how vicious can be the response of internationalimperialist circles. They will do everything possible to stop the development of Afghanistantowards progress, democracy, and socialism. I think you and your comrades have a lot of work to157