The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

head of the KGB Representative Office in Kabul, and General Kalugin from PGU, the director ofForeign Intelligence. Kryuchkov received a number of warnings from his colleagues about thecareless rhetoric of the young general. By the time of their trip to Kabul, Kryuchkov had amassedan impressive file of compromising material regarding Kalugin, who had been suspected ofmisdeeds ranging from incompetence to being a CIA agent. Without any idea that his career inForeign Intelligence was soon to be axed, Kalugin accompanied his boss on his first trip toAfghanistan.Vladimir Alexandrovich had an unusual way of dealing with colleagues with questionablerecords. He liked to “study his people” in an intimate environment. For example, he eagerlyparticipated in parties celebrating promotions of his colleagues to the rank of general. Kryuchkovhimself almost never drank, but would instead use the banquets as opportunities for probing thecharacter of those who had been promoted, while they were “ under the influence” and moreexposed.Now, Kalugin was brought along to see how he would behave in extreme situations andhow he would act in close proximity to his chief. While the trip to Kabul was just another shorttermadventure for Kalugin (Kabul today, Moscow tomorrow, and on to Prague, Warsaw, andHavana), his colleague Colonel Bogdanov arrived there with a very different mindset. He had tostay in Afghanistan indefinitely, and he had no desire to go in the first place, let alone stayindefinitely.Leonid Pavlovich Bogdanov had no particular feelings towards Afghanistan. It wasuninteresting to him both from the point of view of working and of living there. His interests andaspirations lay elsewhere. Bogdanov had had very successful tours in India and Indonesia. InJanuary 1977 he returned from Iran, where he also had a successful appointment. When, several203