A must read book for people,who wish to understand history of Soviet war in Afganistan.This book will give you the best example of how Soviet Union used journalists in propaganda war during the occupation of Afghanistan.Artyom Borovik does it well.
Well written,but untruthfull.I happen to meet Artyom in Afghanistan in 1985, and in Moscow in 1989.After reading this book,I understood how much pressure he had from being a son of general editor of the largest proSoviet magazin during "communist" era.
Sorry Artyom,but you didn,t have to do it!

I purchased this book a few years ago and read it at the time. Then after the events of 09.11.01, i had to pull it back out and give it another read. This work shows how a war in Afghanistan was fought in the 1980's. It shows the fears and fraility of soldiers at the fore frontof a war without front lines. It gives graphic accounts of the difficulties found in fighting the Afghanis. It is a book the leaders of the world who will be deciding on whether to put ground troops into Afghanistan should take heed of and take copious notes.
Mr. Borovik does the fighting men of the then Soviet Army a proud service by showing the war as it was, not as the Soviet propaganda portrayed it.
His insights are invaluable to todays fighting men and women who may be going into harms way in the near future.

Colonel Zakharov, Sergeant Dzhabarov, and Defector Peresleni walk with author Artyom Borovik through war-torn Afghanistan. As they travel, the soldiers shoot the breeze and reveal innermost thoughts and feelings with the adept author.

'The Hidden War' humanizes many Soviet soldiers, while others are vilified for greed and murderous actions. Always the soldiers come across as real people.

Some Soviet Army defectors, Peresleni for example, eventually wound up in America. In Borovik's eyes the defectors are neither happy nor unhappy. They find themselves in a new land dealing with the challenges of a new place and poignant homesickness.

The book's many anecdotes offer unique insights into current events. For example, Pereslini's main reason for defecting was not idealism, confusion, or hatred, but that his fellow soldiers, many of whom happened to be Kazakh, would regularly beat him up. They beat him up for being a Muscovite.

Borovik also meets with Sayed Ahmad Gailani in London. His account of the meeting left me with much to think about the interactions western leaders have with those in the middle-east.

As the former Soviet Union's offspring make their voices heard, the 'Hidden War' offers a starkly different view of the Soviet soldier than I've previously come across. But then, I was a little young in th 80s to appreciate informed news coverage. Time to catch up.