Kazbek Hudalov Explained

Kazbek Akhtimirovich Hudalov (Казбек Ахтемирович Худалов), an Ossetian born in 1959,[1] was a Soviet soldier who was initially reported to have been captured during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but was later revealed to have been a "notorious traitor" and one of the highest ranked Soviets who defected to fight with the Mujahideen repelling the occupation.[2] [3]

Service in the Soviet Army

A native of Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia–Alania,[4] Hudalov graduated from the Ordzhenikidze Command School,[5] and the military academy in Almaty.[6]

He joined the Soviet Army on 1 September 1977 and was deployed to Afghanistan in August 1983.[7]

He was a lieutenant in the Soviet Army[6] and was listed as "captured" by Mujahideen in Parwan on 16 September 1984[1] after he went to search for a subordinate and never returned.[8] However, by early 1985 it was clear that he had defected and was fighting with the insurgents.[2]

Defection to the Mujahideen

Hudalov defected from the Soviet army to join the Mujahideen and surrounded himself with a group of approximately a dozen similar deserters of largely Tajik descent.[5] The group focused its attacks on the 40th Army and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan outposts, frequently dressing in Soviet military uniforms to approach targets.[5]

In autumn 1988, Hudalov was believed to be operating around Bagram, but as the group moved towards the Panjshir mountains, it ceased to visibly operate.[5]

Citations

  1. Web site: Афганистан. 1979 - 1989: пропавшие без вести. Afghanistan. 1979 - 1989: missing. Комсомольская Правда. 13 February 2009. ru. 25 April 2021.
  2. "Afghanistan: Lost Soldiers", Le Magazine, 14 November 1985.
  3. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article838409.ece "Soviet Conscripts who defected to Mujahidin"
  4. http://www.novayagazeta.ru/file/pdf/spisok.pdf
  5. Book: Artyom Borovik. Hidden War: A Russian Journalist's Account of the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Grove/Atlantic, Inc.. 1992. 0-87113-283-4. 226.
  6. L'Actualite, Volume 11, 1986. Page 17
  7. Web site: ВОЕННОСЛУЖАЩИЕ, БЕЗ ВЕСТИ ПРОПАВШИЕ В АФГАНИСТАНЕ. ru . 14 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120325170012/http://www.gunmaker-t.narod.ru/bezvesti-afgan-.html . 25 March 2012. dead .
  8. Web site: Information on Shootdowns.

External links