The Torn Souls: An Anthology of Prose About the Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979-1989)

Terminology and slang used in the book

A

Afgashek, or afoshka — a slang for Afghani money.

AGS — automatic grenade launcher.

AK, or kalash — abbreviation for or a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov.

AKS — Featured a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.

AN (s) — a reference to a type of military aircrafts, designed and build by Antonov Aircraft state enterprise, the main activity of which is the development, production and repair of An-series aircraft.

APC or “the armor”, — armored personnel carrier

Arbat Street — a famous pedestrian street in Moscow.

ATAs — Armored Transporter of the Airborne

B

BP — backpack of a paratrooper

Bacha — a Persian word meaning kid or brother, very close friend.

bai — a very wealthy person.

Baksheesh — see Bakshish.

Bakshish, or baksheesh (slang) is a small sum of money given as alms, a tip, or a bribe; a payment for a help.

Banya — a Russian traditional wet steam sauna,

Bertzy — modern combat boots are designed to provide a combination of grip, ankle stability, and foot protection suitable for a rugged environment

Board (army slang) — a military airplane

“Boer(s)” — a name for the rifle designed by Lee-Metford Mark in 1902 and adopted by the British Army during the WW1.

Brezhnev Leonid (1906–1982) was the Soviet leader from 1954 to 1982. During the war he was a divisional political commissar with the Soviet armies in Ukraine. Malaya Zemlya, his vainglorious memoir of his involvement in the operations around Novorossisk on the Black Sea in 1943, became the object of much cynical humour among ordinary Soviet citizens, as did he himself in his last years of physical decline.

Brownian motion (physics) — erratic movement; bumping each other.

“Bukvar” — is the text book for the 1st schooling year that introduces the Russian alphabet in order to learn simple texts

Burbahayki or barbukhayka has come to the Russian lexicon from Afghanistan with changed from original meaning in Farsi “wishing you a good journey” Soviet soldiers started to call these home-made trucks that were assembled from assorted parts, hung from all sides with bales.

C

Cascade, or Kaskad was one of the musical groups that was named after a KGB special forces unit. During the Afghan war, a number of groups emerged which performed songs about the war written by the soldiers themselves Many of their tunes, and some of the words, originated before the war. Most were written at the beginning of the war. But as time went on, the mood evolved. Patriotic and optimistic to start with, they grew more disillusioned towards the end, to the dismay of the authorities.

Chirchik — a city of Chirchik located in Uzbekistan.

Chifir — a drink obtained by digestion of highly concentrated tea brewing; has psycho-stimulating effect.

CK — abbreviation for a combat kit.

“Crocodile”, “tank”, or “twenty-four”, “MI-24” (army slang) — MI-24 fire support and attack military helicopter.

D

Dembel(s) (army slang) — experienced soldiers servicing the army after a demobilization order. Every spring and autumn the Soviet Minister of Defence issued an Order, naming the conscripts due for demobilisation. From the date of the order to the soldier’s actual departure for home could take between two to over four months. During that period the lucky soldiers were known as “dembels”, and were allowed a number of departures from the approved style of dress and other privileges. The conscripts as a whole were informally divided into categories according to their length of service. Next down from the “dembels” were the “Grandfathers”, conscripts in their last six months. Then came two more junior categories: those in their second six months (“Elephants”), and those in their first (“Ghosts”). Each group bullied the one more junior, and expected personal services from them.

Dembelya, — or dembels soldiers listed for ending a military service.

Dembel photo album — a compulsory attribute for any soldier who was sent home after army service.

Dukh aka Dushara,(army slang) — a fighter of the Afghan armed opposition

Dukhan(s) — small private shop(s).

Dushara, or dukh(s), or dushman (Army slang) — a fighter of the Afghan armed opposition.

Dusha (Russ.) — a words that referred to a complex meaning including spirit, soul, inner space of a personality and personal characteristics of a person.

Duval(s) — a traditional Afghani stove, or (army slang) Afghanis traditional settlement.

E

“Eight” (army slang) — MI8 modification of military helicopters.

Elephants — (army slang) as heavy armoured machine, tanks.

F

Fergana is the eastern city of Uzbekistan.

“First Aliheyl” — a first baptism of fire.

Flechettes — aerial darts/metallic needles

“Friendly gang” — an armed opposition group with whom a temporary agreement of neutrality had been reached.

Fokker Scourge — a mechanism in machine guns’ for synchronizing the fire through the arc of the propeller without striking the blades.

G

Gazavat — a sacred war.

Gerzen, Alexander Ivanovich (1812–1870) — a prominent Russian journalist, writer, philosopher, and teacher.

GRU — a Russian abbreviation from specialised forces of quick responses.

Guba (army slang) as a Russian Glasshouse, a place for the imprisonment as the way of punishment in the army.

H

Hadzh — a religious pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca.

“Hero” title (army slang) short version of “Hero of the Soviet Union”, which is the most prestigious military award.

I

ILs — a reference to a type of military aircrafts, designed and build by Illushin Aircraft enterprise, the main activity of which is the development, production and repair of IL-series aircraft.

ICV (literally “infantry combat vehicle”) is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s.

Ivanov, Alexander Andreyevich (1806–1858) was a Russian painter who became famous for his neoclassical painting “The Appearance of Christ Before the People”, the painting referred in the novel.

J

Jihad — is an Arabic word which literally means “striving” or “struggling”, especially with a praiseworthy aim. It can have many shades of meaning within an Islamic context.

Jihadist — Islamist militants

Jolly Fellows” aka (Russian: Весёлые ребята, Vesyolye rebyata), also translated as Happy-Go-Lucky Guys was a popular Soviet musical group

K

Kaaba — a sacred black stone of the Great Mosque at Mecca, the goal of Islamic pilgrimage and the point toward which Muslims turn in praying.

Kalashnikovs aka “Kalash”, or AKs (Russian slang) for Kalashnikov Rifle that is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. Officially known in Russian as “Avtomat Kalashnikova” or “Kalashnikov’s Automatic Gun”.

Kalym — a traditional ceremony known as a ransom for the bride paid to her parents.

Kandahar — mis one of the most culturally significant cities of the Kandagar province that has been a traditional seat of Pushtuns’ power for more than 300 years.

Karakurt — a black widow spider.

Karez — a traditional underground hydraulic system in the ancient cities of Afghanistan.

Kishlak — a traditional Afghani settlement.

Krasnuha — rubella, a highly contaminating disease.

L

Landsmen — army personnel from the division of army supply.

“Leader” — the leading helicopter.

Lenin Hills aka Sparrow’s Hills — is one of the highest points — 720 ft. — on the right bank of the Moscow River.

M

Madras — a religious school.

Messers (army slang) — a type of military aircrafts.

Mujahedeens, or mujahidin — (an Arabic word) refers to the guerrilla-type military groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet-Afghan War.

Mualems — academics, scholars.

N

Namaz — time of praying for Allah.

NURSov, or nursy — The unguided ground-to-ground missile is the simplest missile equipped with an engine, a warhead with a fuse and an aerodynamic stabilizer (feathering)…. Such shells are used in systems of multiple fire, for example, “Katyusha”, “Grad” and others.

P

Pantophagy — eating of all kinds or a great variety of food.

Pashtuns — historically known as ethnic Afghans and Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group who mainly live in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

PO — (Communist) Party Organisation.

Promedole — Promedol is a synthetic drug with the structure that can be considered as analogous of morphine molecules. Widely used as a strong painkiller on the battlefields.

Pugacheva Alla (b. 1948) — a very popular Russian singer who occasionally performed for the Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

R

Rassypuha — a soldier slang for reusable bits that were left in an army backpack after a military operatio.

RPG — A rocket-propelled grenade (often abbreviated RPG) is a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon system that fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead.

S

Salabons (army slang) — young, inexperienced soldiers, rookie in the army.

Samogon — an alcoholic drinks made in primitive conditions.

“Samovar” — (army slang) a gun.

Sarbose — is a strong swearing word in Afghani culture meaning a bastard.

“Screamers” — (army slang) fire support helicopters MI-24

Shaitan — the devil.

Sharia — Islamic canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith and Sunna), prescribing both religious and secular duties and sometimes retributive penalties for lawbreaking.

Shuravis — an Afghani slang identifying people from the Soviet Union

Stechkin — a Soviet selective fire machine pistol called after its designer Igor Stechkin.

Suras — chapters or sections of the Koran.

SVDashki — a military optical object.

T

Thanatos — is a personification of death in Greek mythology.

Tankachi (army slang) — tank unit personnel.

Tashakur — (from Dari) Thank you.

U

Union — see USSR.

USSR, or Soviet Union, or the Union — the abbreviation and forms for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a former northern Eurasian empire (1917/22–1991), stretching from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics.

V

“Vertical” (army slang) for “helicopter”.

Vodyara — a slang for vodka.

Vladimir Vysotsky (1938–1980) was a talented actor and “bard” (folk singer) whose songs, many about the war even though he himself had never been in battle, spoke to the mood of the Soviet people in the 1960s and 1970s and have had a lasting influence. He was regarded as faintly subversive by the establishment, but they never moved seriously against him. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Moscow as his funeral procession passed.

W

“Whistles”, or “screamers” — model MI24, an attacking military helicopter.

Y

Yat — an ancient letter of Russian alphabet that was abolished after the Great October Revolution.

Z

Zarathushtra is an ancient Iranian-speaking prophet famous for teachings and innovations on the religious traditions of ancient Iranian philosophy.

“Zelenye” (army slang) — just conscripted soldiers.