In the eastern outskirts of Moscow, young cadets in uniform wander through a two-room hall crammed full of painful memories. A large map of Afghanistan, a row of youthful faces eager for an adventure and then a video showing zinc coffins bringing those one-time Soviet army recruits home.
The emotions sparked by this intimate exhibit grow more intense as the viewer stands in front of a handwritten quote stenciled on one of the green walls, repeating the text that thousands of Soviet mothers and wives received years ago:
”With great sorrow and grief we inform you about the death of your son.”
On the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, reminders of that brutal war are largely confined to out-of-the-way places like the Afghan Exhibit Hall in Petrovo, opened and staffed by a group of Afghan war veterans who don’t want their sacrifice and patriotism to be forgotten.
