8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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As U.S. war ends,Russia returns to Afghanistan

with series of investment projects

 A worker at the Kabul Housebuilding Factory tests a machine from the Soviet era. Thefactory continues to produce walls for prefabricated housing. (oren!o Tugnoli"For The#ashington $ost%

By Kevin Sieff , Pubished! "arch #$

KABUL — Lorenzo Tugnoli For The Washington Post A worker at the Kabul HousebuildingFactory tests a achine !ro the "o#iet era$ The !actory continues to %roduce walls !or %re!abricated housing$To the white&bearded A!ghan achinists' it !elt like the (old War era had suddenly returned$

A!ter )* years o! working in a s%rawling "o#iet&built !actory — a #estige o! a war andoccu%ation long e+tinguished — they suddenly s%otted a new shi%ent o! gleaing ,ussiane-ui%ent arri#ing last !all on an ./&wheeler$

The !actory was abuzz$ The ,ussians were back$

As the U$"$&led war winds down and ,ussia reasserts itsel! in Ukraine and the 0iddle 1ast'0oscow is also ra%ing u% its in#estent in A!ghanistan$ 2t is rebuilding the relics o! the

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"o#iet occu%ation and %rooting its own %olitical and cultural %rowess$

34ou see ,ussia5s interest in A!ghanistan rising$ 2t5s #isible'6 said "te%an Anikee#' thes%okesan !or the ,ussian 1bassy in Kabul$ 3We want to enlarge our role in the region$ 2t5snot only !or A!ghanistan' but !or our own goals$6

,ussia5s recent incursion into its neighbor' Ukraine' and its anne+ation o! (riea re!lect itsintent to aintain in!luence in soe !orer "o#iet re%ublics$ 2t also reaching out to old allies!urther a!ield$ Last onth' President 7ladiir Putin recei#ed 1gy%tian ary chie! Abdel Fatahal&"issi' whose relations with Washington ha#e been strained since a cou% last suer' ande+%ressed su%%ort !or the ilitary an5s e+%ected %residential bid$

0oscow is also negotiating a a8or  ars deal with "issi and agreed in )9.) to sell 2ra- :;$< billion in wea%ons$ 2n "yria' Putin is strongly backing the go#ernent o! President Bashar al&Assad as he seeks to crush a rebellion that has recei#ed su%%ort !ro the West$

2n A!ghanistan' ,ussian o!!icials %oint to their de#elo%ent acti#ities as a countere+a%le toU$"$ aid %ro8ects' which any A!ghans criticize as waste!ul and isguided$

Lorenzo Tugnoli For The Washington PostPeo%le sit in a %ark outside an a%artent building in the neighborhood o! 0icroryan in Kabul'where ost o! the housing units built with ,ussian !unds !ro the tie o! the in#asion arelocated$ Houses in this %art o! the city are considered co!ortable by A!ghan standards' withcentral heating and sewage and electrical systes$

3The istake o! the last .) years is that %eo%le were eager to gi#e oney' but without the

8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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 %ro%er strategy'6 said ,ussian Abassador Andrey A#etisyan' who was also based in Kabul asa young di%loat in the .=/9s$

0any A!ghans' including President Haid Karzai' %raise the "o#iet odel e#en though they!ought a bloody .9&year war against the country5s ary' which in#aded in .=>= to su%%ort anun%o%ular counist go#ernent$

3The "o#iet oney went to the right %lace$ They were e!!icient in s%ending their oney anddoing it through the A!ghan go#ernent'6 Karzai said in an inter#iew with The Washington

Post this onth$

The new warth between the Krelin and A!ghanistan was #isible this week when the A!ghango#ernent released a essage !ro Putin arking the Persian new year$ 2t was the only suchessage ade %ublic' and was released at a tie when the United "tates and 1uro%eango#ernents are i%osing sanctions on ,ussia !or its e+%ansion into Ukraine$

32 a certain that !riendly ties and coo%eration between ,ussia and A!ghanistan in the !uturewill add to the goodness and wel!are o! our %eo%le'6 Putin said in the essage to Karzai' whichwas translated into ?ari' the local language$

The ,ussian go#ernent has co%iled a list o! .;9 "o#iet&era %ro8ects that it would like torehabilitate' according to the ebassy$ The Kabul Housebuilding Factory' the country5s largestanu!acturing !acility' was the !irst to recei#e assistance last !all@ :)* illion in newe-ui%ent$

Lorenzo Tugnoli For The Washington Posten$ Labib ,aeed' who !ought against the ,ussian ary' stands near the window in hisa%artent in 0icroryan$ Labib now works as religious ad#iser at the AA ilitary training

center in Kabul$

8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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Lorenzo Tugnoli For The Washington PostA worker at the Kabul Housebuilding Factory %re%ares aterial to build walls !or a%artentco%le+es$ ,esidents o! the a%artents include A!ghan go#ernent o!!icials and ebers o!the country5s iddle class$

A !ew iles away in Kabul' the ,ussian go#ernent is s%ending :)9 illion to reno#ate the

"o#iet House o! "cience and (ulture' constructed in .=/)$ The building' whose 8utting anglese+e%li!y "o#iet industrial design' was torn a%art by bullets and rockets and becae crowdedwith A!ghan drug addicts$ 2t is to reo%en this !all as the ,ussian (ultural (enter' a beacon !orthose with interest in ,ussia$

3We want to e+%and our culture here'6 Anikee# said o! the center$

Aid that5s a%%reciated

A!ghanistan is still %e%%ered with reinders o! both the "o#iet Union5s war and its

in!rastructure %ro8ects$ "o#iet land ines continue to kill and in8ure dozens o! A!ghan ci#ilianse#ery year$ But its bread&aking !actory still %roduces thousands o! loa#es e#ery day$ 2tshousing co%le+es are aong the country5s ost desirable Cand the only ones with centralheatingD$

32 hated the "o#iets$ 2 !ought against the$ They killed y !ather$ But this is still the best %laceto li#e'6 en$ Labib ,aeed said in his a%artent in the 0icroryan' a "o#iet&built co%le+which translates to 3housing block6 in ,ussian$

,aeed is an o!!icer in the U$"$&backed A!ghan ary' but he5s -uick to criticize the U$"$de#elo%ent e!!ort — ore than :.99 billion s%ent on non&ilitary aid' including roads and

schools$3The Aericans were generous to donate so uch oney' but they ga#e it to the wrong %eo%le'6 he said$

The 0icroryan looks like it has been trans%lanted !ro a sall ,ussian city$ 2t is gray andunadorned' a stark contrast to the !lashiness o! Kabul5s new hoes and wedding halls$ The!our&bedroo a%artents are cra%ed and austere' but they sell !or ore than :.99'999$

8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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Pro8ects such as the 0icroryan were constructed during the height o! the (old War$ The "o#ietUnion continued building e#en as it waged war in the country throughout the .=/9s$ And then'on Feb$ .*' .=/=' it was all o#er$ The "o#iets withdrew and their %ro8ects — the !actories'schools' swiing %ools ato% Kabul hills — were le!t largely unattended$

0any o! those %ro8ects anaged to sur#i#e a ci#il war and the Taliban regie relati#ely intact$

The house&building !actory ade the %re!abricated walls !ro which Taliban o!!icials'including to% leader 0ohaad Ear' built their hoes and o!!ices$ Last year' it %roduced thewalls !or one o! A!ghanistan5s biggest %risons$

Lorenzo Tugnoli For The Washington PostA achine !ro the "o#iet era sits unused in the Kabul Housebuilding Factory$

The achinists who were in their )9s when they were trained by "o#iet engineers are nowiddle&aged' but they5re still working on the sae e-ui%ent' with instructions in !ading(yrillic characters$ The new ,ussian technology is e+%ected to be installed in the coingonths$

0any A!ghans -uestion why ,ussia sees so interested in de#elo%ent here now' 8ust as theWest5s assistance ta%ers o!!$ The aid %rogra sees to any a calculated o#e reiniscento! the reat ae' the contest between the ,ussian and British e%ires !or in!luence in centralAsia in the .=th century$

,ussian o!!icials say that su%%orting A!ghanistan akes sense' gi#en their regional interests$A!ghanistan shares borders with three !orer "o#iet states that still recei#e considerable!unding — and direction — !ro 0oscow$ And A!ghanistan continues to be a a8or source o!

8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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narcotics that %our into ,ussia$ 1conoic de#elo%ent' along with a ,ussian&!undedcounternarcotics %rogra' could curb that illicit trade' o!!icials ho%e$

"till' the tiing o! ,ussia5s de#elo%ent e!!ort has raised eyebrows$ That country5s ostsigni!icant econoic %artnershi% with A!ghanistan in recent years' a 8oint coission on 3tradeand econoic coo%eration'6 wasn5t launched until )9.)' the year the U$"$ withdrawal began$

There are other signs o! a ,ussian re#i#al here$

The nuber o! students studying ,ussian at Kabul Uni#ersity has doubled in the %ast twoyears$ ,ussia' in turn' has doubled the nuber o! scholarshi%s it o!!ers to A!ghan students$ Thecultural center' when it reo%ens this !all' will hold a #ast library o! ,ussian literature and o!!erlanguage courses$

,ussia has re!used to send soldiers to su%%ort the ATE ission and has %ro#ided liitedilitary aid$ Although there is talk o! e-ui%%ing A!ghan !orces with ore ,ussian&adeKalashniko# assault ri!les' that %lan has not been !inalized and ci#ilian %ro8ects reain the

!ocus o! the de#elo%ent e!!ort$Lorenzo Tugnoli

For The Washington PostA other walks her children to a %ark near an a%artent building in Kabul5s 0icroryanneighborhood$

3What the "o#iets did here was really !undaental$ They were thinking about the long ter'6saidAhad' the head engineer o! the house&building !actory' who like any A!ghans uses only one

8/12/2019 As U.S. War Ends,Russia Returns to Afghanistan With Series of Investment Projects

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nae$

For <9 years' Ahad has walked %ast the sae inscri%tion e#ery day on his way to the o!!ice$

3This !actory'6 the inscri%tion reads' 3was built by the !riendly go#ernent o! the "o#iet Unionand was %resented to the A!ghan nation as a gi!t$6 The year 3.=)6 is car#ed into the stone$

2n the .=/9s' as A!ghanistan5s war with the "o#iet Union raged' the word 3!riendly6 stood outas bitterly ironic$ ow' with ,ussia5s %roise to return the !actory to its days o! %roducti#ity'the ad8ecti#e is starting to resonate$

3We don5t di!!erentiate between the Aericans and the ,ussians$ Whoe#er wants to hel% us'6said Ahad$ 3We welcoe the ,ussians back$6

7iew Photo allery@ ,ussia is ra%ing u% in#estent in A!ghanistan' rebuilding the relics o!the "o#iet occu%ation$

& The #ashington $ost 'ompany