In 1988 Artyom Borovik marched with the Russian forces into Afghanistan, earning a medal for his 'valour in battle'. He returned home to write this extraordinary account of the terror, helplessness and despair of waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. Calling to mind Michael Herr's Dispatches, Artyom Borovik's classic account of 'Russia's Vietnam' was both a critical and popular success on its initial publication in 1989.