The Polyphony found in Political Events: A Case Study on the Soviet-Afghan War and its Cultural and Political Narratives Öffentlichkeit

Abstract

This thesis examines the Official Political Narrative (OPN) and the Cultural Narratives (CN) that emerged in relation to the Soviet-Afghan War. The Official Political Narrative encompasses the reasons behind the intervention in Afghanistan: using archival documentation of the Central Committee’s meetings, memorandums, and letters between political elites, I find that the OPN intervened to prevent foreign involvement in Afghanistan, support the socialist party, and protect the border between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. To determine the Cultural Narratives, I analyzed interviews with those who served in the war and were affected by it, and I also studied films, memorials, and songs. Two separate themes emerged: I call the first one the During-War Narrative and the second is called the After-War Narrative. The During-War Narrative was influenced by the OPN as veterans point to supporting socialism in Afghanistan and protecting the border as reasons for their involvement in the war. Overtime, the cultural narratives shift, and the war is called a “political mistake”. Individuals begin to question the legitimacy of the Soviet Union, and this contributes to the destabilization and delegitimation of the Soviet Union. The narratives that formed around this war propelled the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through this case study, I show how the narratives affect each other and how the Cultural Narratives affected the Soviet Union after 1989. I borrow the term Polyphony from Mikhail Bakhtin, who showed the importance of each voice in literature. In political events, the term polyphony is used to show how the voices that emerge are important because they have an influence. We can see this as the OPN shaped part of the Cultural Narratives, and the Cultural Narratives had an effect in undermining the Soviet Union’s Official Political Narrative.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Polyphonic Characteristic found in the Political and Cultural Narratives………….1

Part I: Political Narratives………………………………………………………………………7

a.             The International Threat: international considerations that influenced the Soviet decision-making process…7

b.             From no to yes: Why the Soviets decided to invade…………………………15

c.             Competing Voice……………………………………………………………………24

Part II: Civic and Cultural Narratives………………………………………………………26

a.             During-War Narratives………………………………………………………………30

b.             After-War Narratives…………………………………………………………………34

c.             Other Media and Voices……………………………………………………………40

Part III: Interweaving the Narratives……………………………………………………58

a.        From yes to no: Leaving Afghanistan………………………………………………61

b.        How the Cultural Narratives Influenced the Next Official Political Narratives…65

Part IV: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………70

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..72

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Russian and East European Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Slavic Studies
Stichwort	Political Narratives Soviet-Afghan War Cultural Narratives
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Apkarian, Juliette, Emory University
Committee Members	Owen, Judd, Emory University Payne, Matthew, Emory University

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