ARTDAILY
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| Former Soviet soldier Bakhretdin Khakimov came to Afghanistan to fight the mujahideen more than three decades ago. Today he has a new life as caretaker of the museum celebrating their victory over the Red Army. AFP PHOTO / FILES / AREF KARIMI. |
AFGHANISTAN---Former Soviet soldier Bakhretdin Khakimov came to Afghanistan to fight the mujahideen more than three decades ago. Today he has a new life as caretaker of a museum celebrating the jihadists' victory over the Red Army. Khakimov, who now goes by the name Sheikh Abdullah, says he will never return to Russia. On a wall of the museum in the western city of Herat, one black and white photo stands out from the portraits of jihadi heroes -- Abdullah as a young man in a Russian shapka hat adorned with Soviet military insignia. The bearded 50-something, who today prefers the traditional Afghan pakol hat, has worked at Herat's Jihad Museum since 2013. Before that he worked as a healer, prescribing medicinal herbs to locals. [
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