Participation of the Limited Contingent of Soviet Troops in Afghanistan in the Memoirs of Participants

This study analyzes the memoirs of various categories of participants in the Afghan War (1979–1989) including soldiers, officers, special forces, KGB personnel in order to identify the features of how the war was perceived and represented in the historical memory of different social groups. The research is based on the examination and comparison of war memoirs written by Afghan War veterans. The study applies historicalgenetic, comparativehistorical, typological, and historicalsystemic methods, along with the principles of scholarly objectivity and historicism. The analysis reveals both shared and distinctive elements in the war perceptions of different categories of participants. Special attention is paid to depictions of daily military life and combat experience. The findings offer deeper insight into the causes and consequences of the Afghan conflict and highlight the educational and culturalhistorical value of personal war accounts. These materials may be effectively used in educational contexts, patriotic upbringing, and the development of scholarly research and textbooks on contemporary Russian history.