In the dying days of the Soviet Union, there was much talk of “Afghan syndrome” within Russia. Thousands of veterans of the ill-fated war in Afghanistan were traumatised, angry and denied any sort of aftercare. A mass epidemic of untreated PTSD was let loose on the streets. After watching this horrifying documentary, it’s hard not to conclude that the country’s late-80s experience of the aftermath of conflict might have been simply a taster of what was to come.
Some of the interviewees in Ben Steele’s film speak anonymously. Many show their faces but don’t give names. A few are happy to be named in full, presumably on the grounds that the Russian state has already done its worst. All are impossibly, heartbreakingly brave.
